Why Marriages Fail

Paper Summary:

This paper introduces, discusses and analyzes the film 'Notting Hill' directed by Roger Mitchell. Specifically, the paper discusses whether Anna and William will have a successful future together. According to the paper, this film, about a romance between a timid English bookseller and a world-famous Hollywood star, is a romantic comedy with a happily ever after ending.

From the Paper:

"The fact that Williams worships Anna is obvious throughout the film, and this is another problem with the longevity of their relationship. His friend Max is right when he says, "Let's face facts. This was always a no-go situation. Anna's a goddess and you know what happens to mortals who get involved with the gods" (Notting Hill). Indeed, Anna is somewhat of a modern goddess, and it is hard to figure out why she would settle for a "mere mortal." This dooms their relationship for a number of reasons. First, William has her on a pedestal, and no one can live up to that pressure day after day, year after year. Eventually she will fall off the pedestal, and then she may not be as appealing to him. As author Roiphe notes, "Those euphoric, grand feelings that accompany romantic love are really self-delusions, self-hypnotic dreams that enable us to forge a relationship. Real life, failure at work, disappointments, exhaustion, bad smells, band colds and hard times all puncture the dream" (Roiphe). Because Anna is such a well-known star, William has expectations about her even before he meets her. She is larger than life, and so, he has even more euphoric feelings about her. As they sleep together, he is overwhelmed. He says, "It still strikes me as, well, surreal, that I'm allowed to see you naked" (Notting Hill). That may be well and good for early romance, but if he still worships her like this after marriage, it could be very bad for the marriage. She does not worship him, she simply is attracted to him, and so the attraction is lopsided and uneven. If he does not live up to her standards, she may leave, while he will be disillusioned and devastated. A true relationship should be equal, she is too much of a star to be his equal, and even he acknowledges that."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Notting Hill. Dir. Roger Mitchell. Perf. Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant. Universal Pictures, 1999.
• Roiphe, Anne. "Why Marriages Fail." The Short Prose Reader, 9th Edition. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller and Harvey S. Wiener. New York: McGraw Hill, 2000.

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