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Post by gillianlaird on Jun 13, 2024 19:33:55 GMT
Lannie is a very interesting character to me. Over the course of the novel, I was never able to get a strong read on her character. From the start, she is eccentric and strange, and she clearly plays as a vehicle for Mailer to throw in some of his most existential ideas. However, I'm at a loss when trying to decide what the true point of her character is. In my opinion, she doesn't seem to play a very important role, other than to, like Guinevere, be sexualized by the men around her. I found it completely bizarre when, after only a few chapters, Lovett confesses his love for Lannie. I thought he was still pining after Guinevere. Does anyone have any ideas as to Lannie's importance to the story?
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Post by Dr. Nemmers on Jun 14, 2024 2:40:04 GMT
I think you're right to question this, Gillian, especially since this is the exact thing that the characters themselves (principally Lovett) are wondering about. It's pretty clear that she's hiding something, or faking something, or that there's more than meets the eye, but what exactly those things are is still up in the air.
Is Lannie just a lost rich girl?
Is she some kind of prostitute?
A sleeper agent?
A Soviet spy?
Someone seriously mentally ill?
There's really no way to tell any of these since she's so inscrutable. I tend to think that's on purpose rather than neglect on the hand of the author...
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Post by dianarmartinez on Jun 16, 2024 23:35:16 GMT
I think Lannie, as a character, chooses to avoid certain aspects of her life. It does seem to be a vehicle of manipulation for Mailer, but could we say that Mailer also allowed that situation to occur? I think her character definition was meant to be debatable because each perspective would change the story and the little details that were placed in the story. I think that if she was a prostitute, the story would change, and so would the perspective of the reader.
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