Slipping into Satanism

[Luciaphile]

I've been watching DS sporadically. Had some problems with the ol' VCR when it decided to emulate Charlie Brown's kite eating tree and chew up my tapes. That and well, I couldn't really get into the Thing that Couldn't Die ripoff (sorry, Vlad, I think it directly inspired the Judah Zachary possession plot).

Anyhow, so I tuned in on Friday just in time to watch my beloved Edith turn officially bad. Prior to her little initiation rite, I guess she was just merely "unpleasant" (to the nth degree). I hope you all appreciated the thought and judgment she put into her decision to throw her lot in with Gerard and commit to the dark side there.

Gotta love that "hmm, okay sounds good to me. I'll just swear allegiance to the devil" business

[Cassandra Blair]

With you on that Luciaphil.  Thought it was hysterical that girlfriend thought it over for all of three seconds!  One would hope a little more consideration might be given when selling the old immortal soul.  Guess Edie was just a little overwhelmed by the err, charms (yes, that's the word) of Judah-as-Gerard.

Perhaps the subject line of this thread should have read "Slutty for Satanism"? 

[Gothick]

Luciaphil, I've said it before but I'll say it again--I *love* what you did with the character of Edith in your Education of Judith Collins series.  Would love to see more of the series at some point.  I found it a wonderfully subtle work of literature--psychologically very complex.

I haven't seen the episode in which Edith is inducted into the coven by Gerard in many years.  I remember it as being a lot more off-the-cuff than I would have liked.  It should have been shocking and blasphemous, but it felt like Edith going for a roll in the hay with snaggle-toothed, well-hung Mr. G., followed by an invitation to join his canasta club the following Wednesday.

Like I said, it's been years, but that's how I remember it.

I was disappointed that Edith seemed to fall in love with Gerard.  I thought she should have been shown to have been enjoyed the cheap thrills he afforded in the sack, but I inferred her real interest to have been in the powers to which he gave her access.  Seems to make better sense with what we saw of Edith in 1897, but the writers seem to have been going on their usual assumption that we all had amnesia about that.  After all, it had been two years before, and as Ronnie Reagan once sputtered (in a scene that presumably will be snipped out of that troublesome docudrama), "who can remember what they were doing two years ago?"  or two hours ago, Ronnie.

G.

[Raineypark]

I imagine that everyone who has read "The Education of Judith Collins" can't help but be disappointed in the Edith Collins presented in these episodes.  She has only a hint of the cunnning, foresight, ruthlessness or iron-willed determination that the written Edith has in Luciaphil's extraordinary work.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I imagine that everyone who has read "The Education of Judith Collins" can't help but be disappointed in the Edith Collins presented in these episodes.  She has only a hint of the cunnning, foresight, ruthlessness or iron-willed determination that the written Edith has in Luciaphil's extraordinary work.

I certainly understand and can empathize with your POV. Unfortunately I haven't read The Education of Judith Collins, but I have no doubt that it's an extremely well written piece of fan fiction. Everything Luciaphil writes seems to be exceptional. However, perhaps we should keep in mind that Luciaphil's vision of Edith is, of course, her own and may not necessarily reflect that of the DS writers. Perhaps at this point in her life the writers intented Edith to be as vapid as she appears and to be in sharp contrast to the Edith we saw in 1897. Therefore, as complex and full-bodied as Luciaphil's Edith may be, people having read The Education of Judith Collins shouldn't compare the Edith depicted in it to this 1840 Edith and come away disappointed. Any representation of  Edith on the series, no matter how insipid, is the actual way Edith was intended to be seen. 

[Raineypark]

Sorry, but I absolutely disagree.  If someone encounters the written Edith before ever coming upon the series Edith, as I did, the difference between the portrayal of the characters can not help but be disappointing.  Yes, the series Edith, vapid and insipid as she is, is the REAL Edith, the legitimate Edith, the Edith as the writers wanted her to be....but she is still a disappointment in the unavoidable comparison.

If someone were to tell you that after having seen the 1991 version of Dark Shadows , the original came as a terrible disappointment, would you tell them their opinion was unfair...or worse, wrong?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

If someone were to tell you that after having seen the 1991 version of Dark Shadows , the original came as a terrible disappointment, would you tell them their opinion was unfair...or worse, wrong?

Well, no - but because both are officially sanctioned versions of DS. As excellent as much of fan fiction is, it's merely that, fan fiction. Any embellishments we may add are purely of our own invention...

[Raineypark]

Oh....I see.....We're not entitled to compare the 2 and find the series Edith wanting because she's the "officially sanctioned" Series version.  What an astonishing critera to have to consider in the forming of ones opinion on a fictional character......'But has it been officially sanctioned?'

Sorry, but I contend that once you've encountered 2 versions of a character and formed an opinion, it's pointless to suggest that it's "unfair" to favor one over the other.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Oh....I see.....We're not entitled to compare the 2 and find the series Edith wanting because she's the "officially sanctioned" Series version.

I suppose you and I might weigh canon versus fan invention differently, so I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on the issue. 

[Luciaphile]

Eeek.

Well, thanks for the kudos, but MB is right. Education of Judith Collins is just fanfic. Not even a finished fanfic at that. I have a pretty strict definition of canon myself and fanfic doesn't even come close.

That said, I think that the shallowness Edith of 1840 displays still fits with what we are told canonically and what we see of her in 1897. I tried to imply that Edith was pretty vapid in my own version too.

Let's look at where she is prior to Gerard's invite to the "Wednesday canasta club" (love that, btw). She's not exactly had the room to be all she can be. Collinwood ain't her house. Daniel and Samantha have been ruling the roost. Then she's married to Mr. Cheer there.

She's not (and I suspect knows it) an intellectual. I'm also guessing that she doesn't have the clearest idea of what it is she wants out of life other than getting laid, ditching Gabriel, and having some pin money to spend.

My idea, which is up for debate, of course, is that it's only after she gets her powers and presumably [spoiler]survives Gerard's attempt to rid himself of her,[/spoiler] that she starts to realize there's more to be had out of life.

I have never seen her as being particularly smart--shrewd, yes, smart no. On the other hand, when you consider what Edith would have to accomplish to get herself to be head of the family [spoiler]dispatch or immobilize: Quentin, Tad, Daphne; take control of the business; etc.[/spoiler] I would imagine that Edith would have been forced to practice patience, plan out a strategy, etc. Sometimes there are people who don't realize what they have in them until they're forced to act a certain way.

The 1897 Edith is still pretty shallow and kinda mean. She's into pretty, if impractical bed jackets, ordering people around, receiving presents, and being charmed. Sweet old lady doesn't necessarily equal sweet little old lady.