Is Angelique Mentally Ill?

[Brandon Collins]

Personally I don't think any of Angelique's "rivals" really were all too formidable. Perhaps her greatest rival of all was Barnabas--or maybe a better word for him would be her foil. Nevertheless, it seemed to me (and I haven't watched DS in large portions in quite some time so bear with me if I get something wrong and feel free to correct) that whoever Angelique was "sparring" with was only as a result of Barnabas showing interest in this person and Angelique wanting to divert his interest back to her. She always wanted Barnabas dealing with her in some way, whether it was good or bad because at least then she was getting attention from him, even if it wasn't full fledged love like she would have had.

I think Josette's importance in the series only seems to loom large because of Baranbas' undying love for her throughout the centuries. I found Josette herself to be your typical ingenue--she may not have been wimpy per se but she definitely was making decisions or acting as a result of something that someone else did. She never really seemed to make her own decisions because she was always being controlled, whether by the magic of Barnabas and Angelique or by her own father and aunt who were trying to do what was best for her. I always think of Josette as more of a child because she never really had the chance to stand up and say what she really wanted, and her character was written pretty submissively in my opinion.

The only other people who were good opposites for Angelique were Julia and Quentin (when he wasn't out for himself and trying to use Angelique for his own personal gain).

Now that I think about it perhaps the greatest rival of all for her in the entire show was Nicholas Blair because though they were technically on the same side he always managed to keep her under his thumb which annoyed the living daylights out of her (and even kept her out of daylight at one point). For a while there it seemed that no matter what she did to try and act out her own schemes and plans, Nicholas was always a step ahead to stop her from going out of control or thwarting her completely in favor of something he wanted to do.

[michael c]

josette and roxanne were angelique's romantic rivals...

regardless of what one actually thinks of josette as a flesh and blood character she was a "presence" of tremendous importance throughout the series' run. remember "josette lafrenier" appeared soon after the show premiered. she was prominently featured enough in series mythology that whatever the viewer actually thought of her they, and through them angelique, had to recognized her significance.

hence they could get a feeling for angelique's tremendous jealousy around her. it translated to the viewer.

not so with roxanne. the writers just sort of threw it at the audience and expected it to take. it didn't.


so again, watching angelique go through the motions of trying to work herself into a foam over her just goes limp.

[Josette]

I think Josette's importance in the series only seems to loom large because of Baranbas' undying love for her throughout the centuries. I found Josette herself to be your typical ingenue--she may not have been wimpy per se but she definitely was making decisions or acting as a result of something that someone else did. She never really seemed to make her own decisions because she was always being controlled, whether by the magic of Barnabas and Angelique or by her own father and aunt who were trying to do what was best for her. I always think of Josette as more of a child because she never really had the chance to stand up and say what she really wanted, and her character was written pretty submissively in my opinion.

That seems to be the typical reaction to Josette, but I never thought that way.  It's been a long time now, so I don't recall any details, but I remember a scene where she wanted to go to the jail to talk to Vicki, and her aunt (and possibly others) didn't want her to.  But she went anyways.  I think there were a couple of other instances like that, so it seemed to me that she had a more forceful personality than she is generally given credit for.

[DarkLady]

I agree. And then she shows great compassion to Jeremiah after Angelique's spell has worn off and they realize they're pretty much stuck with each other.

[Gerard]

so during 1840 watching angelique try and work herself into a jealous rage over this poorly written and developed character just falls completely flat. it's a dud.

Oh, I so totally agree.  The whole 1840/41 storyline was so dull (save for when Quentin and Samantha had their claws out for each other), it couldn't cut through water.  One of the worst characters was the poorly-developed (if you want to call it that) Roxeanne.  She was such an uninteresting person that I'm surprised Barnabas had any interest in her.  Angelique, rather than doing what she did, should've just told him:  "Go ahead, date her.  Marry her.  When it gets to the point that you're yawning in your coffin, I'll be here, having other fun."  The only good scene involving her was when she had to plead with her brother to have mercy on her when he was "fixing" what Angelique did.  Now, if she had some of that gumption before, maybe she would've been worth the effort.  Roxeanne was such a complete dud, whether in PT1970, NT1970 or 1840.

Gerard

[Cousin_Barnabas]

She never really seemed to make her own decisions because she was always being controlled, whether by the magic of Barnabas and Angelique or by her own father and aunt who were trying to do what was best for her. I always think of Josette as more of a child because she never really had the chance to stand up and say what she really wanted, and her character was written pretty submissively in my opinion.

It's interesting you should say that.  I've always felt Josette was strongest when we saw her in full control of herself... and that happened after she died.  I think you have a really strong character when it comes to the Ghost of Josette, definitely a worthy opponent to Angelique.  And, going off of how strong she was when she was dead, I'd imagine she was pretty strong when alive... We just don't get to see it because she is always falling victim to someone's spell.   

After thinking of her as seen through the eyes of Barnabas, I always think of Ghost Josette.  Pretty powerful force.  They even brought that through to the new film. 

[loril54]

I think the greatest rival was Nicholas Blair, he was someone who knew her, and what she would do. He just let his guard down with her and the Devil.  Her female rival was Julia, who was a friend of BC and that was one thing that Angelique never really got to. Julia and Barnabas, had a relationship at the end that was based on friendship and basic faith on one another. We never really saw where it went.

The scene in 1840 was totally out of character for Barnabas and was a set up for Branwell. It was a big writing mistake. A gimmick.

Barnabas was the reason why Angelique had problems, he was her scape goat. He was her solution for her problems, and he took all the blame. If you blame someone else and you don't look at what you do then you don't get anywhere. Angelique was obsessed with Barnabas her was her rose colored glasses.. To that degree she couldn't see reality and what was really happening.

[IluvBarnabas]

I'm not sure so much that she was mentally ill so much as she was a woman who wanted to be in control. Far be it from me to defend her, but she was a woman who knew what she wanted and was determined to get it and let nothing stand in her way...this would have been admirable if her methods hadn't led to people getting destroyed left and right, which was the case in 1795.

Her desire for revenge...well I am sure we all felt like wanting to right a wrong we felt has been wrong to us. Again, I don't want to sound like I'm absolving Angelique from the evil she inflicted on others, because a lot of her acts were simply too unforgivable. And I think (or hope) that most of us are above hurting others in our quest for revenge but we are after all only human. Angelique was a witch, but she did have human emotions, mostly the wrong ones.

Lara's Angelique and Eva Green's I believe though honestly did love Barnabas in their own, twisted selfish ways. I'm not so sure about Lysette Anthony's however. Lysette's Angelique seemed to me 100 percent pure evil, with no remorse over the death and destruction she causes the Collins family in her quest to get Barnabas. At least [spoiler] Angelique in the original show did show a bit remorse over Jeremiah's death, and she did try to talk Barnabas out of going through with the duel. On the 1991 show, Angelique is absolutely responsible for Jeremiah's demise, by putting the bullet in Barnabas' pistol at the last moment, enabling him to shoot Jeremiah. [/spoiler] Eva Green's interpertation of the role strikes me as almost being mix between Lara's and Lysette's....her Angelique can be cruel and manipulative, but she also demonstrates that her feelings for Barnabas are very much there despite her relentless wrath against him and his family.

As someone who actually enjoys the 1840 storyline and considers it one of the best storylines....I have to concede though that Barnabas' sudden declaration of love is WAY too out there. I can see him growing softer toward her, maybe even forgiving her...Angelique does change through out the storyline, maybe a bit too quickly, but nevertheless she does mellow out. This Angelique apparently had not lived out the events of 1968 and 1897 so I can maybe buy her transformation more easily than others do, but certainly not to the point where Barnabas could ever forget that she was still the woman who destroyed and terrorized his family at different eras of time.