Little Dorrit ending?

[ginevragirl]

I just finished watching Little Dorrit and I absolutely loved every minute of it, but I found myself extremely confused by the ending. Can anyone explain the specifics of the huge massive secret that Mrs. Clennam had been hiding? Lol. I just didn't understand it

Comments

[fairandbright]

I was so confused by it that I had to look up an online copy of the book to figure it out, lol, and that was after Wiki failed me

[adventurat]

Wow, what, really? I TOTALLY didn't get that Arthur wasn't her own offspring, at least not from the television production. I had completely the wrong end of that stick.

[fairandbright]

I was seriously confused too! I think it was partly due to Andy Serkis's French accent, that I couldn't understand the big reveal at all.

Remember when Tattycoram found the box with the papers? It had Arthur's baby booties in there too and other baby stuff he had on him when Mrs. Clennam took him.

I suggest checking out the free e-book online at a place like Project Gutenberg. I just skipped to near the end until I found the reveal, and even then I had to read through it a few times before I understood it! Very convoluted!

[ginevragirl]

oh thank you! that makes so much more sense. For some reason I thought Arthur and Amy were half siblings, and I was even more confused when they got married. LOL. But this makes a lot more sense. Thank you! :)

[myrna_nora]

I think a lot of people were confused by that ending. There are a few boards discussing this at www.imdb.com
But basically the way I understood it was the book and the series were a little different. Mr. Clennam's father (or possibly uncle?) forced him into a marriage for money. Mr. Clennam was unhappy in his marriage and had an affair with a dancer. This produced baby Arthur. Mrs. Clennam found out and took the baby to raise as her own. Arthur's real mother, the dancer, died in poverty. Arthur's father or grandfather (or great-uncle) felt that he had caused this sad situation that ended in the dancer's death. So he left an inheritance for the next child born into poverty at the debtor's prison: Amy. In the book it was an inheritance for the next child born into the Dorrit family, because Amy's uncle Fredrick was the dancer's friend and the only the person who tried to help her.
Hope that is right and not too confusing.

[fioriture]

You can go here if you need additional clarification. Considering that it's a blog dedicated to Dickens, I'd say it's pretty accurate. :D

[litlover12]

I was JUST about to link to that -- thanks, fioriture. :-) I really don't know why the miniseries couldn't have made it a little clearer.

[fioriture]

Haha! Great minds think alike, lol. ;D

Yeah, the miniseries seemed rather rushed at the end. And of course we would understand a minute & a half of explanation, especially since the whole book revolves around this plot. Psht. :X

[thepresidentrix]

Yes, I have nothing to add about the ending, but: I <3 <3 <3 RUSSELL TOVEY!!! (And I enjoy imagining the epic ears our children would have, if you crossed my crazy-ass ear dna with his!)

I'm disappointed that the Emmys had room to nominate two supporting actors from LD and they chose Andy Serkis over Russell Tovey. I know Serkis is the better-known actor in the US, but I'm far from the only person I know who thought Russell Tovey gave the stand-out performance in an outstanding cast, y'know?

[ginevragirl]

I agree. I also think Matthew and Claire deserved to be nominated in the leads categories. I think they were fantastic.

Russell's last scene with Matthew where he told Arthur that Amy loved him absolutely broke my heart for poor John. :( He really was the sweetest guy, and to make sure that she was happy was so amazing, even if he couldn't be with her. <3