My doll Minnie is halfway named after Minnie Beebe, the sensible little niece of the Reverend Beebe in Room with a View (1985).
The real hero in the scene is Mr. Beebe. When Minnie suggests getting away from the Honeychurches, with whom she is staying, Mr. Beebe treats her seriously. No one else does. He replies that hers is an excellent idea, though you expect he'd like to stay with the family––he's half in love with half of them––and off they go.
Such a slight detail––her childish clarity and his granting her full personhood––I love that the filmmakers (Merchant & Ivory) bothered to include it. They could easily have left Minnie out altogether.
P.S. Minnie is a nickname for several names. Minnie Mouse's first name is Minerva.
The real hero in the scene is Mr. Beebe. When Minnie suggests getting away from the Honeychurches, with whom she is staying, Mr. Beebe treats her seriously. No one else does. He replies that hers is an excellent idea, though you expect he'd like to stay with the family––he's half in love with half of them––and off they go.
Such a slight detail––her childish clarity and his granting her full personhood––I love that the filmmakers (Merchant & Ivory) bothered to include it. They could easily have left Minnie out altogether.
P.S. Minnie is a nickname for several names. Minnie Mouse's first name is Minerva.
I don't remember knowing that Minnie Mouse's first name is Minerva. I wonder what that's about? Something fierce about her?
ReplyDeleteBINK: It seems a bit of an odd name for a mouse, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteBut then, it's rarely used--maybe they just wanted it to be "Minnie"?
I looked it up and Minnie Mouse appeared in 1928, and was supposed to be a flapper girl.
The name was still sorta popular at the time:
"Minerva was a Top 500 name through the early 1920s".
I'm glad they didn't leave out Minnie Beebe...since I played her! I've never seen myself in Gif form before, thanks for that!
ReplyDelete