Tank, you are almost as evil as DJ. The whole change of thought between Clark getting axed and Lois getting a haircut is unsettling, to say the least.
Aggh! Clark's axe wound or Lois's pending haircut? Which one is the unkindest cut of all?
Okay, had to get that out of my system - that was so funny! (Seriously, DJ, I feel sorry for Clark, but I'm not worried about him. This is going to be perhaps a 25-parter, so you are not going to kill off Clark in any of the first parts! And not in any of the last ones, either. Honestly, if you do, that's going to earn you the biggest jawdrop that any fanfic story has ever elicited from me!
)
Well, I have only a little time right now, so I have no time for quotes. But, well, your story got me thinking about several things... women marrying very rich men, and women turning down very rich men, and women turning down their intended, often rich, men at the altar.
I once heard a story about an American celebrity - a man, of course - who reached his artistic prime during the first half of the twentieth century. I can't for the life of me remember who it was. Chaplin? Groucho Marx? No, not someone so clownlike. Scott Fitzgerald? Hemingway? No, someone a little meaner, with a more biting wit. Anyway, imagine the following conversation between this male celebrity and a snotty lady:
Male celebrity: Madam, would you sleep with me for a million dollars?
Snotty lady: Do you really have that kind of money, Sir?
Male celebrity: Certainly. Do I take your answer to my question as a yes?
Snotty lady: Well, hmmmm... I think it might be arranged.
Male celebrity: Madam, would you sleep with me for a hundred dollars?
Snotty lady: Of
course not! Insolent man! What do you think I am? A prostitute?
Male celebrity: The fact that you are a prostitute has already been established. Now we are just discussing your rates.
I was told that story in my teens, and ever since then, I've always thought that there is something prostitute-like about women who marry very rich men for their money. Nowadays some of them strike me as... I don't know... pitiful. Anna Nicole Smith... *deep sigh*
I just don't want to think of Lois that way. But you made it very clear, DJ, that Lois didn't
primarily agree marry Lex for his money. Even so, it was a pitiful thing to do, because she clung to him like a lifeboat.
I was very surprised to see Ellen support Lois in her decision to cancel the wedding just hours or less before it was supposed to take place. Most selfish mothers in the world would fight tooth and nail to make sure their daughters didn't let go of such a splendid catch. A billionaire! Most eligible bachelor in the world! When the prospect beckons that your daughter might marry a man like that, then who cares if he is a villain? Who cares if he is a murderer? Money and power, here your daughter comes!
(And if a woman who would marry a rich man for his money could be considered a sort of prostitute, then what does that make the woman's mother who is pushing for the marriage? A pimp?)
Like I said, I was definitely very surprised that Ellen would encourage Lois to cancel the wedding, if she wasn't sure of her feelings for Lex. But you made Ellen's reaction believable, DJ. We can't be sure that Ellen is such a bad person. Who is to say that she wouldn't want to fight for what is best for her daughter, not for what would bring herself the most glamour and money? It could well be that because of Ellen's very bad experience of marriage, she might be anxious that her daughter mustn't suffer because of her husband the way she herself has done.
So I'm glad that Lois came to her senses before she had walked all the way to the altar, but at the same time, I think it's a pity that she didn't get the chance to turn down Lex at the very moment when everybody expects her to give him her solemn vows of love and faithfulness. Nothing -
nothing - could be more humiliating than being turned down at the altar, and Lex deserves that sort of humiliation. (After all, instead of pledging herself to him in front of a lot of witnesses, in the episode Lois got to turn him down in the most public and painful manner possible. "I, Lois Lane, hereby dis you, Lex Luthor, and promise never to have anything to do with you again...."
And if Lois had turned Lex down at the altar, there would have been a lot of witnesses who could have told Clark that Lois really did say no to Lex in front of the minister and all the guests. Now Clark can't know if Lois really turned Lex down or not. There were no witnesses. Maybe the only reason why she didn't marry him was because the police interrupted the whole affair by attempting to arrest him, and then by killing him? No one except Lois (and Ellen?) can tell Clark what really happened between her and Lex. Will he believe Lois? Or will he still think that she prefers Lex over him?
Hmmmm. I can see that this promises to be an angsty ride. Well, it's a great start and a great premise, DJ!
Ann
