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Mighty Aphrodite · 1995 — Chapter 6 of 15 · 2'52" · B2

Linda Tells Lenny Her Backstory, Explained: gone straight

Over a meal, Lenny coaxes Linda through her life story: a string of stepfathers, a criminal birth father, running away at fourteen, and years of drifting. The funniest line is also the saddest — "And for years I thought it was because of my cooking." The interview turns serious when she admits she once had a child.

What happens

Lenny takes Linda to a restaurant and steers the conversation to her past. She describes a chaotic childhood, a series of fathers, her time drifting and doing sex work, and the moment she decided she wanted to act. Lenny keeps hunting for a gifted relative, and finally asks whether she ever wanted a child.

InterrogationsFirst datesAskingConfessingStrangersB2fastamerican
IMDb ↗

Listen for

get alongdoughgone straightfor years

00:00 / 02:52
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  14. ❝ MonologueFrom running away to the first job20 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

gone straight

left crime for a legal life

Genius is imagined only if he had gone straight.

He could have gone straight after the first arrest.

Also in this scene

  • get along

    be on decent terms

  • dough

    money

  • for years

    for a long stretch of time

  • asshole

    a contemptible man

  • turn a few tricks

    do sex work now and then

Everything marked in this scene

27 notes across 59 lines

Phrase · B1moved in

"moved in" is useful here.

I mean, I don't know if she married him, but he moved in.
Grammar · B1if she married him

embedded if-clause: The phrase if she married him shapes the meaning of the line.

I mean, I don't know if she married him, but he moved in.
SoundI don't know

Practice I don't know with one clear stress group.

I mean, I don't know if she married him, but he moved in.
Phrase · B1get along

be on decent terms

The stepfather is dismissed in two beats: no peace, drunk.

We didn't get along. He was a disgusting drunk.
Phrase · B1and stuff

"and stuff" is useful here.

He picked pockets and, you know, he burgled and stuff.
Slang · B1and stuff

and so on — Casual list-ender; skip it in formal writing.

He picked pockets and, you know, he burgled and stuff.
Soundran away when

Practice ran away when with one clear stress group.

I'm very hungry, actually. Um, so then I ran away when I was 14.
Phrase · B1All over the place

"All over the place" is useful here.

All over the place. And I ended up here.
Phrase · B1Now and then

"Now and then" is useful here.

Now and then I would, you know, turn a few tricks in order to make some dough.
Phrase · B1in order to

"in order to" is useful here.

Now and then I would, you know, turn a few tricks in order to make some dough.
Soundin order to

Practice in order to with one clear stress group.

Now and then I would, you know, turn a few tricks in order to make some dough.
Slang · B2dough

money — Informal; fine among friends, not on forms.

Now and then I would, you know, turn a few tricks in order to make some dough.
Slang · C1turn a few tricks

do sex work now and then — Euphemism for prostitution; do not use about someone lightly.

Now and then I would, you know, turn a few tricks in order to make some dough.
Grammar · B2because I'd never done it in front of people with a camera before

past perfect: The phrase because I'd never done it in front of people with a camera before shapes the meaning of the line.

because I'd never done it in front of people with a camera before, you know.
Sounddone it in

Practice done it in with one clear stress group.

because I'd never done it in front of people with a camera before, you know.
Slang · C1fucking

having sex (crude) — Very vulgar; stay inside the film's register.

And there's this guy fucking me from behind, right?
Phrase · C1gone straight

left crime for a legal life

Genius is imagined only if he had gone straight.

But if he had gone straight, he might have been very good in math.
Grammar · C1if he had gone straight

past unreal conditional: A past that did not happen: gone straight, then math.

But if he had gone straight, he might have been very good in math.
Slang · B2lowlifes

scummy, worthless people — Harsh insult; it marks contempt.

I think I got my intelligence from him, because everybody else in the family is all slugs and lowlifes.
Slang · B2assholes

jerks; bastards — Vulgar insult; keep it out of polite rooms.

What for? They're all assholes.
Phrase · B1let me ask you this

"let me ask you this" is useful here.

And-- And let me ask you this.
Phrase · B2to have a child

"to have a child" is useful here.

At any point in your life did you ever think, like, "Maybe I'd like to have a child"?
Soundever think

Practice ever think with one clear stress group.

At any point in your life did you ever think, like, "Maybe I'd like to have a child"?
Grammar · B2I-I did have a child once

emphatic do: The phrase I-I did have a child once shapes the meaning of the line.

Um, I-I did have a child once.
Phrase · B1know you better

"know you better" is useful here.

I'll tell you some other time when I know you better.
Grammar · B1when I know you better

future time clause: Present know marks a future closeness.

I'll tell you some other time when I know you better.
Soundknow you better

Practice know you better with one clear stress group.

If I ever know you better.

Linda Tells Lenny Her Backstory, explained

What's really going on

The scene is an interview disguised as a date, and Linda's monologue does the work of both. Her backstory is a list of disasters delivered almost cheerfully, and her jokes land where the pain is: she thought her stepfather killed himself because of her clam sauce, and she found her calling as an actress in the middle of a porn shoot. Lenny barely hears any of it as human suffering; he is mining for a genetic explanation of Max, which is why he keeps steering back to gifted relatives and finally to the question of a child. "If I ever know you better" is Linda's line, and it quietly reproaches him: she gives him her whole history, and he still treats her as a source.

Theme

IdentityLinda narrates her life as a string of labels — stepfathers, crimes, sex work — while Lenny wants only her genes.
ClassHer chaotic, criminal family is the world that produced Max, and Lenny treats it as breeding stock.

What you'll learn

  • Use get along to describe relationships
  • Catch the euphemism in turn a few tricks
  • Use in order to to express purpose
  • Retell a life story in the past tense
  • Notice how "get along" changes the exchange.

Listen for

  • I don't know — Practice I don't know with one clear stress group.
  • ran away when — Practice ran away when with one clear stress group.
  • in order to — Practice in order to with one clear stress group.
  • done it in — Practice done it in with one clear stress group.
And for years I thought it was because of my cooking.

Linda's joke about her stepfather's suicide: she blamed her clam sauce for years, which turns a family tragedy into a casual aside.

And I remember thinking to myself, "I like acting. I wanna study."

Her account of how she got into film: even in the middle of a porn shoot, she decided she wanted to act, which is both absurd and sincere.

If I ever know you better.

Her cautious, slightly wounded answer to his promise to finish the story later — she doubts the relationship will go that far.

But if he had gone straight, he might have been very good in math.

Her attempt to claim a gifted relative for Lenny: the brilliant uncle was a serial rapist, but he might have been good at math.

What for? They're all assholes.

Linda's blunt answer about marriage: she sees no point, because the men she has known have all treated her badly.

Questions about this scene

Why does Lenny ask Linda about her family?

He is looking for an explanation for Max's gifts. If the birth mother's family includes a genius, that would account for the boy, so he presses her on relatives.

What does Linda reveal about her relatives?

Her birth father was a criminal, and the one supposedly brilliant relative was her father's brother, a serial rapist who spent his life in jail but might have been good at math.

What does "gone straight" mean?

It means to stop committing crimes and live lawfully. Linda uses it to imagine what her jailed uncle might have done with his intelligence.

Why does Linda stop telling her story?

When Lenny asks whether she ever wanted a child, she says she did have one, calls it a sad story, and refuses to go further until she knows him better.

Does Linda want more with Lenny?

She is guarded. Her line that she will tell the rest 'if I ever know you better' suggests she doubts he will stick around long enough to hear it.

Mighty Aphrodite · 15 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 7long shotLenny and Linda at the Races
Chapter 1out of left fieldLenny and Amanda Debate a BabyChapter 2put my foot downLenny and Amanda Name the BabyChapter 3old passionLenny and Amanda's Hamptons FightChapter 4Let sleeping dogs lieLenny Wants to Find Max's MotherChapter 5in the ballparkLenny Meets Linda AshWatching · Chapter 6gone straightLinda Tells Lenny Her BackstoryChapter 7long shotLenny and Linda at the RacesChapter 8a hundred percent definiteLinda Reveals She Gave Up a ChildChapter 9a way with wordsLinda Asks Lenny for a FavorChapter 10level with youLenny Negotiates With RickyChapter 11gave up on youLinda Says She's Starting OverChapter 12killer instinctLenny Visits the Boxing GymChapter 13drove me up the wallLenny Sets Linda Up With a FarmerChapter 14superfluousLinda and Kevin's Blind DateChapter 15flew off the handleKevin Blows Up at Lenny
Chapter 6 of 15 · about 32 min to go