"have a way to go" is useful here.
have a way to go, but you'll make it.Mighty Aphrodite · 1995 — Chapter 8 of 15 · 5'13" · B2
Linda Reveals She Gave Up a Child, Explained: a hundred percent definite
Two old wounds surface in one chapter: Lenny learns about Amanda's new gallery from her mother rather than from Amanda, and later Linda admits she gave up a baby for adoption. "I had a kid, Lenny, and I gave him up for adoption" is the confession the whole scene builds toward.
What happens
At an anniversary party, Amanda announces a new gallery, and Lenny is stung to learn it from her mother instead. Later he watches Linda rehearse, argues that she should play a part closer to herself, and she admits she once gave up a child for adoption and still thinks about him every day.
Listen for
Thirty-five yearssay the wrong thinga hundred percent definiteodd part for you to choose
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Phrase of the scene
a hundred percent definite
fully confirmed
She withholds the gallery until certainty.
I won't announce it until it's a hundred percent definite.
Also in this scene
- Thirty-five years
the marriage counted in years
- say the wrong thing
blurt something unwelcome
- odd part for you to choose
a strange role for you to pick
- be an actress
stay in acting or not
- some lucky family
some other family got the child
Everything marked in this scene
29 notes across 100 lines
"kept each other young" is useful here.
Well, we've kept each other young.Practice kept each other with one clear stress group.
Well, we've kept each other young."a lot of work" is useful here.
- It's a lot of work. - What new gallery? A new gallery?fully confirmed
She withholds the gallery until certainty.
No, I didn't tell you 'cause, you know, I don't know until it's a hundred percent definite.until-clause: until holds the news until definite.
No, I didn't tell you 'cause, you know, I don't know until it's a hundred percent definite.Practice tell you 'cause with one clear stress group.
No, I didn't tell you 'cause, you know, I don't know until it's a hundred percent definite."have the backing" is useful here.
- What is the story on this? - It looks like I have the backing, but it's not totally definite."putting in some money" is useful here.
The Dorians are putting in some money, but I-- - Well, don't look so happy about it. - I am happy!"a sore point" is useful here.
and I know that's a sore point, but, you know, it'll be only 'til it gets off the ground."gets off the ground" is useful here.
and I know that's a sore point, but, you know, it'll be only 'til it gets off the ground.Practice it'll be only with one clear stress group.
and I know that's a sore point, but, you know, it'll be only 'til it gets off the ground.as-if clause: The phrase As if he'd done nothing at all!" shapes the meaning of the line.
As if he'd done nothing at all!""asking the wrong person" is useful here.
I-- You know, you're asking the wrong person.for-infinitive: The phrase for you to choose shapes the meaning of the line.
No, no, no. I just thought, you know, it's a very odd part for you to choose."closer to yourself" is useful here.
- What? You pick a part like this-- You should get something closer to yourself. It wouldn't be such a struggle."give it up" is useful here.
- So why'd you give it up? - Well, I don't know."One thing led to another" is useful here.
One thing led to another."make a buck" is useful here.
- But a hairdresser could always make a buck. - A buck?a dollar; a bit of money — Casual cash talk; say dollar when you need to sound formal.
- But a hairdresser could always make a buck. - A buck?relative clause: The phrase someone that cares for you shapes the meaning of the line.
You can meet somebody that you, you know-- You can get a family, have a real life, someone that cares for you."get the hell out of" is useful here.
and get the hell out of the rat race?Practice the hell out with one clear stress group.
and get the hell out of the rat race?"gave him up for adoption" is useful here.
I had a kid, Lenny, and I gave him up for adoption.Practice gave him up with one clear stress group.
I had a kid, Lenny, and I gave him up for adoption."doesn't go" is useful here.
There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't...double negative: The phrase There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't... shapes the meaning of the line.
There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't..."taking good care of him" is useful here.
I just hope to God that they're taking good care of him.money — Chat slang for cash; keep it out of formal writing.
I had no dough. I-I-- I didn't know what to do.Linda Reveals She Gave Up a Child, explained
What's really going on
The chapter pairs two kinds of pain. At the party, the wound is small and domestic: Amanda has good news, but she shares it with everyone except her husband, and Lenny can only say, 'I just would have liked to have known it.' Her reply, that he is insecure, turns his reasonable hurt into his problem. In the second half, the scale changes: Linda, whose life Lenny has been treating as a curiosity, reveals that she gave up a baby, that she does not know who the father is, and that she thinks about the child every day. Her line, 'I had a kid, Lenny, and I gave him up for adoption,' is the real confession the chapter builds toward. The advice he offers her — play a part closer to yourself — is quietly the film's theme about living your own life, and Linda's version of that dream is simply to be a mother.
Theme
MarriageAmanda's secret gallery plan leaves Lenny on the outside, and the wound is about being excluded from the dream.
ParenthoodLinda's confession that she gave up a child reframes her whole life, and her real dream is simply to raise kids.
What you'll learn
- Use give someone up for adoption naturally
- Understand dough, buck, and rat race
- Use get off the ground for a new project
- Hear the regret beneath Linda’s jokes
- Notice how "Thirty-five years" changes the exchange.
Listen for
- kept each other — Practice kept each other with one clear stress group.
- tell you 'cause — Practice tell you 'cause with one clear stress group.
- it'll be only — Practice it'll be only with one clear stress group.
- the hell out — Practice the hell out with one clear stress group.
I had a kid, Lenny, and I gave him up for adoption.The confession the scene builds to: Linda reveals the child she gave away, which explains both her sadness and Lenny's interest in her past.
and get the hell out of the rat race?Her idea of escape: leave the endless competition behind, get married, and live a quiet life instead of surviving on the edges.
It's the sorriest thing I ever did in my entire life.Linda's verdict on giving up her son — the single regret that outweighs everything else she has described.
Yes. I just would have liked to have known it.Lenny's restrained complaint about learning the gallery news from someone else: not anger at Amanda, but hurt at being left out.
I would like to move away and become a mother and just raise kids.Her real ambition stated plainly: not acting, not fortune, only a home and children of her own.
Clint Eastwood doesn't play a meek little hairdresser.Lenny's argument about casting: a person should play to who they are, and even a great star would not choose a role that denies his nature.
Questions about this scene
Why is Lenny upset at the anniversary party?
Amanda announces plans for a new gallery, but Lenny hears about it from her mother instead of from her, so he feels shut out of a decision that affects them both.
Why does Linda get upset at rehearsal?
Lenny judges her part in The Philadelphia Story as a poor fit and tells her to choose roles closer to herself, which pushes her toward admitting she does not really want to act.
What does "the rat race" mean?
It means the endless, competitive struggle of everyday working life. Linda wants to get the hell out of it — to leave that struggle behind for something quieter.
Why did Linda give up her baby?
She says she was confused, had no money, and did not even know who the father was. She calls it the sorriest thing she ever did.
What does Linda really want?
Not a career. She says she would like to move away, become a mother, and raise kids, which is the life she gave up years earlier.
Mighty Aphrodite · 15 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9a way with wordsLinda Asks Lenny for a Favor
Chapter 1out of left fieldLenny and Amanda Debate a Baby
Chapter 2put my foot downLenny and Amanda Name the Baby
Chapter 3old passionLenny and Amanda's Hamptons Fight
Chapter 4Let sleeping dogs lieLenny Wants to Find Max's Mother
Chapter 5in the ballparkLenny Meets Linda Ash
Chapter 6gone straightLinda Tells Lenny Her Backstory
Chapter 7long shotLenny and Linda at the Races
Watching · Chapter 8a hundred percent definiteLinda Reveals She Gave Up a Child
Chapter 9a way with wordsLinda Asks Lenny for a Favor
Chapter 10level with youLenny Negotiates With Ricky
Chapter 11gave up on youLinda Says She's Starting Over
Chapter 12killer instinctLenny Visits the Boxing Gym
Chapter 13drove me up the wallLenny Sets Linda Up With a Farmer
Chapter 14superfluousLinda and Kevin's Blind Date
Chapter 15flew off the handleKevin Blows Up at LennyChapter 8 of 15 · about 23 min to go