Storytelling Output Report

for

"Harold and Maude"

ANALYSIS INFORMATION:

• General Storytelling: Complete
• Act Order Storytelling: Complete
• Character List: Complete
• Build Characters: Complete

Author:		Colin Higgins
Analysis sources:		Film. Paramount Pictures, 1971. (Video. Paramount, 1989.) Higgins, Colin. Unpublished, undated "Original Screenplay." 110 pages. Videohound's Golden Retriever 1995. Visible Ink Press. Detroit, MI. Webster's New Biographical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster Inc. Springfield, Massachusetts. 1988. Magill's Survey of Cinema. Salem Press. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1980. Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster. New York, NY. 1989. Cinemania CD-ROM. Microsoft. 1995.Film
Draft:		Final
Source Material:		Developed from 20-minute UCLA graduate thesis [script by Higgins.](Videohound, p. 460)
Genre:		Black Comedy/Satire
Setting:		Northern California Bay Area
Period:		1971
Analysis by:		Kevin Hindley

Brief Synopsis:

"A dead-pan disillusioned 20-year-old obsessed with suicide and a fun-loving 80-year-old eccentric meet at a funeral (a mutual hobby), and develop a taboo romantic relationship..."

(Videohound, p. 460)

Objective Character Mini-Synopsis:

HAROLD, an introverted rich kid who's bored by life but fascinated with death, invests his imagination in staging fake suicides to get the attention of--

MRS. CHASEN, his mother, who has tired of his antics. She'd like him to take up more normal interests, such as marriage or a career in the military, like--

UNCLE VICTOR, a stiff-upper lipped chap who'd give his right arm for his country, and in fact has. He, like Mrs. Chasen, is opposed to Harold marrying--

MAUDE, a free-spirited older woman who's high on life. She shares her joie de vivre with Harold, but is ready to pass on to a new life, not marry him, which is a relief to--

The hapless PRIEST, who's fixated on thoughts of Harold and Maude making love, as is--

The PSYCHIATRIST, who also fails to understand Harold's love, and especially why he wants to marry his "grandmother."

THE OBJECTIVE CHARACTERS:

Name: Harold

Gender: Male

Description:

"HAROLD, a young man of about twenty, hangs suspended from the ceiling with the curtain rope tied about his grotesquely broken neck."

(Higgins, p.1)

Role: Younger man

Characteristics:

Motivation: Consider; Support; Avoidance; Conscience; Uncontrolled;

Methodology: Induction; Reaction; Probability; Reevaluation;

Evaluation: Result; Effect; Expectation; Ending;

Purpose: Inertia; Actuality; Chaos; Self Aware; Ability;

Name: Maude

Gender: Female

Description:

"A pixiesque old woman, somewhat eccentrically dressed is smiling at [Harold]. It is Maude again."

(Higgins, p.12)

Role: Older woman

Characteristics:

Motivation: Reconsider; Disbelief; Temptation; Help; Feeling;

Methodology: Acceptance; Proaction; Production; Evaluation; Possibility;

Evaluation: Process; Unproven; Non-Accurate; Determination; Unending; Hunch;

Purpose: Change; Thought; Aware; Inequity; Speculation; Desire;

Name: Cop

Gender: Male

Description:

"Cop on a motorcycle watches Maude go by. He follows her and flags her down."

(Higgins, p. 52)

Bearing an uncanny resemblance to top box-office star of the period Burt Reynolds, the cop gets an earful from:

MAUDE

Oh, don't get officious. You're not yourself when

you're officious. That's the curse of a government

job."

(Higgins, p. 57)

Role: Motorcycle Cop

Characteristics:

Motivation: Logic;

Methodology: Nonacceptance; Deduction;

Purpose: Equity;

Name: Mrs. Chasen

Gender: Female

Description:

"a tall, middle-aged, fashionably dressed woman enters and we PAN with her as she walks to the desk. This is MRS. CHASEN."

(Higgins, p.1)

Role: Harold's mother

Characteristics:

Motivation: Oppose; Pursuit;

Methodology: Protection;

Evaluation: Proven; Accurate; Test;

Purpose: Knowledge; Order;

Name: Priest

Gender: Male

Description:

"The PRIEST, a silver-haired man rapidly approaching dotage, is in the pulpit."

(Higgins, p. 11)

Role: Spiritual advisor

Characteristics:

Methodology: Inaction;

Name: Psychiatrist

Gender: Male

Description:

"Harold is lying on a couch, perfectly relaxed. The PSYCHIATRIST, less so, is seated by him."

(Higgins, p. 4)

Role: Harold's psychiatrist

Characteristics:

Methodology: Potentiality; Reduction;

Evaluation: Cause; Trust; Theory;

Purpose: Perception; Projection;

Name: Uncle Victor

Gender: Male

Description:

"UNCLE VICTOR, a bluff, hearty, totally military man, is a one star general with an amputated right arm."

(Higgins, p.10)

Role: Harold's uncle

Characteristics:

Motivation: Faith; Control; Hinder;

Methodology: Certainty;

AUDIENCE AND STORY DYNAMICS APPRECIATIONS:

• Nature as it relates to Apparent Dilemma:

Mother and her helpmates -- the psychiatrist, priest, and Uncle Victor -- want Harold to fit into society like they do. But with Maude's help, Harold realizes that the roles they want him to play are inappropriate for him and chooses to stick with individuality and freedom instead.

• Essence as it relates to Negative Feel:

Harold tries to defuse his mother's influence by shocking her; he also gets rid of the computer dates the same way, by faking suicide; Mrs. Chasen makes excuses for her unconventional son, even filling out the questionnaire herself to ensure more suitable dates; Harold evades the draft by staging Maude's death; Mrs. Chasen replaces Harold's hearse with an E-type Jaguar; etc.

• Tendency as it relates to Unwilling:

Society, controlled by his mother's generation, has no use for Harold's peculiar brand of creativity. Instead, it wants to turn him into a cog in its machine of self-perpetuation, for which he's unsuited.

• Reach as it relates to Both:

Everyone with a beating heart should be able to identify with Harold, a repressed youth dominated by his mother -- and whose creativity and individuality refuses to be snuffed out, bursting through on occasion. His example of the ability to change your situation for the better, with a little help, offers hope to both men and women.

• Resolve as it relates to Change:

Through Maude's influence, Harold loses his obsession with death and destruction and embraces life -- driving his hearse (without him inside of it) over a cliff.

• Approach as it relates to Be-er:

Harold reacts to his mother's domineering ways by pretending to be dead, instead of fighting her or leaving home; when Maude steals his hearse, he passively lets her drive him home; he adapts his new sports car into a hearse like his old one; etc.

• Direction as it relates to Stop:

Harold must lose his fear of change, and stop alienating those who try to get close to him by faking suicide.

• Mental Sex as it relates to Male:

When Harold sees the effect his supposed death has on his mother, he causes it to happen again and again in a bid to get her attention; to avoid being drafted, he causes his uncle to think he has psychotic tendencies.

• Outcome as it relates to Failure:

Mrs. Chasen, the psychiatrist, Uncle Victor, and the priest fail to persuade Harold to adopt a conventional lifestyle that they would feel comfortable with -- and which he would have to pretend to enjoy.

• Judgment as it relates to Good:

Harold learns to love and be loved, to embrace the new (playing the banjo) and to end his fascination with death -- finally driving his hearse over the cliff, destroying it.

• Work as it relates to Decision:

After the Chemistry lab explosion, Harold decided he liked being dead, and took up faking suicide; Mrs. Chasen tells Harold what she's decided to do with his life:

MRS. CHASEN

I only have a few minutes, Harold, but I do want to

inform you of my decision. [...] In short, Harold, I

think it is time you got married.

(Higgins, p. 11)

Mrs. Chasen decides the answers to the dating questionnaire herself; Confronting Maude in the nude, Harold starts to make his own decisions:

MAUDE

Do you disapprove?

HAROLD

Me! No. Of course not.

MAUDE

(she wants the truth)

Really. Do you think it's wrong?

HAROLD

(thinks, decides, reports his conclusion)

No.

(Higgins, p. 34)

Maude decides to end her life, bringing the story to an end.

• Limit as it relates to Optionlock:

Harold exhausts the potential marriage partners his mother supplies, holding out for Maude; Maude feels that she's lived her life to the fullest, and that the options life has left for her are not worth living for, and so she finally chooses death.

THE OBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

"Bud Cort is Harold, a rich, suicidal introvert with a soft, unformed face -- he's 19 but looks younger. Ruth Gordon is poor but spunky Maude, the wizened 79-year-old woman who's like a cheerleader for Life. She lives in a railway car, would like to change into a sunflower, frets over how to save an ailing tree, prankishly steals vehicles and drives crazily; she advises Harold to "reach out." ...Harold reaches out by falling in love with Maude, and their love is consummated on the eve of her 80th birthday...."

(Pauline Kael, in Cinemania)

Backstory:

At the time of the story, many of the "older generation" were troubled by the social upheaval seen in the late 60's and the blossoming of individuality and freedom amongst the "younger generation." Mrs. Chasen's questionnaire responses illustrate this problem:

MRS. CHASEN

"Three - should sex education be taught outside the

home?" I would say No, wouldn't you, Harold?

[...] Is the subject of sex being over-exploited by

our mass media? That would have to be "Yes,"

wouldn't it. [...] "Seventeen - Do you believe churches

have a strong influence to upgrade the general

morality?" - yes, again. [...] "Nineteen - Can God

influence our lives?" Yes. Absolutely yes. [...]

"Do you think the sexual revolution has gone too

far?" It certainly seems to have.

(Higgins, p. 17-19)

• Domain as it relates to Psychology:

Mrs. Chasen and her helpers are concerned with turning Harold around to their way of thinking. Maude shows Harold her upbeat view of life, which includes embracing its end. Harold is concerned because:

HAROLD

I don't think I'm getting through to mother like I used to.

PSYCHIATRIST

Does that worry you?

HAROLD

Yes. It does worry me. [...] I put a lot of effort into

these things.

(Higgins, p. 6-7)

• Concern as it relates to Being:

Everyone wants Harold to live his life in the way they recommend: Mrs. Chasen wants him to marry a nice young woman and drive a nice sports car; Uncle Victor wants him to "take on a man's job" in the Army and die for his country "like Nathan Hale;" the priest wants Harold to marry someone who can give him children; the psychiatrist thinks Harold's "alienation from the regular social interaction" can be isolated and coped with; Maude encourages Harold to embrace life and growth and love, like her.

• Range as it relates to Desire:

Maude is always looking for the new experience; she prefers to end her life at 80 rather than "just marking time;" Mrs. Chasen arranges dates for Harold to make his life more meaningful; Uncle Victor wants to "make a man" of Harold; Harold pretends to enjoy killing, in order to escape the draft; the psychiatrist puts down Harold's desire for Maude as an Oedipus complex, and the priest is sickened by it; Harold wants to marry Maude.

• Counterpoint as it relates to Ability:

Harold's incapable of enjoying a date with the superficial women his mother selects for him; Harold likes playing dead, but -- unlike Uncle Victor -- has no talent for killing people for his country.

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Desire vs. Ability:

Harold's desire to marry Maude is stronger than his ability to satisfy the needs of Mrs. Chasen and her cronies, though he's not skilled enough to prevent Maude from fulfilling her desire to end it all.

• Problem as it relates to Expectation:

Harold expects to keep on keeping on with his morbid way of life, and to continue to shock his mother with his suicides; Mrs. Chasen, Uncle Victor et al, expect Harold to adopt their value system.

• Solution as it relates to Determination:

Mrs. Chasen determines that it's time for Harold to "put away childish things and take on adult responsibilities" -- and get married to a young woman of her choosing.

• Focus as it relates to Trust:

The computer dates trust Harold will be sociable like his mother, but receive a surprise; Mrs. Chasen trusts the dating service because it "screens out the fat and ugly;" Harold trusts in Maude enough to share the new experiences she recommends; the motorcycle cop trusts that Maude will act like a stereotypical "little old lady;" etc.

• Direction as it relates to Test:

Harold tests people's sense of humor and gullibility by faking suicide; Mrs. Chasen gets pre-screened dates from the dating agency for Harold; she fills in the dating questionnaire herself, to get Harold a date suitable to her; the psychiatrist examines Harold's feelings; Harold tests Uncle Victor's limits by "killing" Maude.

• Stipulation as it relates to Conceiving:

As the story progresses, people come up more and more ideas about how to change Harold, and he responds in kind: Harold devises different ways of faking his suicide in an attempt to get his mother's attention; Mrs. Chasen comes up with the dating service idea in an effort to marry Harold off; Harold conceives a way to make his new E-type Jaguar more to his liking; Maude devises a plan to keep Harold out of Uncle Victor's army; Harold finally dreams up a way to kill off his gloomy preoccupations via the hearse.

• Catalyst as it relates to Thought:

Mrs. Chasen thinks it's time for Harold to get married, so she sets up dates for him; the unconventional Maude causes Harold to re-think the conventional viewpoints he's picked up from his mother; Harold's exposure to Maude's positive thoughts on life, growth, and love lead him away from thoughts of death.

• Inhibitor as it relates to Wisdom:

Mrs. Chasen and Uncle Victor apply conventional wisdom to what they see as Harold's problem: institutionalize him, if not in marriage then in the Army; Mrs. Chasen, the priest, the psychiatrist, and Uncle Victor subject Harold to their wise opinions of why he shouldn't marry Maude; Explaining a bit too subtly why she'll be leaving Harold well before the altar, Maude shares with him the wisdom of a maxim she read on the head of a pin:

MAUDE

"And this too shall come to pass away." And the

wise man was right - if you remember that, you

can't help but live life fully.

(Higgins, p. 61)

• Goal as it relates to Being:

Mrs. Chasen, Uncle Victor, the priest, and the psychiatrist all want Harold to live a lifestyle that's, well, more like them. If only he'd marry, preferably to someone capable of procreation, or sacrifice himself for his country -- both of which are anathema to Harold.

• Consequence as it relates to Doing:

Mrs. Chasen feels that unless Harold grows up and takes on a life of responsibility such as she has, she may be subject to more acting out from him; Uncle Victor suspects that Harold's penchant for killing may get him (and the family name) into trouble.

• Cost as it relates to Progress:

Uncle Victor thinks Harold goes a tad too far in his enthusiasm for killing; the psychiatrist's dismayed at Harold's lack of progress; Mrs. Chasen's dating game doesn't turn out as planned; Harold gives up his infantile preoccupation with shocking others and loses his hearse on the way to growing as a human being.

• Dividend as it relates to The Preconscious:

Mrs. Chasen has learned to control her reflexes, no longer as shocked by Harold's suicides as she once was; through seeing Harold's over-reaction to Maude the protester, Uncle Victor's enthusiasm for the killing impulse is softened somewhat; Harold learns that there other ways to respond to Maude's "crimes" than the conventional gut reactions he's absorbed from his mother.

• Requirements as it relates to Conceiving:

Mrs. Chasen conceives of marriage as a way to get Harold to accept responsibility; she then comes up with the dating service as a method:

MRS. CHASEN

It seems to me that as you do not get along with

the daughters of my friends this is the best way for

you to find a prospective wife.

(Higgins, p. 16)

When that fails, she likes the solution proposed by:

UNCLE VICTOR

I'd put him in the Army, Helen.

(Higgins, p. 76)

• Prerequisites as it relates to Learning:

In order to get Harold a suitable computer date, Mrs. Chasen gathers information from him for the questionnaire; the Psychiatrist questions Harold about his friends and activities.

• Preconditions as it relates to The Present:

Mrs. Chasen repeatedly tries to impress upon Harold the necessity of growing up now:

MRS. CHASEN

Really, Harold, you are no longer a child. It's time

for you to settle down and stop flitting away your

talents on these amateur theatrics [...]

(Higgins, p. 9)

MRS. CHASEN

There is no doubt that it is time for you to settle

down and begin thinking about your future. [...]

But it is time now to put away childish things

and take on adult responsibilities.

(Higgins, p. 11)

• Forewarnings as it relates to The Conscious:

Unable to stop Maude's death, Harold considers actually committing suicide as a way out of his troubles -- as highlighted by the soundtrack song: "Trouble... set me free... you're eating my heart away, there's nothing left of me..."

THE SUBJECTIVE STORY THROUGHLINE:

Throughline Synopsis:

Maude "picks up" Harold at one of the funerals they both like to attend -- he's there for the death, she for the change. She's a youthful mind in a tired old body, he a tired old mind in a young body. Maude sets about changing Harold, overwhelming him with the joys of life. He's so impressed he falls in love, but she's already committed -- to death by her own hand.

Backstory:

Harold has led a sheltered life on the family estate, wishing he remembered his father. His only way of getting his mother's attention is to pretend he's dead. Maude understands this:

MAUDE

A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not

dead really. They're just backing away from life.

They're players - but they sit on the bench.

(Higgins, p. 64)

Having experienced everything from royal society to a concentration camp, Maude tries to get Harold to take a more active part in life before hers comes to the end she's planned for.

• Domain as it relates to Physics:

Harold and Maude meet at one of their mutual activities, attending funerals, though with differing motivations: he's fascinated by death and destruction, she's interested in change and the possibilities of rebirth.

• Concern as it relates to Doing:

Harold and Maude's lifestyles intersect through funeral-going, which they both enjoy. For Harold, it's part of his milieu of death: funerals, fake suicide, junkyards, house demolitions. For Maude however, it's one aspect of her interest in growth: funerals, new experiences, dabbling in different artistic endeavors, nature, actual suicide.

• Range as it relates to Experience:

Maude loves trying something new, like driving Harold's hearse:

MAUDE

I like to keep a variety. I'm always looking for the

new experience, like this one.

Maude regales Harold with tales of her experiences in her younger days; he seeks her help when about to be drafted:

MAUDE

With your skill and my experience... I think we can come

up with something.

(Higgins, p. 78)

• Counterpoint as it relates to Skill:

Harold's proficiency at play-acting enables him to outwit Uncle Victor by pretending to be psychotic and killing Maude; Maude's expertise at stealing cars amazes Harold, while he's less impressed with her driving skills; she dazzles him with her adeptness at singing, dancing, playing music, sculpting, painting, etc.

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Experience vs. Skill:

Harold has a few well-developed skills, but little experience. Maude has mastered many skills and gone onto others, and has accumulated a wealth of experience. In fact, she feels that her current life is overshadowed by those past experiences, and decides to move on to another experience -- whatever comes after death.

• Problem as it relates to Expectation:

Having fallen in love with the lively Maude, Harold has built up his expectations of a life together with her, even though she's never encouraged that:

HAROLD

And after dinner, one more surprise...

He puts a tiny ring box on the table.

HAROLD

... which I hope will make you very happy."

(Higgins, p. 97)

• Solution as it relates to Determination:

Maude has determined that the best years of her life are behind her, while Harold's are yet to come:

MAUDE

I mean seventy-five is too early, but at eighty-five,

well, you're just marking time and you may as

well look over the horizon.

(Higgins, p. 13)

Realizing that she's not growing any more, she's taken steps toward change:

MAUDE

I couldn't imagine a lovelier farewell. [...] I took

the pills an hour ago. I should be gone by midnight.

(Higgins, p. 98)

• Focus as it relates to Accurate:

Their different takes on life is what Harold and Maude focus on:

MAUDE

Well, it's all [junkyard operation] very thrilling of

course. but I ask you, Harold . . . Is it enough?

HAROLD

What do you mean?

Maude smiles. And Later--

MAUDE

. . . Harold, what flower would you like to be?

HAROLD

I don't know. Just one of these.

(We see a large field of daisies stretching to the hills.)

MAUDE

(a little perturbed)

Why do you say that?

HAROLD

Because they're all the same.

MAUDE

. . . Oooh, but they are not. . . . all kinds of

observable differences . . . I believe much of the

world's sorrow comes from people who know

they are this--(she holds out the daisy) yet let

themselves be treated--(she looks out at the field)

as that.

(Higgins 39-40)

• Direction as it relates to Non-Accurate:

Harold, influenced by Maude, is learning that life is not just about rules, but about exceptions, especially concerning individuals. He demonstrates this new direction by presenting her with a single daisy in a vase. This direction is futher emphasized by the Cat Stevens' lyrics that play:

"If you want to be free, be free. Because there are a million things to be, you know that there are."

• Stipulation as it relates to Learning:

From Maude, Harold learns the joys of creative expression and individuality; with Maude's death, he learns he can't always have his own way; finally, he puts his learning into practice by getting rid of the hearse (death), and embracing the banjo (life).

• Catalyst as it relates to Enlightenment:

Maude intuits that Harold probably doesn't sing and dance, but also:

MAUDE

I knew we were going to be good friends the

moment I saw you.

(Higgins, p. 21)

Unlike his psychiatrist, Maude is able to discern the reasons behind Harold's suicide game, and suggest an alternative:

MAUDE

Reach out! Take a chance! Get hurt maybe.

But play as well as you can.

(Higgins, p. 64)

• Inhibitor as it relates to Knowledge:

The conventional ideas that Harold has absorbed from his mother put him in conflict with Maude's behavior:

HAROLD

But when you take these cars don't you think

you are wronging the owners?

(Higgins, p. 22)

When the nude Maude asks him if he disapproves, Harold has to think about it before answering; he's reluctant to dig up the tree:

HAROLD

But we can't just dig it up!

MAUDE

Why not?

HAROLD

But this is public property.

MAUDE

Exactly.

(Higgins, p. 43)

Harold's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Younger man

Description:

"HAROLD, a young man of about twenty, hangs suspended from the ceiling with the curtain rope tied about his grotesquely broken neck."

(Higgins, p.1)

Throughline Synopsis:

Harold's social life revolves around rituals of death. He attends funerals, visits automobile graveyards, watches buildings come down, and shocks his domineering mother with his fake suicides. Evading eligible women his own age, he's intrigued by Maude, who infects him with a love for life -- and for her. She helps him dodge the draft, but also dodges his plans to marry her by committing suicide. Harold, now fascinated with life not death, carries on her spirit.

Backstory:

Harold's mother attributes his weirdness somewhat to his father:

MRS. CHASEN

Of course, Harold's father had a similar sense

of the absurd. I remember once in Paris he

stepped out for cigarettes and the next I hear

he's arrested for floating nude down the Seine

- experimenting in river currents with a pair of

rubber waterwings

(Higgins, p. 3)

After smoking Maude's pot, Harold recalls his mother learning that he died in the Chemistry lab explosion:

HAROLD

She began to sway. She put one hand to her

forehead. With the other she reached out, as

if groping for support. Two men rushed to

her side and then - with a long, low sigh -

she collapsed in their arms.

(pause) I decided then I enjoyed being dead.

(Higgins, p. 64)

• Domain as it relates to Mind:

Because of his one-time success at making his mother believe him dead, Harold is fascinated by the world of death and decay: funerals, junkyards, house demolitions, driving a hearse, faking suicide.

• Concern as it relates to The Preconscious:

Emotionally numb himself, Harold gets his kicks by provoking knee-jerk responses from others to his bogus suicide attempts and "killing" of Maude.

• Range as it relates to Worth:

Largely ignored by his mother, Harold lacks feelings of self-worth. When he sees his mother's responsiveness to his untimely death in the Chemistry lab, he feels more valuable dead -- and continues to re-enact his death to gain her attention.

• Counterpoint as it relates to Value:

The qualities valued by the older generation around him -- conformity, serving one's country, marrying one's own kind, etc. -- hold little meaning for Harold. He mocks their death taboo by driving a hearse, attending funerals for fun, and playing dead.

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Worth vs. Value:

In Maude, Harold meets another person who disrespects traditional values, someone who favors spiritual enrichment instead. She encourages Harold to recognize his own individuality and find self-esteem in it.

• Problem as it relates to Expectation:

The expectations people (Mother, psychiatrist, etc.) have for Harold creates problems for him.

• Solution as it relates to Determination:

Harold needs to figure out, as Maude tells him in her dying words, that what he really needs is not to marry her but to embrace life and:

MAUDE

Go - and love some more.

(Higgins, p. 100)

• Focus as it relates to Ending:

Harold attends funerals, drives a hearse, visits junkyards, watches buildings come down; he repeatedly pretends to end his own life; he pleads with the dying Maude not to leave him:

HAROLD

Maude, please. Don't die. I couldn't bear it.

Please, don't die.

(Higgins, p. 99);

prompted by Maude ending her life, he destroys the hearse.

• Direction as it relates to Unending:

Harold endlessly stages his own suicide; though he tries, he can't stop his mother from meddling in his affairs; etc.

• Stipulation as it relates to The Conscious:

On the psychiatrist's couch, Harold ponders what he would have liked to have done together with his father; he mulls over the number of suicides he's performed:

HAROLD

Well, some worked out better than others - some

had to be abandoned in the planning stages -

do you include the first time? - then there's the

question of maiming...

(Higgins, p. 5)

He deliberates to discover what he really thinks when the nude Maude asks him if he disapproves; stoned on pot, he reflects on blowing up the school Chemistry lab; he drives around recklessly, contemplating the meaning of Maude's suicide.

• Unique Ability as it relates to Worth:

If Harold was able to find qualities in the young women he dates that held some personal value to him, he might well marry one of them and make everyone happy. As his proposal to Maude shows, he's not opposed to the institution of marriage -- it's just that her values and beliefs mean more to him than those that are generally accepted by society.

• Critical Flaw as it relates to Fact:

Fact as a critical flaw works two ways in Harold and Maude. The fact that Harold's mother and her retinue cannot not change Harold to be more like them, undermines their efforts to change him; the fact that Harold still lives under his mother's roof undermines his efforts to freely be who he wants to be.

Maude's THROUGHLINE:

Role:

Older woman

Description:

"A pixiesque old woman, somewhat eccentrically dressed is smiling at [Harold]. It is Maude again."

(Higgins, p.12)

Throughline Synopsis:

A lively 79-year-old who's done just about everything worth experiencing, Maude (aka Dame Marjorie Chardin) has firm plans to end her life on her 80th birthday. Preparing for her future by visiting funerals, she takes the repressed Harold under her wing and transfers her lust for life to him before expiring.

Backstory:

Maude tells Harold of her good old days as a political activist, fighting for:

MAUDE

Oh, Big Issues. Liberty. Rights. Justice.

Kings died and kingdoms fell. I don't regret

the kingdoms - what sense in borders and

nations and patriotism - but I do miss the

kings. When I was a little girl I was taken to

the palace in Vienna, to a garden party. I can

still see the sunshine, the parasols, and the

flashing uniforms of the young officers.

I thought then I would marry a soldier.

(Higgins, p. 46)

• Domain as it relates to Universe:

Unlike Harold's parents' repressive generation, Maude lives her life freely and fully, regardless of her advanced age. Mrs. Chasen et al regard her as decrepit and useless, but her wisdom and insight enable her to emotionally connect with Harold, bringing him out of his shell.

• Concern as it relates to Progress:

Maude's character is strongly committed to change, following in the footsteps of her namesake, philosopher Teilhard de Chardin, "known for [his] theory that man is presently evolving, mentally and socially, toward a final spiritual unity." (Webster's, p. 975) As she tells Harold at a funeral:

MAUDE

It's all change. All revolving. Burials and births.

The end to the beginning and the beginning

to the end - the great circle of life.

(Higgins, p. 21)

• Range as it relates to Fantasy:

Maude's accentuating of the positive causes Harold to give up his staging of fake suicides; she's such an influence on young Harold that he falls in love with her, laboring under the illusion that she'll want to marry him just as he does her.

• Counterpoint as it relates to Fact:

The one thing Maude is certain about, and which she keeps obliquely hinting at throughout the story, is that:

MAUDE

I'll have to be giving it all up after Saturday.

(Higgins, p. 37)

• Thematic Conflict as it relates to Fantasy vs. Fact:

While Maude's sense of reality helps Harold grow out of his "childish things," the absoluteness of her expiration date destroys his fantasy of marriage to her.

• Problem as it relates to Ending:

Though her spirit seems inexhaustible, Maude's body is feeling the ravages of old age:

MAUDE

Greet the dawn with the Breath of Fire! (the

demonstration leaves her a little winded) Of course,

there's no doubt the body is giving out. I'm well

into autumn.

(Higgins, p. 37)

If only she could change into a sunflower:

MAUDE

They grow and bloom, and fade, and die, and

change into something else. Ah, life!

(Higgins, p. 39)

• Solution as it relates to Unending:

Maude has chosen her 80th birthday as the occasion upon which to end her earthly existence, and continue in the spiritual afterlife:

MAUDE

But, Harold, we begin to die as soon as we are born.

What is so strange about death? It's no surprise.

It's part of life. It's change.

(Higgins, p. 99)

• Focus as it relates to Trust:

Maude has great faith in the laws of nature and its cycle of life and death, and no trust in the artificial rules and laws of society, which she largely disregards. Thus she believes she's doing the natural, right thing by choosing her own expiration date.

• Direction as it relates to Test:

Maude has endured the trials of life, including time in a concentration camp, and now tests Harold's mettle and his senses: she queries his approval of her nudity before showing him her rape paintings; she provokes him into getting physically involved with the sculpture; she involves him in the tree-stealing caper, defying an armed cop.

• Stipulation as it relates to The Present:

Maude enjoys living in the moment while referring to the growth she's making towards her chosen fate of death: in the greenhouse, she "loves to watch things grow"; she's saddened that she doesn't use the umbrella anymore, as "that was all... before..."; in the forest she likes the feel of soil, as "The earth is my body"; she consigns Harold's gift to a watery grave, so "I'll always know where it is."

• Unique Ability as it relates to Fantasy:

By showing Harold the wonders of her fantasy-filled life and returning his love, Maude presents him with new possibilities of enjoying life -- and an alternative to his imaginary suicides.

• Critical Flaw as it relates to Value:

Flouting the traditional values of law and order, Maude's antics -- "liberating" a courthouse tree, reckless driving without a license, "borrowing" other's cars, stealing the cop's motorcycle, etc. -- almost get her arrested.

ACT PROGRESSIONS:

The Objective Throughline Act Order:

• Objective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Conceiving:

Mrs. Chasen comes up with the idea of marriage as a way to end Harold's amateur theatrics, while Uncle Victor "sees a little Nathan Hale" in Harold; the psychiatrist tries to apply his theories to Harold's activities.

• Objective Story Journey #1 from Conceiving to Conceptualizing:

Dismayed by Harold's alienation of the first computer date by self-immolation, Mrs. Chasen further asserts her domination by taking away his favorite hearse.

• Objective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Conceptualizing:

Mrs. Chasen envisions a nice E-Type Jaguar as being more suitable for her son, and presents him with one; Harold visualizes improvements to the Jaguar, and carries them out by converting it to a hearse.

• Objective Story Journey #2 from Conceptualizing to Becoming:

Having exhausted his mother's supply of dates and outwitted Uncle Victor's draft attempt, Harold finds someone to love, and love him, in Maude.

• Objective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Becoming:

Harold's transformed into someone capable of love, announcing his intention to marry Maude; Mrs. Chasen et al change their mind about Harold marrying, opposed to Maude as the bride.

• Objective Story Journey #3 from Becoming to Being:

Depressed by everyone's rejection of Maude, and by Maude's preference of the afterlife over him, Harold runs wild in a confused state.

• Objective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Being:

When Mrs. Chasen hears of Maude's age she demands Harold to "Be reasonable" (Higgins, p. 95); Harold acts like he really is suicidal, driving recklessly along the clifftop in the Jaguar.

The Subjective Throughline Act Order:

• Subjective Story Signpost #1 as it relates to Doing:

Harold meets Maude while attending funerals, intrigued by her eccentric activities such as painting smiles on saint statues and borrowing the priest's car.

• Subjective Story Journey #1 from Doing to Obtaining:

Harold shows Maude the joys of demolition and junkyards, while she suggests plants are more interesting, especially the individuals.

• Subjective Story Signpost #2 as it relates to Obtaining:

Maude obtains a new lease of life for the stolen courthouse tree, risking arrest and even being shot to get something she wants.

• Subjective Story Journey #2 from Obtaining to Learning:

After helping Maude save the tree, Harold expresses his true feelings for the first time, with a little help from one of Maude's plant friends.

• Subjective Story Signpost #3 as it relates to Learning:

Maude teaches Harold about freedom, encouraging him to perform cartwheels and yodel.

• Subjective Story Journey #3 from Learning to Understanding:

Defeating Victor's Army together brings Harold and Maude closer. They make love -- his first and her last -- and Harold overestimates the power of his love.

• Subjective Story Signpost #4 as it relates to Understanding:

Harold pours his heart out to the dying Maude:

HAROLD

Don't you understand? I love you. I love you!

(Higgins, p. 100)

He drives around recklessly trying to understand the import of Maude's final act.

The Main Character Throughline Act Order:

• Main Character Signpost #1 as it relates to The Subconscious:

Harold's innermost desires are probed for by the psychiatrist:

PSYCHIATRIST

But tell me, what do you do for fun? What activity

gives you a different sense of enjoyment than the

others? What do you find fulfilling?

What gives you that certain satisfaction?

HAROLD

I go to funerals.

(Higgins, p. 8)

• Main Character Journey #1 from The Subconscious to Memory:

His eyes opened to the possibilities of life by Maude, Harold starts to tap more into his basic drives and desires.

• Main Character Signpost #2 as it relates to Memory:

Stoned on pot, Harold remembers the times he's "killed himself," regretting that:

HAROLD

I haven't lived. I've died a few times. [...]Partly

because of the pot, but mostly because he has found

a friend, Harold opens up for the first time in his life.

(Higgins, p. 61-62)

• Main Character Journey #2 from Memory to The Preconscious:

Released from his inhibitions and captured by love, Harold's optimistic about doing sex and drugs and rock'n'roll with Maude till death do they part.

• Main Character Signpost #3 as it relates to The Preconscious:

Smitten by his love for Maude, Harold rushes out and impulsively buys a wedding ring for Maude -- assuming that that's what she wants -- and springs the news on her at a surprise birthday party.

• Main Character Journey #3 from The Preconscious to The Conscious:

Shocked by Maude's suicide, Harold is at a loss about what to do with his own life.

• Main Character Signpost #4 as it relates to The Conscious:

Harold considers Maude's parting words as he drives his hearse around crazily, contemplates suicide, and thinks better of it.

The Obstacle Character Throughline Act Order:

• Obstacle Character Signpost #1 as it relates to The Present:

Maude lives life in the moment, eating licorice and apples at funerals, and considering her present mortality:

MAUDE

I'll be eighty next week. A good time to move on,

don't you think?

(Higgins, p. 13)

• Obstacle Character Journey #1 from The Present to The Past:

Intrigued by the withdrawn young Harold, Maude shares her lifestyle with him and enlists his help in liberating a life -- that of a tree.

• Obstacle Character Signpost #2 as it relates to The Past:

After coming across her umbrella, Maude discusses her past:

MAUDE

Oh, that's just a relic. I found it when I was packing

to come to America. It used to be my defense on

picket lines and rallies and political meetings -

being dragged off by police or attacked by thugs

of the opposition. A long time ago. [...] But, that

was all... before...

Maude stares into the fire. She suddenly seems very small and fragile. Harold notices the change that has come over her and is not sure what to say.

(Higgins, p. 47)

• Obstacle Character Journey #2 from The Past to Progress:

Maude helps Harold in his quest to dodge the draft, and accepts his newfound love for her.

• Obstacle Character Signpost #3 as it relates to Progress:

A happy Maude takes a fateful step into the unknown:

MAUDE

I took the pills an hour ago. I should be gone by midnight.

• Obstacle Character Journey #3 from Progress to The Future:

Touched by his commitment to her, Maude sets Harold free to love again by freeing her own attachment to her earthly body.

• Obstacle Character Signpost #4 as it relates to The Future:

Maude wishes Harold much happiness in the future:

MAUDE

Oh! That's wonderful, Harold. Go - and love some more.

(Higgins, p. 100)

However, she can't accept the nurse's blessing:

MAUDE

[I'm] Eighty. It's my birthday.

STUDENT NURSE

Oh, many happy returns.

MAUDE

No. I don't think so.

(Higgins, p. 102)

Miscellaneous Other Storytelling Items:

All Concerns:

While the people surrounding Harold pressure him to lead a life like theirs, he's content to get a rise out of them by shock tactics -- fake suicides and killing. At a funeral he meets Maude, a creature of change, who shows him that life -- and death -- are part of the same thing, growth.

Master Plot Synopsis:

"The son [Harold] of a wealthy woman [Mrs. Chasen] lacks friends and receives little attention from his mother. His frequent depressions cause him to stage more and more elaborate pranks (fake suicides by hanging, self-immolation, etc.), none of which impress his mother who is involved with everyone and everything else. Fascinated by funerals, Harold has an old hearse which he drives to various cemeteries. At two successive services, he meets a seventy-nine-year-old woman [Maude] who shares his penchant for death. She is a memorable character with a great passion for life, no guilt, and more than a few aphorisms. Harold and Maude become great pals and she instills in him a desire to live, to spread his wings, and to enjoy his brief time on earth. As time passes, they share several adventures, including stealing a car, crashing through toll gates, and stealing a tree and replanting it in a forest where it can grow among friends. They are very happy with each other, except for the moments when concentration camp survivor Maude speaks of her late husband and becomes teary. Mrs. Chasen thinks that Harold should be married and has three women, chosen by computer, come to the estate. Harold frightens off the women..., and shows no interest in any woman besides his octogenarian buddy. Mrs. Chasen enlists [Harold's] military uncle [Victor] to get Harold into the service, but the plan is foiled with Maude's help as Harold pretends to be so sadistic that even Uncle Victor finds it unpalatable. Harold and Maude make love, and he plans to marry her despite the protests of Mrs. Chasen, Uncle Victor, a priest..., and a psychiatrist.... Maude, true to her free-spirit philosophy, celebrates her eightieth birthday by happily saying goodbye to her friends and then taking a fatal dose of sleeping pills. Harold is so stunned that he drives his hearse to a cliff. About to leap, he takes Maude's advice to heart, picks up his banjo and dances up a hill in the final scene."

(Cinebooks Motion Picture Guide, in Cinemania)

Master Theme Synopsis:

"[Director Hal Ashby] balances the two seemingly contradictory but interrelated themes of the film: life is to be lived and enjoyed and yet it will ultimately end in death. The delicacy with which he delineates these themes gives the viewer a sense of the rhythm of life, along with an acknowledgment that death is an integral part of life. Death need not be dreaded if, in fact, life has been lived well and to the fullest. [...] The forces of society that are inclined to straitjacket us are weighed against the value and dignity of human life. In effect, the film encourages the viewer to examine the possibilities of his own life. Rather than accepting the preformulated definitions and answers handed down by traditional authorities, the film urges the viewer to experiment and then savor the results."

(Isabel O'Neill, in Magill's, p. 718)

Subjective Character Synopsis:

Maude likes to save lives, liberate them to live their full potential -- she used to set canaries free from pet shops, she rescues asthmatic trees, etc. In Harold, she sees one final challenge -- to bring the maudlin Harold from darkness into light, where he may flourish. Harold's endeared by Maude's non-judgmental free spirit, and her rebellion against the values that have been rammed down his throat. Maude is somebody he can love and be loved by, unconditionally. The tragedy is, in her case self-sacrifice has come to mean sacrifice of her earthly body in order to get on with the rest of her existence, the spiritual life.

Master Character Synopsis:

Mrs. Chasen, a wealthy single mom, heads up a posse of authoritarian figures -- priest, psychiatrist, army general, cop -- conspiring to make Harold fit into their system of conservative values, God and country being at the fore. The somewhat Freudian psychiatrist aims to normalize Harold out of his death fixation and into something healthier -- like the marriage to a young woman his mother seeks. But Harold's not attracted to the vapid young women he's presented with. Neither does he wish to sacrifice himself for his Uncle Victor's army of killers. It's freewheeling Maude to the rescue. Imbued with the philosophy of her namesake, Teilhard de Chardin -- "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual being having a human experience" (Covey, p. 319) -- she saves Harold's soul for better things, such as love, individuality, and freedom, while transporting her own soul to another place.