Maude Chardin - Played by Ruth Gordon in the 1971 film Harold and Maude
Fictional American Pensioner
Added to the album by Melanie, A Wonderful Woman
A total inspiration... I LOVE her.
Melanie
I must say, it is a little difficult to write about a character in a film you have never seen. That said, in research for writing this blog post, I've read a lot of reviews of Harold and Maude and have spent the last hour watching clips on YouTube... having done so, I have decided that I must watch the whole film very soon.
The film is centred around the relationship between 79 year old Maude and young Harold, who entertains himself by attending funerals (along with some other rather macabre passtimes). The pair meet at a funeral of a man neither of them have ever met and then become close.
Maude is a wild free-spirited woman, full of youth, despite her advanced years. She is a seize-the-day-type of woman, keen to experience new things, take on adventures and live her life to the extreme. There is no mention of her past in the film, other than a Nazi concentration camp tattoo on her arm... all we see is an aging woman, still intent on having new experiences, meeting new people and living (and dying) at her own pace, in her own way and with absolute vigour and joyful abandon.
To have the strength of mind to accept such freedom of mind is definitely a wonderful thing.
A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. Reach out. Take a chance. Get hurt even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE!
Maude
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