Over the years, clients have occasionally asked me who they think represents an ideal woman in the movies. Women have also sometimes asked me who I think an ideal woman is to strive to be like in a relationship and who represents the ideal. Men have also sometimes asked if an ideal woman exists in the movies as well to help them know what to look for and who to choose. I have thought about it and out of all of the women I have seen in the movies, one woman to me represents the ideal woman, wife, and girlfriend. Her name is Iris Gaines in the classic 1984 movie The Natural. Iris is played by Glenn Close and her character represents the classic “girl next door” character about as well as I have ever seen it played. If you have not seen the movie The Natural, I highly recommend that you watch it to see pure feminine love and beauty in action. She is about the closest thing to a perfect woman I have ever seen in a movie.
In The Natural, Robert Redford plays “Roy Hobbs”, a professional major league baseball player for the fictional New York team “the Knights”. In the beginning of the movie, Roy and Iris are neighbors who grow up together and fall in love as teenagers. Instead of staying with Iris, Roy chooses to chase after his childhood dream to become a professional baseball player. He even says at one point in the movie that he dreamed people would see him someday and say, “there goes Roy Hobbs, the best who ever played in this game”. The movie follows Roy and Iris through their off and on relationship until their final reunification. Along their rocky journey and throughout the entire movie, Iris shows strongly why she is such an ideal woman.
Iris, the Ideal Woman:
*When Roy chooses to leave Iris to follow his dream to play professional baseball, he promises he will be back and they will be together. Instead of demanding that he take her with him or that he not go, she says goodbye and lets him go chase his dream. This sense of security and esteem shows she is confident, self-sufficient, and independent enough to handle a split and a separation that would end up being over 15 years. She also supports him following his dream.
*During the next 15 years+, Roy stays away, gets sidetracked in life with problems, and loses his dream of playing professional baseball. He stays away and Iris, a schoolteacher, stays in her Illinois hometown and goes on with her life. She stays single not because she cannot find another man, but because she would only want to be with someone she felt would help make her happy, which she hadn’t found.
*When Roy finally works out his personal issues and gets into major league baseball amazingly as a 35-year-old rookie, Iris hears about this from the newspaper. When Roy’s team the Knights travel to Chicago for a road series, Iris goes to see him play. She has heard he has been in a bad slump that threatens his career and she didn’t want to see him fail. She lets him know she is at the game, wears an angelic white dress, and stands up to support him while at the plate hitting. He sees her, feels her support, and immediately hits a home run to break out of the slump.
*After the game, Roy and Iris take a long walk together and catch up. Iris reveals she is basically happy, has friends, and doesn’t get lonely. She is popular in town and everyone loves her. During their chat, instead of condemning him for leaving her 15 years earlier and acting angry while demanding answers, she listens to his story instead of the hardships he has gone through. She offers caring, empathy, understanding, and support rather than condemnation. She gives him the kindness and listening ear that shows what love and support are all about.
*A love triangle follows where the woman Roy got involved with before reuniting with Iris still wants to be with him, but he warms back up to Iris through her sheer kindness, love, support, and goodness. The other woman, a blonde bombshell “Memo Paris” played by a young Kim Basinger, reveals that she is trouble. Eventually Roy finally chooses Iris over Memo in the movie as the stark contrast between the two becomes clear and obvious over time.
*As the movie proceeds and eventually finds its conclusion, Iris shows her toughness, grit, dedication, and loyalty to Roy when blackmailers try to manipulate her by showing her compromising photos of Roy and another woman from years earlier. She knows that even though Roy has flaws and has made mistakes, he is still a good, quality person inside and refuses to react or reject him. In the end, Iris and Roy fully get back together. This makes for an excellent “happily ever after” story after their many individual and joint challenges, struggles, and hardships.
Final Thoughts:
Please watch The Natural to see loving, feminine power in action. You also may compliment the movie by reading my article valuing femininity too at https://www.ldsdimension.com/articles/valuing-femininity-114/. Men, please search for a woman like this Iris. Women, please strive to be like her as well. Such women are what the world needs more of to make healthy, happy relationships and marriages. Because “…neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”—1 Corinthians 11:11.
Dr. G
P.S. If you can questions, comments, or a future article request for me, feel free to contact me at drgilchrist@yahoo.com.
| 2021-02-22 | Randy Gilchrist | Understanding men, Understanding women, Dating |
About the author
Hello, my name is Dr. Randy Gilchrist (aka "Dr. G"). I am a licensed clinical psychologist, a licensed marriage & family therapist, and a certified hypnotherapist in private practice in Roseville, CA (www.dr-rg.com), practicing since 1997. Also, I am happily married in the temple (Manti) since 1996 and have 4 sons. I am a volunteer writer and contributor to LDS Dimension. I use my training, education, and experience to share insights with LDS Dimension on all things of interest to the LDS dating community. Please read my articles and columns on this site to assist you in your online dating journey. Also, to be considered for an answer in a future Q and A column, please email me your dating/relationship oriented questions to drgilchrist@yahoo.com. Finally, I also offer a powerful, effective worldwide custom hypnosis recording service just for LDS Dimension members for weight loss, pornography, and many other issues of concern to those in the LDS dating community (please learn more now at www.dr-rg.com/lds; email me questions to drgilchrist@yahoo.com).