Re: Valley of the Dolls

Marius Hancu — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:19:10 GMT

3. Accompany

4. She falls in a decline, she is in decline, and her descent is similar to a spiral, stronger and stronger

Valley of the Dolls

Jackson6612 — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:45:37 GMT

Introduction:
Valley of the Dolls is the title of a best selling novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1966. It is widely considered one of the most commercially successful novels of all time. The "dolls" within the title is a slang term for downers, mood altering drugs.

Valley of the Dolls was an instant success when it was first published. Since then it has sold more than 30 million copies. As the first roman Ã clef by a female author to achieve this level of sales in America, it led the way for other authors such as Jackie Collins to depict the private lives of the real-life rich and famous under a veneer of fiction.

Plot Summary:
The novel begins immediately after the end of World War II and chronicles (=recounts) the story of three young women who embark on careers that bring them to the dizzying heights of (=an important position, high level) fame and eventual self-destruction. The three characters are brought together by a fictional play called Hit The Sky. Anne Welles recently arrives from New England with hopes of success in New York City, and she is working for an agency that represents legendary Broadway star Helen Lawson, who stars in Hit the Sky. Neely O'Hara (aka Ethel Agnes O'Neil) is a plucky (=brave and determined) kid with an undeniable talent and a background vaudeville (=type of theatre entertainment). Neely lives downstairs from Anne and uses her friendship with Anne to get a role in the chorus (=group of people who sing together) of the play. Jennifer North, a beautiful blond with limited talent who is squired around by rich men, appears in the play as well. The three women become fast friends, and share a bond of ambition and the tendency to be involved with the wrong men.

Jennifer meets a nightclub singer named Tony Polar. After an ultimatum (=warning, threat), Jennifer finally marries Tony and goes to Hollywood with him. Shortly thereafter, she becomes pregnant. Later she learns that Tony has Huntingon's Disease. Tony's half-sister Miriam explains that Tony's condition is congenital, convincing Jennifer to have an abortion, even though Jennifer had planned to keep the child after divorcing Polar for unfaithfulness. In contrast to the film version (where Jennifer finds herself working in "art movies" to pay Polar's medical bills), Miriam pays Tony's hospital expenses out of his own savings. Jennifer decides independently to perform in French art house films, since she is only highly regarded for her body and is desperate for money owing to her mother's unceasing demands (=her mother keeps asking for more money so that she can party everyday). Jennifer's real ambition is to have children upon whom she will lavish the approval (=give a lot of admiration, affection, or praise) and affection she was denied by her family. Stress and smoking make her an insomniac (=finding difficult to sleep), and she uses titular (=nominal) "dolls" (barbituates (=drug that makes calm and sleep)) sparingly (=using a little of something) as sleep aids. Jennifer returns to the United States after years in Europe, where she gains moderate success as an actress. She meets and falls in love with a Senator. However, she is diagnosed with breast cancer and told she must have a mastectomy (=surgical operation to remove a breast). In bed, her lover unwittingly (=without knowing or realizing) mentions that he loves her breasts and she later commits suicide with an overdose of "dolls".

Neely becomes famous on the Broadway scene, and moves to Hollywood to work in movies. She quickly earns a reputation as demanding, spoiled, and difficult to handle. Despite that fact that her movies earn high returns at the box office, they consistently lose money due to her behavior and long shooting periods. She becomes addicted to the dolls that Jennifer introduced her to, using them to lose weight and to sleep. At one point, Neely says that she is using up to 50 a day. After numerous suicide attempts, a year long black list (=list of things that should be avoided) from the entertainment world and two failed marriages, Anne has Neely committed (=willing to give her time) to a psychiatric hospital. Upon release from the hospital, she works with agent Lyon Burke to revitalize her career and quickly returns to her vicious, arrogant behavior. She begins a relationship with Lyon, despite the fact that he is married to her close friend Anne. Her attraction to the dolls is too strong, and she seems to spiral into a final decline.

Anne fares (=achieves) the best of all three, becoming a highly successful model after a stint (=period of tiime of time spent doing something) as a secretary. Even in her administrative job, her beauty and class are obvious to everyone. Shortly after she arrives in New York, Millionaire Allen Cooper falls for her after only six weeks of dating, and demands her hand in marriage. Anne, not ready to settle down so quickly, repeatedly refuses. Allen does not take no for an answer. During an out of town trip for the debut of Hit the Sky, Anne realizes that she is in love with handsome and charming Lyon Burke, a lawyer at the agency. She has sex with him, and tells Allen the truth. He angrily breaks off the relationship, much to Anne's relief. Her happiness is short-lived when she realizes that Lyon is not ready for a serious relationship with her. She remains in love with him for years, even when she is a successful model in a relationship with an older man. She meets Lyon again and their passion is quickly rekindled (=to have a particular feeling, thought etc again). She and Lyon are married, and Anne has a baby, whom she names Jennifer after her now deceased friend. Lyon continues to have affairs, including one with Anne's close friend Neely. Eventually, Anne falls under the allure (=attraction) of the dolls and uses them to escape the reality of her own life.

Questions:

1: How to pronounce ''Jacqueline Susann''?

2: How to pronounce ''a clef'' in ''roman a clef''?

3: What does ''squired around'' mean?

4: What does ''she seems to spiral in the decline'' mean?

ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: Valley of the Dolls

Valley of the Dolls