Did John Book sleep with Rachel Lapp?
- Thread starter Eoghan
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Jack K
Puritan Board Doctor
I don't think there is a book, unless it came after the movie. The film won an Oscar for Original Screenplay.
In the movie, John Book specifically mentions that he didn't sleep with Rachel, telling her that if he had it would have messed up life for both of them or something like that. You're right that consequences seems to be all that stopped them. And it suggests Rachel took a very secular approach to the whole thing, which is unrealistic and a shallow way to handle her character in that situation. There's much I like about the film, but how it handled this element was weak.
In the movie, John Book specifically mentions that he didn't sleep with Rachel, telling her that if he had it would have messed up life for both of them or something like that. You're right that consequences seems to be all that stopped them. And it suggests Rachel took a very secular approach to the whole thing, which is unrealistic and a shallow way to handle her character in that situation. There's much I like about the film, but how it handled this element was weak.
Galatians220
Puritan Board Post-Graduate
I'm a big fan of this movie. I think it was intended by Earl Wallace and William Kelly, who wrote the screenplay, that the audience conclude that Book and Rachel never did consummate their romance. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witness_(1985_film). Due to my husband's farm projects around here and his contacts with Amish carpenters, we have befriended some Amish people who live just outside of Coldwater, MI. We've been to their home and they gave us a tour of their farm... They're warm and friendly, and if one of the young ladies were to feel and act just as Rachel Lapp did in "Witness," I wouldn't be surprised at all. That ex-Amish settlement in Columbia, MO that's depicted on cable shows Amish people in a good light - and a human one as well. I don't think the movie fails with regard to the Book-Rachel plot. The movie makes me wistful for the lack of real Christian community around here, in contrast to Amish people everywhere - and at the same time, I do wish that Schaeffer had been dealt with as Fergie and McFee were at the end...!
Galatians220
Puritan Board Post-Graduate
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