I don't understand the Jenny hate. Did they expect her to stay with Forrest and wait for him at home just baking pies and listening to the radio while he went off to war, sailed his shrimp boat, toured as a ping pong champion, and then just fucked off to go running for two years?

Gump and Jenny were both rolling stones. She wanted to be free, and fly far far away from the home where she was abused. She wanted her own adventures. Gump was her best friend, but she didn't have the capacity for the relationship he wanted.

[–] Son_of_dad 124 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Jenny was molested as a child by her dad, and though she loved forrest, when she slept with him, she felt like she molested him because of his condition. This caused her to run away and fall back into self loathing and drugs, thinking she just became her own father. She loved Forrest more than anything, that's why she stayed away, because she was a ticking time bomb and didn't want to hurt him. When she found out she was dying she accepted her love for Forrest and realized he was the only good person in her life, and the only one she trusted to raise their son

[–] june 63 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Not sure why you were downvoted, but this is always how I saw it. Jenny wasn’t the terrible person she’s so often been made out to be, she was deeply broken and dealing with massive trauma, of course she’s going to act irrationally.

She’s an amazing character with so much depth that most people just reduce to ‘that selfish bitch’. It irks me.

[–] VaultBoyNewVegas 26 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It irks me too. The scene where she's contemplating killing herself while freebird plays isn't subtle at all about her state of mind and where her life has got her. Yet some people seem incapable of actually understanding that Jenny isn't hateful to Forrest and is a flawed human being.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

It's almost like our society has deeply internalized issues with misogyny or something.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

It comes from a feeling of ownership, where she isn’t considered past gender norms. As society has become less attached to antiquated ideas and more cognizant of trauma, the oversimplification of Jenny’s character has died down. It’s really a pretty neat societal study.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Because if you flip the gender roles she'd be considered a rapist and everyone would be up in arms about it

But because sad traumatized girl it's okay.

[–] flicker 5 points 11 months ago

I tell ya what.

You show me an identical situation where the gender roles are flipped, and I'll have an opinion on it.

For the record, I think Jenny was extremely gross for what she did (I'm uniquely qualified to comment on this) but the entire point of the story is that it's nuanced and complex. And far more nuanced and complex than "every time someone says a girl is a sympathetic character, I have to change the entire discussion to but men!"

[–] Olhonestjim 3 points 11 months ago

Thank you, that clears it up. I saw the movie several times as a kid, and haven't watched it in a long time. I never made the connection as to why she left the next morning.

[–] [email protected] 51 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I understand people not looking at Jenny critically enough. She was abused and damaged in at least one way and obviously didn't act rationally as a result.

As for Forrest, all he wanted was her. Yes, he would have still gone off to war like most young men at the time, but he would have taken her with him on the shrimp boat. Or abandoned that plan, if she asked. He probably wouldn't have devoted as much time practicing ping pong and he definitely wouldn't have been so disillusioned with the world to go running for 2 years straight.

For better or worse, Forrest focused on his pursuits and achievements, because Jenny never really accepted or chose him when she had the chance.

[–] themeatbridge 7 points 11 months ago

What's irrational? She chose to go live an independent life. She might not have made the best choices, but just because Forrest was in love with her doesn't mean it would have been rational to stay with him. They were best friends as kids because he was devoted to her, and she had nobody in her life she could trust.

Maybe a part of her felt like she would be taking adavantage of Forrest?

Maybe ahe felt like she didn't deserve his devotion?

Maybe she was scared to love someone and get hurt? Or watch him abandon his dreams to support her? Or watch him grow up and change?

Whatever the reason, it was her choice. A lot of the criticism feels like incels mad that she made a choice at all. She doesn't owe Forrest her love. He's not entitiled to her presence just because he's a good guy.

[–] captainlezbian 22 points 11 months ago

Also she was clearly suffering from really bad ptsd from their childhood and not coping well. Her whole life was basically her version of the years of running until she had a kid