Letters Between Homer and Dr. Larch

By Carolyn Stine

[1] The letters scene is, for the most part, the narration of a series of letters that have been written by Homer Wells and Dr. Larch being read in voiceover. The pieces of the scene that are shown while these letters are being read illustrate the gentle passage of time that has occurred both at St. Cloud’s Orphanage where Dr. Larch is and at the orchard where Homer Wells has taken up residence. The letters are read during the course of one entire off-season for the workers, as they leave in the fall and return in the spring when the weather gets warm once more. We see Homer subsisting in the Cider House throughout the late fall, winter, and spring, and finally the orchardmen, led by Arthur Rose, prepare to return at the end of the scene.

[2] Additionally, this scene documents the growing assertiveness of Homer Wells. We see through his reactionary letters to Dr. Larch that his sense of self is growing. He now knows that he is capable of living a full life outside of the orphanage -- he has his own, new identity here at the Cider House, which he is quite proud of. Homer even tells Dr. Larch at one point, “I’ve never enjoyed myself as much.” For the very first time in his life, Homer is experiencing independence, love, and conflict, and feels as though he is making his own way and earning value and creating meaning here in this new place.

[3] At the beginning of this scene, we see a close-up camera shot of Homer’s hands as he begins writing a letter to Dr. Larch. “Dear Dr. Larch,” he handsomely writes in cursive across the paper, and we only see the white sheet of paper, Homer’s hands, and his pen with the green of the grass in the background. Then the camera zooms out, and we see Homer writing from behind, sitting atop the roof of the Cider House. This is incredibly significant because three of the rules that are posted in the Cider House explicitly state that employees are not permitted on the roof. Homer is clad in long pants and a flannel jacket, and it appears to be late autumn, for the trees are starting the shed their leaves and we see the bare branches of the forest around the cider house buildings as Homer writes.

[4] Here begins the voiceover narration of Homer’s letter to Dr. Larch that he is composing. “Dear Dr. Larch,” the letter begins, and the scene changes to Homer, Candy, and Candy’s father on a boat in the ocean, pulling up lobster traps from the water. “Thank you for your doctor’s bag,” Homer narrates, “although it seems that I will not have the occasion to use it, barring some emergency, of course. I am not a doctor.” The scene then switches to Homer and another one of the Cider House employees carrying ladders into the shed at dusk. Homer continues in voiceover, “With all due respect to your profession, I am enjoying my life here. I’m enjoying being a lobsterman, and an orchardman. In fact, I’ve never enjoyed myself as much.” The scene then switches once again to St. Cloud’s Orphanage, where Nurse Angela and Nurse Edna stand in the infirmary, huddled around Dr. Larch as they eagerly read this letter that Homer has written to them. As we see them at St. Cloud’s, Homer narrates, “The truth is, I want to stay here; I believe I’m being of some use.” It is important to note that Homer used the phrase “being of some use,” as it is Dr. Larch who consistently imposed this slogan upon Homer and used it as a justification for teaching Homer about the medical practices performed at St. Cloud’s.

[5] The voiceover ends here, and an incredibly touching part of the scene commences. We see Candy laying face down, nude, on one of the beds in the Cider House at night. A small lantern stands on the table near the bed that shines a light upon her skin. We view her from Homer’s perspective, and the camera pans over her nude backside as if it is his eyes watching her. Then the camera shifts to Homer, whom we see from the chest up, with no shirt on and presumably nude as well. Homer walks over towards the bed where Candy lies, but he stops and simply looks at her. At first there is nothing in his eyes, he seems to simply by taking all of her in, and then he makes a small sound, a murmur, almost a little expression of awe. It’s as if he cannot even believe that this beautiful woman is lying before him. Homer begins speaking, perhaps to himself, perhaps to Candy; we do not know if she is awake. Homer says, almost as if in a dream, “I've looked at so many women,” and at this point Candy rolls over to look at him. Homer continues, “and I've never...I've never felt a thing, you know. I mean, I've seen everything, just felt nothing. With you, it, uh--to look at you, it hurts.”

[6] While he is saying this, Homer looks a tiny bit confused at first, almost surprised by himself, then a little smile grows on his face as he keeps speaking, as if he is both amused and amazed. Candy lazily lounges in bed while Homer is speaking, and she smiles at him. Right before Homer says “To look at you, it hurts,” he places his hand over his heart in a gesture so earnest, so sincere, that I believe it to be one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the entire film. He is so full of emotion here, so vulnerable, so passionate. He is trying to express in words something that he has never felt before, possibly never ever fathomed experiencing before. Homer feels so deeply when he looks at Candy that “it hurts.” We observe that he has never felt anything so acutely in his life, never felt love, never felt so close to a woman that these deep emotions might have to power to wound him. After saying this, Homer simply stands there, looking at her still, almost in disbelief. Finally, Candy says “Come here,” and Homer walks over and lies down on the bed and hugs her, and Candy takes his head in her hands. At this point, Homer is facing away from us, so we get a close-up view of Candy’s face, which is blank. I would have thought that Candy would be much more outwardly emotional at this point, whether in a joyful or distressed way, after experiencing such an outpouring of emotion from Homer. However, at the conclusion of this little piece of the scene, we do not know how she feels. Clearly, Homer cares about her so much, yet we must presume that Wally is in the back of her mind somewhere, and we do not know how profoundly this is affecting her.

[7] In the next part of the scene, the voiceover narration returns, and we hear Dr. Larch reading a letter to Homer. We see beautiful green woods passing by and then see Homer driving a car with Candy in the passenger seat, smoking a cigarette. Dr. Larch states, “My dear Homer, I thought you were over your adolescence, the first time in our lives when we imagine we have something terrible to hide from those who love us.” This is a perfect quote to occur at this point in the scene, as we see Homer enjoying his adolescence for the first time in his life. He is driving here, he is in a position of control, he has taken the wheel -- and he is taking great pleasure in this act of freedom. This part of the scene is a stark juxtaposition with the other times we have seen Homer in vehicles before this in the film. The first time is when Homer is in the car with Dr. Larch and Buster, and Homer is sitting in the back seat as Dr. Larch scolds him for having too high expectations of people. We then see Homer later in the car with Wally and Candy, and he is sitting in the passenger seat as Wally and Candy stare at him in disbelief when he says that he’s never seen a lobster or been to the ocean. In both of these preceding scenes, Homer is not in a position of control, he is a passenger, yet in this scene we see him in a more dominant place.

[8] Dr. Larch’s voiceover continues as the scene then changes to Mrs. Worthington walking through the snow to the Cider House holding a bundle of blankets for Homer. She looks through the frosted window and calls Homer’s name, and the camera switches to the back of the Cider House, where Homer is hastily putting his clothes back after presumably fooling around with Candy. Larch narrates, “Do you think it’s not obvious to us what’s happening to you? You’ve fallen in love, haven’t you?” We then see that Candy is hiding behind a bureau in the Cider House, covering her nude body with a blanket. The scene then switches to Candy and Homer and Candy’s father celebrating Christmas at their home. We see them sitting in the living room drinking tea, with a Christmas tree lit up behind them, laughing and chatting. Dr. Larch narrates, “By the way, whatever you’re up to can’t be too good for your heart. Then again, it’s the sort of condition that could be made worse by worrying about it, so don’t worry about it.” This is interesting because it seems that Dr. Larch is almost guilt-tripping Homer. He tells him that falling in love, an extension of going out into the world and experiencing life, is bad for his heart. This is ironic because it is the first time that Homer has used his heart in this capacity before, and Dr. Larch is warning against it. We really see Dr. Larch’s resentment here of the fact that Homer has left the orphanage.

[9] While Candy and Homer are still celebrating Christmas at her house, the voiceover narration changes to Homer reading a letter he wrote to Dr. Larch, which says, “Dear Dr. Larch, what I’m learning here might not be as important as what I learned from you, but everything is new to me.” As this is being said, the camera pans away from them sitting on the couch and over into the next room, where we see a black and white photograph of Wally and Candy sitting next to a Santa ornament. Homer then continues, “Yesterday, I learned how to poison mice. Field mice curdle an apple tree, pine mice kill the roots. You use poison oats and poison corn. I know what you have to do. You have to play God.” While this is being said, the scene changes to Homer and one of the orchardmen scattering poison oats and corn around the base of the apple trees in the orchard. We then switch to St. Cloud’s during dinner time, and the camera pans across the long table full of kids laughing and playing with their food. Homer says “Well, killing mice is as close as I want to come to playing God” as the camera rests on Dr. Larch, Nurse Edna, and Nurse Angela sitting at their own table in the dining room, reading this letter from Homer. In this voiceover from Homer, we see how Homer is realizing the value of the new and unknown that he had been missing out on during his time at St. Cloud’s. Also, we hear Homer acknowledge that Dr. Larch “plays God” while he is performing the abortions, and Homer boldly states that killing small mice out of the necessity for a good harvest is as far as he is morally willing to go in that endeavor.

[10] We hear Dr. Larch’s reply to this letter in the next voiceover. “Homer, here in St. Cloud's, I have been given the opportunity of playing God--or leaving practically everything up to chance,” Dr. Larch states. As he is speaking, we see Homer, Candy, and her father sitting on a dock by the water, retrieving lobsters from the traps. Candy seems to be teaching Homer about the anatomy of the lobsters, and one pinches Homer and he throws it down in pain. I thought that this was a poignant moment because it illustrates how Homer is experiencing all of this for the first time. It is truly trial and error for him. Next, we see a clip from a black and white film of a young couple dancing, she in a beautiful gown and he in a tuxedo. The woman in the movie is smiling and swooning as she dances with this handsome man. The camera pans to Homer and Candy in a dark movie theater watching this film. Dr. Larch narrates, “Men and women of conscience should seize those moments when it's possible to play God. There won't be many. Do I interfere when absolutely helpless women tell me they simply can't have an abortion--that they simply must go through with having another and yet another orphan? I do not. I do not even recommend. I just give them what they want.” It is interesting that Dr. Larch speaks of “conscience” when he discusses “playing God,” as if it is our moral duty as good human beings to act in this manner. Dr. Larch seems to relish the opportunity to “play God” and doesn’t trust leaving anything up to “chance.” He also goes into detail about how he never forces women to get an abortion, or even suggests it if they come to him having decided to give birth, and rationalizes his choice to “play God” in this manner.

[11] The scene then changes to daytime as Homer spreads out his comforter on his bed in the Cider House. It is presumably spring now, and Homer wears a light button-down shirt as light streams in the windows of the Cider House. There are maids all around making the beds, sweeping, and cleaning in preparation for the new season. Dr Larch narrates, “You are my work of art, Homer. Everything else has been just a job. I don’t know if you’ve got a work of art in you, but I know what your job is: you’re a doctor.” The paper with the Cider House Rules then falls down on Homer’s bed, and he re-hangs it on a post in the middle of the room. As he does so, we begin to hear snippets of different letters between Homer and Dr. Larch going back and forth. Homer replies to Dr. Larch, “I am not a doctor,” to which Larch responds, “They’re going to replace me, Homer, the board of trustees is looking for my replacement.” Homer then turns around and walks away from the post where he just hung the rules, and he narrates, “I can’t replace you, I’m sorry.” Dr. Larch is telling Homer that he is his “work of art,” that he has essentially been grooming him to take his position, and that now this is coming to fruition and he needs to step up and take this position, yet Homer is still in denial. He continues to reiterate “I am not a doctor.”

[12] The scene then switches to Homer sitting on the roof of the Cider House once more, in the sunshine, reading a letter from Dr. Larch. Dr. Larch narrates, “Sorry? I’m not sorry, not for anything I’ve done. I’m not even sorry that I love you.” We see Homer’s face and observe that he is crying. This is not a huge outward display of emotion, but the tears streaming down his face are incredibly moving. He closes letter and looks down, still crying, and we see the Cider Houses in background, and Homer in profile.

[13] The end of the scene takes place at St. Cloud’s, where it is nighttime and Dr. Larch is sitting on his bed in his room, reading a letter from Homer. Nurse Edna enters with a cup of tea for him and places it next to his bed. Dr. Larch looks up and her and sadly states, “I think we may have lost him to the world.” Nurse Angela comes and sits next to him on the bed, as Dr. Larch stares off into space, clearly upset. Homer’s leaving wasn’t what he expected, or wanted, and we see him downtrodden, as the letters he wrote to Homer begging him to return obviously have not had that intended effect.

[14] Overall, this scene sheds a great deal of light on Dr. Larch and Homer’s relationship but also on how Homer has grown and changed and become a man during his time outside the orphanage, independent from Dr. Larch. A lot of this is illustrated, I believe, by Homer’s frequent presence on the roof of the Cider House. The Cider House rules explicitly state that employees are not allowed up on this roof, yet Homer does not follow these rules; he breaks them. Homer has come to realize in his time out in the world on his own that people must devise their own code of rules, they must choose their own moral stance; this cannot be imposed on you by others. Homer really stands up to Dr. Larch in the letters that pass between them and expresses what he believes to be his ultimate stance on abortion, on being a doctor, on playing God. We see in the subsequent scenes how this worldview and moral code changes for Homer, as he performs an abortion on Rose Rose, who was impregnated by her father, and as he eventually returns to St. Cloud’s after Dr. Larch’s death to take up his position at the helm of the orphanage. In this scene we are able to observe a very intermediate point in Homer’s life. He has just ventured out into the world, he has fallen in love, he is experiencing new things every day, and yet, having seen the rest of the film, we also observe how far Homer still has to go, how much growing he still has left to do.