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Clip description
On a return visit to Melbourne, Frank has had a heart attack. In hospital, Frank (Leo McKern) insists he will go back up north as soon as he can go, with or without Frances (Julia Blake). She reassures him that she loves him. Later, her daughters Helen (Michele Fawdon) and Sophie (Diane Craig) argue with her about her responsibilities to them, rather than Frank.
Curator’s notes
David Williamson is said to have grown up with parents who fought often and vociferously, and his characters are quick to argue. They make up just as quickly in Travelling North, as in this scene, which turns on questions of responsibility. Frances’s daughter Helen has never forgiven her mother for sending her to live with an uncle when she was eight, during the period when Frances was leaving their father. Helen prosecutes her case at every opportunity, demanding declarations of undiluted love. Frank is in effect demanding the same thing when he says he’ll take the train back to Port Douglas if he has to. Love isn’t something that Frances is allowed to give freely in this story – it has to be given on demand.
