Indy's Relationships with Women Part III

By S.L. Nobrega (a.k.a Canyon)

"I could have been your greatest adventure!"

The Early years

When Indy was at the tender age of nine back in 1908 he met the daughter of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Princess Sophie. Before he was to become an adventurer, the young Indy fell in love with her and it would seem that as Indy was very young, people didn’t seem to understand his feelings regarding this. One night, whilst at a dinner party with his parents, where several guests attend, including Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Alfred Adler to name but a few, Freud notices that Indy had been quiet all evening and asked him if there is something on his mind. Indy tells him that he is in love with someone, but he feels that no-one understands. Freud gives our young hero some advice. He tells him not to bury his feelings but instead to “shout them out loud.” With this advice, Indy meets Sophie’s father and tells him that he wants to marry his daughter when he is old enough. The Duke tells him he understands but it is not possible. At a later time, sneaks into the palace and gives Sophie a gift and in return Sophie gives Indy a locket with a picture of her inside. Previously to this, there is also a lovely scene where Miss Seymour asks Indy to read some poetry and as he does he realises that he feels the exactly the same way as the poet. I feel that there were complications with Indy’s age and even his parents do not understand the way he feels, but this shows that even the very young can fall in love.

A few years later in Spring 1913, at the age of twelve, Indy and his father are living in Georgetown, Carolina. Indy meets a lady by the name of Lizzie Ravenall, and immediately he is very taken with her. Lizzie is about eighteen and there is a delightful scene that takes place the next day. Henry raised an eyebrow and says “My little boy is growing up.” Indy replies “C’mon Dad. She’s just a girl.” It seems that at this age, Indy has no problems fighting bad guys and having adventures, but when it comes to him talking to a girl, he has trouble even speaking to them. At the end of the adventure, Lizzie leans forward and kisses Indy on the cheek, and needless to say, our young adventurer is bewildered to say the least! It seems that Indy is at an age where he is really beginning to notice the opposite sex and it looks as if Indy may have had a possible crush on Lizzie.

In early 1916, Indy and his father are now living in Princeton. Indy becomes good friends with Nancy Stratemyer, daughter of the author of the Nancy Drew mysteries. I really like the scene where Nancy is working out what herself and Indy will be doing in the coming years and Indy says “There you go again, organizing my life.” This comment seems to me almost as if Indy at this stage is afraid of commitment. Nancy is a very strong willed young lady and their relationship is mainly platonic. Later that same year, Indy finds himself in Ireland just before the Easter Rebellion. Indy falls in love with beautiful young lady called Colleen and it turns out that her brother is mixed up in the Irish resistance movement. In spring of that year, Indy first meets Vicky in London on a bus, when a bomb is dropped and there is an explosion. They are unhurt and after, he agrees to meet her at a suffragette rally and later they discuss languages (with much hilarity) and later begin dating. Some time later, Indy and Remy get their call up papers, and that evening over dinner, Indy asks Vicky to marry him. She tells him that she wants to but feels that she can’t because she fears that after the war, they will become different people. She also says that she wants a career as a writer and if they marry, she wouldn’t be able to as her role would be bringing up children. The scene that follows is very sad as Indy throws the engagement ring into a pond in a nearby park. It is a very sad story and I thought it was extremely romantic of Indy to do what he did. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Vicky had changed her mind. In November Indy is on leave in Paris and is romantically involved with the infamous spy, Mata Hari. Unfortunately, the affair ends in heartbreak as Indy finds out that she is also involved with several other men.

In late July of 1917 (a few days before Indy’s 18th birthday), Indy is sharing a house in Russia with four revolutaries. It transpires that one of them, a lady called Rosa, has a crush on Indy and very much wants to ask him out. She is encouraged by her friend Irina to keep Indy away from their flat on his birthday. When they finally get back to the house, a surprise party is waiting for a very stunned Indy. Later that evening Indy is taken by his friends to a talk by Lenin. A few days later, Rosa tells Indy that she is in love with him and he is surprised to say the least. He tells her that he likes her but does not feel the same way about her. He tells her that love is a lot like lightning in that it strikes a person and they cannot do anything about it. Later in October whilst in Beersheba, Indy goes undercover with a beautiful lady spy called Maya. She and Indy have a brief fling during their undercover work to defuse the explosives, which have been placed in the city’s water wells by the Turks.

In July of 1918 Indy is dating a young girl by the name of Giulietta, an Italian. He later learns that someone else has been sending her gifts and flowers, and it turns out that the other man is his friend Ernie Hemmingway. Eventually, the two decide to see Giulietta to as her to choose between them. When they arrive at her house, they find her being fitted for a wedding dress. She tells them that she is sorry but she is marrying an old friend, Alfredo. After, Indy is transferred to North Africa After being wounded in action, where he joins the French Foreign Legion, in Morocco. While trying to uncover the identity of a traitor in his own ranks, Indy battles hostile Berber tribesmen, and engages in an innocent flirtation with author Edith Wharton. In September Indy is a spy and meets a lady called Molly, and they begin to date. Molly’s hears that Indy a spy for the French and wants to know if it is true. Indy tells her that it is true and he had to lie in order to protect her. She is very upset. Indy tells her the truth about himself and that he loves her. She says that she feels hurt and betrayed. She then leaves and tells him that she never wants to see him again. Some time later, Molly realises that she still loves Indy but is accidentally shot by a double agent. Indy bursts in the room, sees what’s happening and cradles Molly in his arms, where she dies. In November, whilst Indy and Remy are looking for the Treasure of the Peacock’s Eye, Indy meets and has a brief romantic tryst with Lily. Remy and Indy have found a box which they believe which contains the treasure. Indy and his friends they are caught by the pirates and one of them shoots Lily dead.

The 1920’s

In May 1920, it seems that women everywhere are throwing themselves at Indy and he doesn’t even realise it. A blonde girl in restaurant says to him one day, “When are you going to ask me out Indy?” Poor naive Indy. And then around the time of June/July, Indy meets and then falls in love with not one, not two, but three women. There’s Peggy the brunette, Gloria the blonde and Kate the redhead. At first, things are fine as these three women don’t know each other, but one night when they are all powdering their noses in the ladies room, they begin to realise what’s going on and Indy is unceremoniously dumped by all three! Sorry Indy, I know you’re irresistible to women, but come on, one at a time! (Oh, if only it were me!) It seems to me that Indy fell for these women because he liked all of them in their own way, but despite this, it began to be a problem, because he could make up his mind who he wanted more, but in the end all three call of the relationship, or should I say, relationships! In a nutshell, it’s complicated! In August of this year, Indy gets a job at Universal Pictures and is hired by Carl Laemmle to go to Hollywood to force director (and the leading actor) Erich von Stroheim to complete his movie Foolish Wives within ten days or close down the filming which has gone over budget. At Universal Studios, Indy is introduced to Claire Leebrum, one of the writers. Whilst on a beach, a romance begins between Indy and Claire, but Claire tells Indy that she has a boyfriend. Despite this, they kiss. Later, Claire tells Indy that she still has feelings for her boyfriend but decides that if things work out between her and Indy over the next two weeks she’ll break up with her boyfriend. Indy ends up getting advice from the crew about what to do with Claire and they tell him that he that he should try to get over her as she will not leave her boyfriend. On the last day of filming, Indy is asked to take the place of a stuntman to complete the final scene to film - the runaway coach scene. Indy agrees and risks his life as he jumps from his horse to the wagon, misses and ends up underneath the wagon, being dragged on his back. He pulls himself to the front where he grabs hold of the reins and stops the horses from going over a cliff. After the movie is finished, Indy says his farewell to Claire and everyone else and returns to the University of Chicago with a broken leg and enough money to pay for tuition.

In October of 1922, Dorian Belecamus is Indy’s professor and also turns out to be not as innocent as she first appears. Indy is seduced by the dark side of Belecamus (sorry, wrong franchise) and is then used in a plot to kill the King of Greece and is nearly killed in the process. Here, Indy gets his first taste of real danger and adventure and after this adventure, Indy decides that he is going to become an archaeologist. I have always seen Dorian as a very dark and complex character, and one that didn’t have to try to hard to seduce Indy. It turns out that Dorian is killed from a bullet meant for Indy and dies. Indy had feelings for Dorian before their adventure and was taken in by her enticing ways and it’s easy to see why Indy fell for her in the first place. She is older than him, more experienced and I think that Indy sees her as a more experienced person, and someone who had seen quite a bit of the world

. During the years of 1925 of 1926, Indy is lands a teaching job in London. His boss, Joanna Campbell, is the department head and her daughter Deirdre is attending Indy’s class. A bond begins to form between Indy and Deirdre and after Deirdre hands in an article about the supposed whereabouts of a golden scroll, they both travel to Scotland to find the scroll. Their, there relationship heats up and there is a cave-in where Deirdre is hurt. When Deirdre is well enough to travel, and her and Indy share many adventures.

In April of 1926, Indy and Deirdre are on a dig site in Guatemala in Central America where they find the mask of Camototz (the Bat God). An argument ensues over another woman and Deirdre is kidnapped. Indy is injured and suffers a gunshot wound, and he and Deirdre return to the States. Indy momentarily sees Deirdre at Marcus Brody’s latest museum exhibition, and there she tells him that the relationship is over and Indy is devastated. Marcus asks Indy to seek out Colonel Percy Fawcett who is lost in South America. The next day, Indy goes to visit Deirdre and she has left him a note saying that the relationship is definitely over and that she is leaving on a ship for England. Indy gets to the harbour and it turns out that Deirdre decided not leave after all. She accompanies Indy on the adventure and on their way to Rio they decide on the spur of the moment to get married. Ah, how romantic! Several adventures later, Indy and Deirdre find the colonel in South America in a hidden city known as X. As they are rescuing Fawcett, their plane crashes. Three weeks later, Indy wakes up in a room and Marcus is there. Sadly, Marcus tells Indy that he survived the crash, but Fawcett and Deirdre did not. Naturally Indy is devastated.

I feel that as Indy lost someone very dear to him, this is the reason why he has not yet settled down with anyone and I believe this is also the reason why Indy has not yet re-married. Perhaps Indy is still clinging onto Deirdre and this could also be the reason why he is still single. This could also be because he fears that if he marries again, he may once again lose his wife.

In 1927, Indy and his friend Jack Shannon meet a lady by the name of Katrina who is the daughter of Vladimir Vobolotsky. Vobolotsky is trying to organise an expedition to Mount Ararat in Turkey to find Noah’s Ark. Both Indy and Jack immediately fall for Katrina. Indy, who is refused a job in Chicago go on an expedition to Mount Ararat in Turkey to find Noah’s Ark, and together with Vobolotsy, his daughter and Jack, they eventually find the Ark. What I find interesting is that Katrina likes both Indy and Jack and she thinks that Indy is interesting and also feels that he has a slight mysterious edge to him. She finds this very attractive but is also attracted to Jack as well. Once in Turkey, Katrina asks Indy about Deirdre and she asks him if he will ever love another woman. They kiss and then they are both set upon by bad guys. At the end of the adventure, Katrina eventually chooses Jack over Indy.

Around the time of May/June 1928, Indy meets archaeology student Mara Rogers at a site in Montignac, France. There, she agrees to meet him for the summer in Bluff in the American South West. On the last day of term, Indy receives a telegram from Mara, cancelling their arrangement. After several adventures, Indy and Mara meet up, but Mara betrays Indy and tries to kill him. Mara is shot and dies in Indy’s arms.

In Spring 1929, Indy is in Easter Island with Marcus trying to find the Rongo Rongo tablets. Marcus tells Indy that his god-daughter’s husband, Hans Beitelheimer. After a near miss with death, Indiana Jones wakes up on a ship. He awakes to meet a beautiful redhead by the name of Salandra. They sail to shore and Salandra tells Indy that he is in an interior world. Later on in the adventure whilst stuck in a labrynth, there is some intimacy between Indy and Salandra and near the end of the adventure, there is a moment when Salandra nearly kisses Indy.

The 1930’s

In the year 1930, Indy meets a lady named Gail Parker and they immediately bond. I feel that their relationship is a very interesting one as these two are very alike and admire and respect each other equally. Gail becomes a good friend of the archaeologist, and during their two adventures, The Sky Pirates and The White Witch they become closer. For anyone who has read these two books by the late Martin Caidin you will notice that the relationship between these two characters change. For instance, there is a part where Gail asks herself the question: Is she falling for Indy? Later on, Indy asks her to dinner on a date and she is momentarily confused by his offer. Some time later as Gail is swept up in wild abandon, she kisses Indy full on the lips which confuses him, and then near the end of the particular adventure she tells him: ’’I love you.” During the second adventure, as Gail is tending to Indy’s injuries, she tells herself not to appear too affectionate towards Indy. Obviously, she likes Indy a great deal, but at the same time, it seems to me as if she is holding back. It would have been very interesting to look into their relationship further, but unfortunately, only two books were written featuring these two characters together.

In early 1933, Indy finds himself in British Honduras and discovers a Crystal Skull, which carries a curse –"‘You will kill what you love." Some time later, Indy is in London looking for the missing Voynich manuscript, and the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. Whilst in the British Library, he meets and instantly falls for Alecia Dunstin. At first, it would seem that Alicia likes Indy but does not yet view him in a romantic light, and by the end of the this adventure, she changes her mind and warms to his charming and lovable personality! (What woman wouldn’t?) Later this same year, during an adventure in France, Alicia tells Indy that she wants to call off the relationship as she cannot deal with the emotional stress and the risk of losing him. Indy and Alica’s predicament has to be one of the saddest love stores that I have ever read. A month later at Princeton University, Indy is persuaded by a beautiful missionary named Joan Starbuck to search for her missing father, Professor Angus Starbuck, in Mongolia. Professor Starbuck has discovered a dinosaur bone in the Gobi Desert, and it turns out that this particular bone is from a living Triceratops. Indy, with Joan and his team, travel to China and the Gobi Desert. While in China. There is a brilliant scene that takes place in the desert between Indy and Joan. Joan has told Indy that she is a nun, but later turns out that this is not the case. Joan decides to take advantage of this...

Joan slid down from the bed of the truck, and as she did, the towel was wearing gathered and rose above her knees. Indy glanced quickly away, and his head was still turned as she walked over and placed her arms around his neck. “You know what, Dr. Jones?” she whispered in his ear. “I don’t think that God wants me to be a nun anymore.” Indy swallowed. "And you know what else?" "No", he said with a rasp. "What?" "I think I’ve succeeded in scaring the daylights out of you." She flicked an earlobe with her finger. "Shame on you for looking at me like I was the blue plate special, and shame on me for enjoying it." After further romance, Indy decides to return to the states as Joan and her father stay behind in the secret paradise to look after the triceratops and its eggs.

In early 1934, Indy is visited by Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, a former Arctic explorer. He gives Indy a box and asks him to look after it, and tells him to meet up with Baldwin’s niece, Zoe. There is a very interesting scene in Indy’s hotel room which I will quote for you:

Zoe: "I just came by to see if you're hurt."

Indy: "I'm not."

Zoe: "Or if you needed anything."

Indy: "I don’t."

Zoe: "Well, if you’re going to be that way..."

Indy: "I am."

Indy goes on to tell Zoe that his is currently turning his back on the "Rosetta stone of romance". In a later scene in a café, a waitress grabs Indy and kisses him full on the lips. It seems to me that women are irresistibly drawn to Indy. Later on in this adventure, it turns out that Alicia is forced to join the SS as if she does not, they have threatened that they will kill Indy. Indy and his friends catch up with Alicia and the SS and she tells the service that she is leaving. Of course, this doesn’t go down to well and unfortunately, Alicia is shot and dies in Indy’s arms. This is one of the saddest things that I have ever read and what gets me every time is the part just before she dies she kisses Indy and tells him that she loves him.

In 1935, Indy travels around the world in search of a black pearl known to its seekers as The Heart of the Dragon. Throughout Indy's quest to find it, he is accompanied by the beautiful and mysterious Mei Ying. At first, I get the impression that she does not approve of Indy’s methods, and throughout their adventures she appears to be somewhat harsh in her words to Indy. For example, some of her choice phrases being: “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of world-famous archaeologist?” and “What do you think you’re doing?! We have a job to do!”

In the following year of 1936, Indy finds himself in England where he meets Karen Mays, a scientist. They immediately hit it off and have a very fun and interesting relationship. My favourite quote from Karen follows a scene where Indy fights with the bad guys on top of a train and Karen fears that Indy may be dead. He then suddenly appears and says, "Here’s the crystal cylinder. I was able to slip it into my pack before I have Smitty a close shave." And Karen replies, "I was worried sick about you! And all you can do is joke! You, swaggering, insensitive, infuriating... adorable man!” And then she kisses him and quite rightly too!

A year later in 1937, Indy gets a new job at Barnett College but loses the Archaeology 101 course to Professor Francisca Uribe Del Arco. Later, it turns out that she is in possession of a priceless treasure, which is part of the Chimu Taya Arms of Gold. The two professors embark on an adventure to Buenos Aires. Indy and Francesca share several romantic encounters before the adventure is through.

In 1938 Indy gets involved in an adventure and ends up stranded with various people in the Sargasso Sea, and one of the people is the mysterious Cairo. She and Indy soon find each other up to their necks in trouble and they grow closer throughout the adventure. Near the end of the adventure Indy says to her: “You want to see what I’ve got planned for our second date!” which I think is one of the most adorable lines that I have ever read! Regarding Elsa Schneider, once again, this relationship is explored fully in Part II.

In 1939, Indy not only discovers Atlantis with Sophia Hapgood, but later this same year, he is involved in an adventure with a young boy, Khamil and Sophia. I am aware that Sophia and Indy were perhaps once involved, and I’m not quite sure what happened between these two, but I do now that they have remained good friends.

The 1940’s

It is 1941 and Indy is in the middle of an archeological dig during the World War II German invasion of Greece. He begins work at a British site, but a German invasion of the area causes the British to abandon the dig, leaving Indy alone. On his own, he discovers an artifact which verifies the existence of the legendary Golden Fleece. Whilst fleeing from Nazis, Indy is rescued by a lady called Omphale. She is not only very strong-willed, but happens to be the daughter of a cargo pilot. She is also heavily pregnant. By the time her and Indy escape, the Turkish secret police, the ancient sect, and the entire German army are after them. The fleece is stolen by cultists, then travel to Colchis to perform a ceremony. During the ceremony the cultists are destroyed and the Golden Fleece disappears. Whilst Indy is doing his best to save the world, Omphale is desperate to give birth. Indy not only takes care of the bad guys, he also helps Omphale to give birth! What a guy! There wasn’t any romance involved between Indy and Omphale on this adventure but there is a wonderful scene at the end where Indy thinks that she is going to name her new born child after him. And then she suddenly says. "I will name him Nikos. Indiana is a stupid name!" Charming woman!

It is now 1945 and whilst on an adventure in Ireland with his Father, Henry Sr., they meet a young lady by the name of Rebecca and she gets involved with their adventures. The Joneses are trying to find the Spear of Destiny, the spear that was said to have pierced Jesus’ side during the Crucifixion. Later, when it appears that the spear has been lost to the Nazi’s. Rebecca tells Indy that she has the spear and he kisses her and says: “You’re terrific!” Gee, I really must do a favour for Indy someday!

In 1947, Sophia Hapgood once again appears and is now working for the Soviets, and Indy is on a quest to find the lost city of Babylon and the Infernal Machine. I wondered if their romantic relationship would take off on this adventure, but it seems as if they still remained friends. I loved the scene whereby Indy throws his arms around Sophia and gives her a hug! Aw, I guess he forgives her after all.

So this is it folks, the end of my series of about Indy and his Relationships with women. It has been hard work but has also been a great deal of fun and I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading them. If you have any feedback about this series of articles, please feel free to contact me at canyoncrescentmoon@hotmail.com.

Lastly, I feel that Indy is attractive to women as he has a sense of vulnerability about him. I definitely think that as a whole, the character of Indiana Jones is not only popular with all fans, male and female, but feel that he is especially popular with female film fans. It was once said that Indy is admired by men, and loved by women and I think that definitely holds true throughout all of Indy’s adventures.

Many thanks to the writers of the Indy timeline, Rob McGregor, Max McCoy and Martin Caidin for the references from their books..

<<Part II