science

Now, Voyager

Now, Voyager is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Now, Voyager rather than just read about it. In short: Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty.

Key takeaways

Now, Voyager belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Now, Voyager to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Now, Voyager from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty. Prouty borrowed her title from the Walt Whitman poem "The Untold Want," which reads in its entirety,

The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, Now, voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find. In 2007, Now, Voyager was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film ranks number 23 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions, a list of the top love stories in American cinema. Film critic Steven Jay Schneider suggests the film continues to be remembered for not only its star power, but also the "emotional crescendos" engendered in the storyline.

Plot Charlotte Vale is a drab, quiet, overweight, neurotic woman whose life is brutally dominated by her mother, an aristocratic Boston dowager whose verbal and emotional abuse of her daughter has contributed to Charlotte's complete lack of self-confidence. Mrs. Vale had already brought up three sons, and Charlotte was an unwanted child born to her late in life. Fearing that Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa introduces her to psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith, who recommends that Charlotte spend time in his sanitarium. She reveals to him an early romance she enjoyed with a ship's radio officer, which her mother discovered and thwarted, describing her own defiance at the time as the proudest moment of her life.

Away from her mother's control, Charlotte blossoms, and at Lisa's urging, the now-slim, transformed woman with a chic borrowed wardrobe—encouraged by Jaquith—goes on a cruise arranged by Lisa instead of going home immediately. Initially, Charlotte is too shy to mix with the other passengers on the ship. On an excursion, Charlotte is asked to share a carriage ride with Jeremiah Duvaux Durrance, a married man traveling on business, who asks Charlotte to help select presents for his female relatives. She obliges, and they become friendly, with Jerry discussing his young daughter Tina's shyness. Charlotte shows him a picture of her family, with herself appearing as “the fat lady with the heavy brows and all the hair” before her transformation. Jerry is sympathetic to her fledgling and frail confidence, expressing his admiration for her. Jerry runs into his friends, Deb and Frank McIntyre, and introduces Charlotte to them. From them, Charlotte learns how Jerry's devotion to his young daughter Tina keeps him from divorcing his wife, a manipulative, jealous woman who does not love Tina and hinders Jerry's chosen career of architecture. On an excursion from the ship in Rio de Janeiro, Charlotte and Jerry are stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain when their car crashes. Spending the night together while their driver goes for help, Jerry and Charlotte cuddle for warmth. They miss the ship and spend five days together before Charlotte flies to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they decide it would be best not to see each other again.

When she disembarks from the ship, Charlotte's family is stunned by the dramatic changes in her appearance and demeanor. The formerly awkward and shy Charlotte has become popular among the passengers, with many making fond farewells. At home, her mother is determined to subjugate her daughter once again, but Charlotte is resolved to remain independent. The memory of Jerry's love and devotion — as evidenced in the timely arrival of a corsage of camellias — helps give her the strength she needs to remain resolute. Charlotte becomes engaged to wealthy, well-connected widower Elliot Livingston, but by chance she again encounters Jerry at a party for an acquaintance, who is his client. Though Jerry congratulates her, Charlotte realizes she does not love Elliot enough and subsequently breaks the engagement. During a quarrel with her mother over the broken engagement, Charlotte says she did not ask to be born, that her mother never wanted her, and it has "been a calamity on both sides." Mrs. Vale has a heart attack and dies. Guilty and distraught, Charlotte returns to the sanitarium.

Charlotte is immediately diverted from her problems when she meets Jerry's 12-year-old daughter, Tina, who has been sent to Dr. Jaquith by her father on Charlotte's recommendation. Tina greatly reminds Charlotte of herself – both were unwanted and unloved by their mothers. Shaken from her depression, Charlotte becomes interested in Tina's welfare, and with Dr. Jaquith's permission, Charlotte takes her under her wing. When the girl improves, Charlotte takes her home to Boston. Jerry and Dr. Jaquith visit the Vale home to discuss a project — a new psychiatric wing donated by Charlotte, for which Jerry will be the architect. He is delighted to see the change in his daughter. Dr. Jaquith has allowed Charlotte to keep Tina there, provided her relationship with Jerry remains platonic. Charlotte tells Jerry she sees Tina as his gift to her and her way of being close to him. When Jerry asks her if she is happy, she replies: "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars."

Cast

Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale Paul Henreid as Jeremiah "Jerry" Duvaux Durrance Claude Rains as Dr. Jaquith Gladys Cooper as Mrs. Henry Windle Vale Bonita Granville as June Vale John Loder as Elliot Livingston Ilka Chase as Lisa Vale Lee Patrick as "Deb" McIntyre Franklin Pangborn as Mr. Thompson Katharine Alexander as Miss Trask (as Katherine Alexander) James Rennie as Frank McIntyre Mary Wickes as Nurse Dora Pickford Janis Wilson as "Tina" Durrance (uncredited)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Now, Voyager

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Now, Voyager claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Now, Voyager before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Now, Voyager ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Now, Voyager

In research: Now, Voyager appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Now, Voyager in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Now, Voyager is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1942 American films, 1942 English-language films, 1942 films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Now, Voyager outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Now, Voyager in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Now, Voyager means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Now, Voyager out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Now, Voyager in simple terms?

Why does Now, Voyager matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Now, Voyager?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Now, Voyager.