Marion Ravenwood

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Marion Ravenwood is  a fictional character from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, an  artifact obtained by her father, Abner Ravenwood, to find the Ark of the Covenant.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1.2 Indiana Jones 4 1.3 Background 2 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Raiders of the Lost Ark

Marion is  a self-reliant, tough-as-nails woman. She is  a heavy drinker and  smoker, and  isn't afraid to slug Indy across the face. Her father had been an  archeology professor and  mentor to the young Indiana Jones. Abner's hobby was researching the possible whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant. Both Marion and  Indiana apparently helped him in his search. During this time, Abner came to believe that the Ark may have  been located in Tanis, Egypt. He also came into possession of the headpiece to the Staff of Ra, which would help one locate the Ark if used in a special room in Tanis which contained a model of the city.

Though the exact details are  left ambiguous, their friendship came to an  end over Jones's relationship with Marion, around the year 1926. In Raiders of the Lost Ark Marion chastises Indy for the way he treated her "I was a child! I was in love! it  was wrong and  you knew it!", which implies that Indy was conducting a sexual relationship with the underage Marion. Jones broke off contact with them both, and  returned to America to focus on his career as an  archeology professor, and  relic hunter. Marion and  her father settled in Nepal and  started running a local tavern. After Abner's death, Marion found herself back in contact with Jones in 1936 when he asked her for the headpiece. Reluctant at first, she was forced to cooperate when Toht arrived to demand the piece himself, and  he and  his henchman ended up destroying the tavern.

In Tanis, she and  Indy made contact with his friend Sallah. Marion, however, quickly attracted the attention of Jones's rival, Rene Belloq, who staged an  elaborate kidnapping which convinced Jones that she had been killed. He later discovered her alive, but left her in the Nazis' captivity so as not to blow his cover. Belloq attempted to both grill her for information and  seduce her. When this was unsuccessful, Toht made an  attempt, which also failed to work. The Nazis discovered the location of the Ark anyway when they spied Jones's allies pulling it  out of the Well of Souls. Against Belloq's wishes, Marion was thrown into the Well with Jones to die.

Jones and  Ravenwood escaped from the pit, and  Jones was ultimately able to recover the Ark from the Nazis. The two of them set sail for England onboard a cargo ship owned by a friend of Sallah. They were quickly intercepted by a Nazi U-Boat, however. The Nazis took the Ark and  Marion. Indy stowed aboard the boat as it  departed for a Greek island, where Belloq planned to open the Ark, with Marion as a witness. Indy attempted to rescue her from the ceremony, but Belloq called his bluff: Indy recognized the historical value of the Ark too much to destroy it. Instead, he was captured along with Marion, placing him in a position to impart essential advice to her: keep her eyes closed during the ceremony. When the Ark was subsequently opened, spirits inside destroyed Belloq and  the Nazis. Only Indy and  Marion survived.

Back in Washington, D.C., Indy is  frustrated by the government agents' reneging on their promise to place the Ark in a museum, opting instead to keep it  in whereabouts unknown (actually a large warehouse) to be studied by "top men." Marion comforts him by taking him out for a drink. The two of them appear to have  put their past conflict behind them, and  resumed their relationship. By 1938, however, this relationship appears to have  ended, as she does not appear in  and  the Last Crusade">Indiana Jones and  the Last Crusade. What happened to her is  never explained, though perhaps they parted amicably this time.

[edit] Indiana Jones 4

Steven Spielberg has hinted that if a fourth film is  ever made, Marion and  Willie Scott would both make an  appearance.

[edit] Background

Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark, named the character after his wife's grandmother, and  a street in California.

[edit] External links

• Karen Allen: an  ACME Page

The Indiana Jones series
Films	Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) |  and  the Temple of Doom">The Temple of Doom (1984) | and  the Last Crusade">The Last Crusade (1989) | Indiana Jones 4 (2008)
Television	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1996)
Theme Park Attractions	Indiana Jones Adventure (Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Sea) | Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril (Disneyland Paris)
Characters	Indiana Jones | Willie Scott | Marion Ravenwood | Elsa Schneider Marcus Brody | Sallah | Short Round | Henry Jones, Sr.
Cast	Harrison Ford | Sean Connery | Corey Carrier | Sean Patrick Flanery | George Hall River Phoenix | John Rhys-Davies | Denholm Elliott
Crew	George Lucas | Steven Spielberg | Frank Marshall | John Williams