Throughout the film, Carolyn believes her life is the picture perfect definition of “American Beauty” when, in actuality, she is failing at her job as a real estate agent and her family is falling apart. She begins an affair with the leading real estate agent in the area, known as “the King of Real Estate,” in order to fill the void in her heart, and to satisfy her sexuality, which her husband no longer fulfills. Carolyn and Lester fight constantly, and neither has a strong relationship with their daughter, Jane. In the moments before Lester’s death, Carolyn is seen sitting in the driver 's seat of her car while the rain pours down. She’s holding a gun in front of her while listening to a recording stating “I refuse to be a victim” (American Beauty). She turns off the recording, angrily puts the gun in her purse and repeats, “I refuse to be a victim” (American Beauty). Carolyn’s denial of the disfunction in her family causes her erratic and unacceptable behavior, to the point where she may have considered killing her husband, Lester. Ironically, once Carolyn arrives home, she finds her husband has already been
Throughout the film, Carolyn believes her life is the picture perfect definition of “American Beauty” when, in actuality, she is failing at her job as a real estate agent and her family is falling apart. She begins an affair with the leading real estate agent in the area, known as “the King of Real Estate,” in order to fill the void in her heart, and to satisfy her sexuality, which her husband no longer fulfills. Carolyn and Lester fight constantly, and neither has a strong relationship with their daughter, Jane. In the moments before Lester’s death, Carolyn is seen sitting in the driver 's seat of her car while the rain pours down. She’s holding a gun in front of her while listening to a recording stating “I refuse to be a victim” (American Beauty). She turns off the recording, angrily puts the gun in her purse and repeats, “I refuse to be a victim” (American Beauty). Carolyn’s denial of the disfunction in her family causes her erratic and unacceptable behavior, to the point where she may have considered killing her husband, Lester. Ironically, once Carolyn arrives home, she finds her husband has already been