Character Relationship Map: Obsession

Characters

• Michael Courtland (played by Cliff Robertson) — protagonist

  A New Orleans real estate developer whose life is shattered when his wife and daughter are abducted. Obsessed with his late wife, he later meets a lookalike named Sandra, marries her, and eventually d...

• Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari (played by Geneviève Bujold) — protagonist

  Michael's late wife whose memory he obsesses over, and a young woman named Sandra who bears a striking resemblance to her. Sandra becomes Michael's wife, but is secretly revealed to be his long-lost d...

• Robert Lasalle (played by John Lithgow) — supporting

  Michael's business partner who manipulates him into a trip to Florence. He is the mastermind behind both the original kidnapping sixteen years prior and the recent abduction, aiming to seize Michael's...

• Amy Courtland (played by Wanda Blackman) — supporting

  Michael's young daughter who was abducted and presumed dead in 1959. She survives and is raised in Italy under a false identity (Sandra Portinari) by the antagonist. After years of separation and mani...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Robert Lasalle → Amy Courtland (Power Concealment) — Lasalle controls Amy's identity and separates her from her father.

  After the original kidnapping, Lasalle conceals Amy's survival and sends her to live secretly with an Italian caretaker.

• Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari → Amy Courtland (Meta Same Person) — Sandra Portinari is Amy Courtland living under an assumed identity.

  The flashbacks reveal that Sandra is actually Amy, Michael's daughter, who survived the original kidnapping under a false identity.

• Michael Courtland → Amy Courtland (Family Father) — Michael and Amy are reunited as father and surviving daughter.

  Amy is identified as Michael's daughter, and the airport reunion ends with her repeatedly calling him Daddy while he recognizes her as Amy.

• Michael Courtland → Robert Lasalle (Professional Business Partner) — Their professional partnership initially gives Lasalle access to Michael's decisions and fortune.

  Robert Lasalle is described as Michael's business partner and persuades him to accompany him on a work trip to Florence.

• Michael Courtland → Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari (Family Husband) — Michael was married to Elizabeth and later marries Sandra, who resembles Elizabeth.

  Michael's wife Elizabeth is abducted in 1959, and he later returns to New Orleans with Sandra so they can marry.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Robert Lasalle → Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari (Conflict Kidnapping Collaborator) — Lasalle uses Sandra's apparent kidnapping as part of his financial plot.

  Lasalle engineers the recent abduction of Sandra and uses the repeated ransom scheme to control Michael's fortune.

Story Analysis

A grieving father is manipulated into recreating his lost marriage before discovering that the woman he loves is his surviving daughter.

Plot Progression

1. The Family's Destruction — Michael's wife and daughter are abducted in 1959, and a deceptive ransom plan ends in an explosion. Michael believes both victims are dead and blames himself for the tragedy.
2. A Face from the Past — Sixteen years later, Michael remains devoted to Elizabeth's memory and visits her memorial. Lasalle brings him to Florence, where he encounters Sandra, a woman who resembles Elizabeth.
3. The Marriage Recreated — Michael courts Sandra and tries to recreate his former relationship through her resemblance to Elizabeth. He brings Sandra to New Orleans and marries her.
4. The Conspiracy Unmasked — Sandra is apparently kidnapped using the old ransom pattern. Michael sacrifices his fortune, then discovers that Lasalle engineered both kidnappings and that Sandra is involved in the scheme.
5. Recognition at the Airport — Flashbacks reveal that Sandra is Michael's surviving daughter Amy, hidden and manipulated by Lasalle. After Lasalle's death and Sandra's suicide attempt, father and daughter recognize each other at th...