Kind of makes me wonder if Harold was Maude's bucket list. Their being at a funeral isn't a coincidence, but their meeting is driven by Maude. It's something I've never stopped to consider before, but is Maude actively manipulating Harold, teaching him a lesson about the value of life? I think I just answered my own question in my head: from the author's perspective, yes. From an audience's perspective, they're not aware of this actually happening, if at all, until Harold's fate is revealed. It's only then that we, the audience, truly understands the impact she's had upon him.

TBBB, that speaks to this idea that emerges from Carl Jung who says that if we do not engage all aspects of our psyche in what he calls the process of "individuation," the [his word] "universe" creates circumstances that force them to. Which for a writer leads to a most interesting question to ponder about any story we write: Why does THIS story HAVE to happen to THIS character at THIS time? Consider the idea that it's not just some random thing we decide to drop down into a story universe at this precise moment, but rather there is something going on particularly in the life of the Protagonist that CREATES the dynamics of the story. And so for Harold, he is depressed, therefore he NEEDS someone to enliven him. He is obsessed with death, therefore he NEEDS someone who will die to make concrete the finality of that and help him redefine life. Hence he needs Maude. She is his Mentor, yes? And so to your point, that is her function in the story [I'm speaking from the writer's POV 'outside' the story universe] so it would make sense she would intersect with Harold. From WITHIN the context of the story universe, it also makes sense in that she is a vivacious, outgoing personality who would naturally seek out other people. Does she consciously know she is 'helping' Harold? Perhaps. More likely it is a subconscious thing... Which just gave me an interesting thought: What if our characters' subconscious reflects our writer's consciousness? That is what we intend our characters to do to play out our stories is expressed as their subconscious need? Ooh, that's an intriguing idea...

Great points, Scott. They actually help to clarify some points I was just thinking over for _Up In The Air_. With regards to that movie and what you just wrote, I was asking somebody the very same question: why does this story happen to Ryan now? He's blissfully ignorant at the start of the story, wrapped in, as Natalie would say, his "cocoon of self-banishment" and ends up having his emotional world shaken up when he does attempt to make a change. I was stuck feeling somewhat disappointed with understanding what Ryan's problem ultimately is, but not knowing how he found himself where he did at the beginning of the story. For a man who makes it a point to carry as little baggage as possible, he seems like he would have a lot more than just a carry on's worth full of first hand experience - but that's not ever really explored. But it was your question "Why does THIS story HAVE to happen to THIS character at THIS time?" that got my head around it a bit: Ryan is the main character, the one we're meant to "see the story through". As such, he can preach all he wants about "this being the first day of the rest of your life", but the message doesn't carry its full impact until Ryan is hit with that very decisive moment himself where he's confronted with the choice to practice what he preaches, or change course. In that sense (and tying the two stories together), I do believe the writers consciousness is reflected in their character's subconsciousness - heck, maybe even subconsciously. With regards to Ryan, the story isn't about his past so much - it's about his future. And we're looking at him, watching him, because we could very well be him, so the story plays out more like a cautionary tale - its ultimate meaning derived from its epilogue where people talk about overcoming these turbulent times with the help of friends and families. Having all those frequent flier miles are pretty worthless if you don't have someone to connect with. But perhaps more importantly, this story had to happen to this character at this particular time to help us, the audience, see that positive message.

Ooops, my format got all goofy. You can see my brain already transitioning to google+ in the beginning there, lol.