Editing Now, Voyager (section)

==Plot==
Charlotte Vale is a drab, quiet, overweight, neurotic woman whose life is brutally dominated by her mother, an [[Boston Brahmin|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.
[[File:Paul Henreid in Now Voyager trailer.jpg|thumb|150px|From the trailer]]
Away from her mother's control, Charlotte blossoms, and at Lisa's urging, the now-slim, transformed woman — with a chic borrowed wardrobe — opts to take a lengthy cruise 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 glasses” 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 (Brazil)|Sugarloaf Mountain]] when their car crashes. Spending the night together while their driver goes for help, Jerry and Charlotte cuddle together 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.
[[File:Gladys Cooper in Now Voyager trailer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|From the trailer]]

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.
[[File:Claude Rains in Now Voyager trailer.jpg|thumb|150px|From the trailer]]
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."