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msand3 's review for:
The Spoils of Poynton
by Henry James
James’ novel is a psychoanalyst’s dream, so to speak. What makes it so fascinating is that the narrative flies in the face of Žižek’s conception of the maternal superego, expressed in [b:Looking Awry|18911|Looking Awry An Introduction to Jacques Lacan through Popular Culture|Slavoj Žižek|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347257589l/18911._SX50_.jpg|20256], as the controlling force that prevents or denies sexual desire (he famously uses Hitchcock’s The Birds as an example: the birds attacking act as an externalization of the mother’s attempt to prevent Mitch and Melanie from getting together and consummating their sexual desire.) In the case of James’ novel, the controlling maternal presence (Mrs. Gereth) is trying everything in her power to get Fleda and Owen together, including highjacking all the treasures in the Poynton mansion, which requires her practically to force Fleda to embrace her desire and just GO FOR IT. In fact, she says it quite bluntly in almost those exact terms: “Only let yourself go, darling--only let yourself go!” Of course, one might argue that this entire ruse by Mrs. Gereth is precisely to prevent Owen from marrying Mona, in which case the withholding of the “spoils” might very well be an externalization of the maternal superego to prevent the union of Owen and Mona, with Fleda acting as Mrs. Gereth’s decoy. So maybe it’s not that far off from Žižek’s original premise of the maternal superego, after all.
This novel is more fun to discuss than to read, as it is overly long (despite being one of James’ shorter novels) and a little repetitive. Considering the high concept plot and small number of characters, it would have made a more compact short story or novella, like [b:Daisy Miller|16204|Daisy Miller|Henry James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327911289l/16204._SY75_.jpg|3274683] or [b:The Aspern Papers|214528|The Aspern Papers|Henry James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388368881l/214528._SY75_.jpg|207680]. But it’s still worth a read if you’re into James, Downton Abbey (Mrs. Gereth reminded me a great deal of Maggie Smith’s Dowager, and the plot is pretty much a more complex version of Downton’s soap opera shenanigans), or grad school discussions on esoteric topics like “the maternal superego.”
This novel is more fun to discuss than to read, as it is overly long (despite being one of James’ shorter novels) and a little repetitive. Considering the high concept plot and small number of characters, it would have made a more compact short story or novella, like [b:Daisy Miller|16204|Daisy Miller|Henry James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327911289l/16204._SY75_.jpg|3274683] or [b:The Aspern Papers|214528|The Aspern Papers|Henry James|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388368881l/214528._SY75_.jpg|207680]. But it’s still worth a read if you’re into James, Downton Abbey (Mrs. Gereth reminded me a great deal of Maggie Smith’s Dowager, and the plot is pretty much a more complex version of Downton’s soap opera shenanigans), or grad school discussions on esoteric topics like “the maternal superego.”