ROBERT BOYERS
611
be removed from the case, doubtful that she is strong enough to handle one
as determined in her withdrawal from the world as Mrs. Vogler. "An oral
sadism develops in Elisabeth's attraction
to
Alma. In one scene she hits
Alma across the face making her nose bleed." I'm not sure what sort of oral
sadism might be involved in making someone's nose bleed, but I do know
that nothing of the kind is involved in
Persona.
Mrs. Vogler slaps Alma only
in a moment of terrible extremity, when Alma has physically attacked her.
The slap is a gesture of self-defense, not a rich psycho-sexual manifestation.
It
is unnecessary, perhaps even unkind, to go further with this. Readers
will have
to
decide for themselves whether a critique of Ms. Mellen's book
may serve as conclusive indictment of what has thus far passed for feminist
criticism. At the very least I shall have to hope that this scoring of particular
points will not obscure the lineaments of the broader argument.
English Romanticism and
the French Tradition
Margery Sabin
Instead of minimizing the importance of national characteris–
tics as
comparatistes
usually do, Margery Sabin demon–
strates that national traditions of thought and language have a
determining influence throughout the Romantic period. In
tracing the differing courses pursued by the best French and
English writers, she offers provocative and more precise ways
of understanding Romanticism and its later departures.
$15.00
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CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138
