Dear Glen, Phil, and Joel,
If Tony Soprano says an episode is all about self-esteem and its vicissitudes, far be it from me to question that! Almost each character in last night’s program struggles with the complex effects that ethnic/religious identity, clan identification, and the wielding of power can have on one’s sense of self-worth. Layers of illusorily based narcissistic pride are lovingly laid out by the writers and then peeled back to reveal each character’s folly. No one is exempt, not even (most egregiously?) Janice’s cheerleading therapist. This lady’s interpretive zeal for setting forth her patient’s presumed neurotic conflicts (in the poor choice of boyfriends) blinds her to Janice’s true colors as sociopath par excellence. Most instructive for us clinicians is watching how the therapist’s misbegotten positive regard for her patient, coupled with the gratification of her own therapeutic fervor, cause her to be entirely deceived by Janice’s pseudo-sincere self-presentation.
But what takes my breath away in this episode is that Tony shows some sort of independent psychic growth—dare I call it insight?—as the succession of events unfolds. From the moment he falls prey to Silvio’s flattery (“as capo, we need your guidance in this matter”), Tony links his self-esteem to the preservation of the prestige of his Italian ancestry. While railing against contrary, uncomplimentary accounts of Columbus’ exploits, he can’t help registering (nor can we, being hit over the head with it) that each ethnic subgroup, each profession, each faction has its own story in which there are elements both praiseworthy and reprehensible. In his final “aria,” Tony damns this kind of benighted chauvinism (which not so incidentally has made a fool of him in this episode) and argues for each person to be judged on his or her own merits. This more mature attitude represents a good piece of psychic work. Now, what does it mean that it happened without Dr. Melfi’s assistance?
Peggy
