Dear Peggy, (and Glen and Joel),
Well, I am SOOO glad you see the redemptive side of Tony's character intermixed within his sociopathy. Is it a revisitation of his innocence prior to his pre-adolescent trauma of witnessing a bit of "de-digitalization"? (Talk about your textbook castration anxiety!) Or is he, like so many people, a complex admixture of all the elements that make us human, with a lot more "outlaw culture" sanctioning his utilization of certain more unsavory "powers of persuasion." In a dinner-table scene in the first season, one of Dr. Cusamano's guests claims that many a corporate boardroom smacks of similarly coercive tactics as those of the mob. So, as reprehensible as he often seems, in another sense, Tony is just running a business and trying hard to be a good father to his family, albeit in ways that may not (and should not) suit us.
He is, after all, as you aver about us therapists, "simply more human than otherwise." Ironically, however, he can't always comfort himself with this realization. He pays the price of all forms of pedestalization in his life just as therapists and clergy do. Granting that all of these institutions--the church, the mob, the profession of mental-health providers--all contribute to fortifying certain idealizations, I think that the fascination that the audience has is in the normalcy of the fall from grace that is suggested by all who tumble from exalted positions on the pedestal. Isn't that partly why so many shrinks watch this show? You don't have to like Jennifer's technique, or even that of HER therapist to still resonate with "we're all more human than otherwise." No therapist I know wouldn't at least be tempted to peek out the bathroom window of his host to spy her patient's manse.
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StumbleUponThere is something refreshing, something liberating, in all of this. This doesn't warrant going hog wild, however; on the contrary. As Glen suggested, Jennifer's resilient "No!" at that end of the last episode is as much stopping herself from going where she and a million viewers might wish for her to go: to merely drop the a hint about the rape and know that the perp would be readily dispatched. Her "No!" captures that quintessential moment where her humanity drags her back from the empowerment of enacting her revenge. She is on her way to realizing that her wish needn't be enacted at all for her to still feel entitled to it. But there is no simple triumph portrayed here either (thank God!). Of course, she still has to keep her Rottweiler around, and with that we will have to see what effect that may have on their treatment relationship. But I keep thinking one implication it has is to fortify something that Jennifer has held to all along. That is, that there is something in Tony's socioapathy that makes sense, as well as something about it for which he (and his family) have to pay an ungodly price. It is only when analysts have the integrity to dip into the fray of their patient's mess, to smell it, taste it, be tempted by it, and then take it to another plane of consideration, that what we do ever amounts to a hill of beans.
Phil
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Reader Comments From The Fray:
Margaret Crastnopol hit it right on the head: we are being too easy on Melfi (or at least the portrayal of Melfi). Fact is, Tony Soprano is an idiot and she's physically intimidated by him. She's also turned on by him--which is a revolting possibility. Thing is, thousands of women are, in fact, turned on by Tony and his merry band of thugs. Crastnopol's suggestion that the doctor-patient and doctor-doctor power positioning does little to counter stereotypes of weak women being pushed around by angry, stupid men--this is all correct, too. Actually, the whole program is misogynistic and ought not be watched by anyone....yet, I'm strangely attracted to it, bad writing/acting and all. Is it that I'm that desperate for entertainment or is this representative of some deep misogyny within? Doctors, tell me: what drives us (me) to watch this thing, even when I know it's negative TV? There are too many men and women out there watching this and thinking that this is an acceptable way of life. What's wrong with us? A diagnosis, please.
--Phil H.
(To reply, click here.)
To Phil H:
There is nothing wrong with "us." But there is a problem with your formulation of the problem. To enjoy this well-written and well-acted drama, we are not obligated to find that the fictional characters pursue "an acceptable way of life." On the contrary, I would guess that 99.9% of viewers strenuously object to the way Tony puts bread on the Sopranos' table.
We enjoy the bravura plot twists, the odd contrasts, the marvelous characterizations, and the Machiavellian tactics--and the occasionally absurd results of the characters' efforts. The monstrous is combined with the mundane in a striking and amusing way. Consider Tony strangling a mafia traitor as his beloved daughter is interviewed for admission to a genteel New England college.
Millions of people have read and admired Crime and Punishment. Do you suppose they accepted the grotesque reasoning that drove Dostoyevsky's main character? Must we approve of step-patricide to enjoy Hamlet?
Relax and enjoy the series. If you feel the urge to emulate the main characters, call your therapist (or your local sheriff).
--Gary
(To reply, click here.)
On the question of the Mafia don who approved of Tony's therapy: Remember that this was a leader of the Manhattan mob. Probably they are a little more sophisticated than the Jersey crowd. Remember, it was only Junior and Tony's assumption that seeing a shrink was taboo. The New York family was probably way ahead of them.
--Aurora Duane
(To reply, click here.)
(3/15)