Manet and the Family Romance

Rating:
Summary: Freudianly goofy
Review: Speculative indeed. The crux of the book is the assumption that Manet's father fathered Leon and young Manet married Suzanne to protect the family name. But if so, why wait until the father died to marry her? And does it make sense psychologically that Manet would marry and love (as his letters to her indicate) the mother of his father's child? Locke gives no initiative to Suzanne, who is presented as passive, whereas it is most likely that it was Suzanne who insisted on passing off Leon as her brother to protect _her_ reputation. Moreover, Locke doesn't even look at the pictures carefully. She says the dog in "Fishing" (which is on the jacket) is looking at the boy whereas clearly the dog is looking at Suzanne. She also says the sword in "Luncheon in the Studio" is the same as the one in "Boy with Sword" but it's clearly not. There are a few reproductions that one doesn't usually see, but all of the reproductions are in black and white. The book is laxly argued and depends on outmoded Freud and the fancies of Lacan and Foucault.