Posted by Steven on 27/6/2011, 22:24:58, in reply to "Re: The Bad Girl"
76.186.51.185
Since Manon Lescaut is quite short, I read it today so I could compare it with The Bad Girl. There are indeed quite a few similarities. The men in the two novels are very similar, and their experiences parallel each other. Lily, however, is a more complex and troubled character than Manon, whom Germaine Greer describes in her introduction as "emotionally inert, a giggling empty-headed minx."
I ran across a comment yesterday, saying that "few novels confront the notion of power in a romantic relationship as plainly as Zuleika Dobson [and] The Portrait of a Lady." What an unlikely but astute pairing. Zuleika Dobson is the second funniest book I have ever read, and The Portait of a Lady is anything but. (So you don't have to ask, Scoop by Evelyn Waugh is the funniest.)
The Bad Girl can also be said to be about power. Does Lily cultivate and exert her power over Ricardo deliberately? I'm not inclined to think so. Manon Lescaut does not. She is purely an opportunist, and is madly in love with the Chevalier des Grieux right up until the moment a richer guy comes along. Lily is never in love with Ricardo, but I don't think she plans her conquest of him. He doesn't have enough of what she wants to make it worth the effort. She simply takes advantage of what he throws slavishly at her feet.
--Previous Message--
: I have finished "The Bad Girl". Although I
: enjoyed it, I can't say it is one of Vargas Llosa's
: best novels. By now, he is a master of his style, and
: his terse prose is one of the most readable in the
: world, but it's hard to relate to the bad girl. It
: reminded me of an XVIII Century book called
: "Manon Lescaut", by Abbe Prevost, in which a
: rich young man falls in love with a courtisan who
: betrays him every time until he is financialy,
: sexualy, and emotionaly broken. In Vargas Llosa's
: book, Ricardito is either a martyr of love or simply a
: very stupid, repressed guy, seduced by a plain woman
: who is totally unable to love. An unlikable, cruel,
: most insecure woman, a true cougar who, in the end,
: can't be anything but despicable. Vargas Llosa seems
: to use the story as a vehicle to travel through the
: second part of the XX Century, telling the sad story
: of Latin America's infatuation with the Cuban
: Revolution, Socialist fantasies, the '68 dreams in
: Europe, hippyism, AIDS, and the further triumph of
: materialistic society. It's a good trip, and several
: of the characters are interesting, including his
: neighbor-friends with the mute kid. But altogether it
: was below Vargas Llosa's weight. I have recently
: bought "The Dream of the Celt", his latest
: novel, and I have much higher expectations about it, I
: hope it's back to his mastery. Nevertheless, I don't
: regret having read "The Bad Girl". Vargas
: Llosa is better than most even in his weakest.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I'm more than halfway through and expect to finish it
: by
: the end of the week
:
: --Previous Message--
: Guillermo, are you finished yet?
:
: The relationship between the two characters is very
: manipulative, abusive and obsessive. It is a very sick
: relationship and can't wait to hear all your comments.
:
: Lale
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I finished it today. Guillermo is reading it too, so
: I'll wait for him before saying more than that it was
: a fascinating character portrait and quite different
: from the other novels by MVL that I have read.
:
: --Previous Message--
: We'll wait for Steven to finish but just wanted to say
: real quick that this story re-affirms my belief that
: men - present company excluded - can be really stupid.
:
: Powerful, successful men at top offices have
: particularly gone mad, they are doing the most idiotic
: things. But maybe that's another story.
:
: I am very curious about all your comments on this
: story.
:
: Lale
:
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