The team treat an agoraphobic patient, while House and Cuddy struggle with their feelings for each other in "The Itch."
When you have an itch, the logical thing is to scratch it. For a very long time, in House’s case, the itch has seemed to be his attraction to dean of medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy. And despite House’s claim all the way back in season one that there is nothing but animosity between their flirtatiously hostile banter, we know better (well, I can't speak for anyone else, but...). On the other hand, scratching that particular itch is, to say the least, problematic.…
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26 - Renee
Yes I was talking to you Barbara. :)
Anyway, sorry, but I really think it's a disservice to the character of Cuddy to keep harkening back to Stacy. Yes, she was a HUGE part of House's life and who he is. She's GONE. And there's a VERY GOOD CHANCE, she's not coming back. Can we move on? I'm more interested in the characters we have on the show that can show us new things each week. And it's not fair to keep looking back at Stacy -- it's time to give Cuddy (and LE, of course) a chance to SHINE.
27 - sf
Barbara - This is one of your best reviews. In it you took a big bite out of the show and described to us how it tasted.
I especially like your line "...House begins to find himself slowly drawn away from isolation into once again living."
The line evokes how awkward House was in that process. Nicely done. I also like your perspective that the mosquito and itch/wound represented not just a kiss with an inconvenient person, Cuddy, but ultimately that the kiss released his deeply submerged feelings for her and that they are now pressing their way to the surface and bleeding out. (Quite different from a sleeping beauty kiss metaphor)
Cuddy's and House's moment of clarity during the kiss won't be wasted. House knows what he wants (Cuddy) but Cuddy is still focused on a baby while neither are willing to take a risk. Where they go from here, not even the writers know for sure.
Orange - Your summary of the Stacy years was formidable.
28 - Sue
Barbara,
One of your best reviews. I liked the episode, but there is something missing that has been missing for me all season.
To me, House the character has become relatively boring. Lost is the boyish charm, the instantaneous light to dark moments, the serious to snark, the 8 year old in a man's body. All we get is his downtrodden demeanor, with a line or two delivered in a purposely animated manner. He is more one-dimensional, lacking the fuller range we saw in earlier seasons. There is no anticipation of that line delivered in a way we never saw coming.
There have been many excuses for his recent demeanor-Amber's death, losing Wilson, awkwardness after kissing Cuddy. We had up and down moments like this in earlier seasons, without House losing what made him special.
Wilson has now become the comic relief on the show. We used to get that interspersed into House's part; unfortunately, those moments are few and far between. Remember "Have you appeared in any pornos?" Where are the lines like that?
I don't know where the problem lies. Is it the writing, or is it how Hugh is delivering the character? House has gone through stages, starting out tentative in his demeanor in season one, more raucous in season 2, more serious in season 3, too serious and crude in season 4, and flat in season 5. Has Hugh lost the magic that made House so unique? Did he move too far past the point where House now has no charm anymore? Is Hugh's heart still in it? Is House too familiar to him now?
The overall quality of the show has suffered with the lack of humor and snarkiness in the writing and the character. I find I don’t care as much about House as I used to. He is not as engaging as he used to be.
I haven't read all the comments. I would be interested to hear what others think of what I wrote.
29 - Pam
While this arc is primarily about House's struggle with pain and misery versus a chance at happiness, however fleeting, his life with Stacy, and the person he was then, is entirely relevant to how he may or may not approach Cuddy. This arc is doing a nice job, so far, of portraying the importance of Cuddy in House's life, and how she plays a distinctive and significant role in it (different but no less significant than Stacy's), but to discount House's past and, as far as we know, his only happy romantic experience would be a disservice to this storyline. It's certainly interesting for me to see how consistent House's characterization is, and how his core motivations haven't really changed. Personally, I hope that continues.
Orange: I don't think your assessment was formidable. I especially agree that Stacy must have faced some kind of wall in regards to House after the infarction. Based on "Hunting", House took a great interest at that time in her misery level, undoubtedly hoping she'd be as miserable as he felt, and it is no secret that House pushed Stacy away. The interesting thing about Stacy is that she is one of the most emotionally healthy people to have appeared on the show. She not only attempts to pursue happiness (moving on to a marriage with Mark), but she refuses to subject herself to situations and treatment that is bad for her. I think, post-infarction, Stacy would have recognized that, despite her love for House, she shouldn't remain in a relationship that had turned toward unhealthy, with her partner focused more on her misery rather than her happiness and being pushed away and shut out.
I also agree that Stacy didn't take her infidelity lightly, and her behavior on the rooftop did not indicate she had decided she could have both Mark and House. I agree that she felt caught, unsure of what to do so soon after she and House had slept together, and she was feeling the stress and struggle of what she should do. It's unreasonable to expect someone to make a decision on what to tell their spouse the same night an affair occurred. I don't think, however, her struggle with that decision meant she took the affair or her feelings for House lightly, but that she took it quite seriously.
As to why House pushed Stacy away, I think it has a lot to do with one of House's core character traits: his habitual desire to avoid pain. House views human connections, then their inevitable destruction as opportunities for pain. He felt that a renewed relationship with Stacy would inevitably end, and cause him more pain, and I think this is very relevant to the current arc going on in the show.
Barbara, you mentioned in your reply to me that House is attempting to seek happiness, and I agree. I think he is struggling with lessening the emotional pain of loneliness and misery he experiences on a daily basis. House has known what it's like to be in a good relationship, to love and be loved, and I think his life with Stacy, and the kind of happiness he found there is something he still wants, but struggles with the notion of it because he has rationalized that the pain of the loss of that kind of connection is both inevitable and incredibly painful. More painful, it seems, than the alternative of loneliness. During the week leading up to "The Itch" and then afterward, I compiled some thoughts about House's approach to pain and how it's affected him this season.
As a series, House M.D. consistently focuses on the concept of emotional and physical pain, particularly in terms of House. Each character, throughout the course of the series, possesses varying outlooks on pain itself and copes with it uniquely. Much of the first season concentrates largely on House's physical pain and his method of coping: lessening and avoiding it as much as possible through the use of Vicodin. As the series continues, episodes reveal a sense of House's emotional pain, as well as the lengths House undertakes in order to avoid not only physical, but also this emotional pain. House intermittently exercises questionable measures throughout the series to avoid pain--a rejection of a renewed relationship with Stacy ("Need to Know", 2.11), an experimental ketamine treatment ("No Reason", 2.24), attempts to obtain the nerve cells of a CIPA patient for his own benefit ("Insensitive", 3.14), an attempt to stage a medical condition to qualify for a potentially pain-relieving treatment for cancer patients ("Half-Wit", 3.15), and an effort to fraudulently obtain Vicodin through forging a prescription in Wilson's name ("Meaning", 3.01). While this core trait appears frequently in previous seasons, no other quality dominates House's characterization in season five more than his habitual desire to avoid pain. Subsequent of "Wilson's Heart" (4.16), House's desire to avoid pain, specifically through the prevention of personal loss, motivates each of his decisions in regards to his close relationships, especially the relationship he shares with Cuddy.
Prior to the conclusion of "Wilson's Heart" (4.16), House confesses: "I don't want to be in pain. I don't want to be miserable. And I don't want [Wilson] to hate me." In addition to viewing his pain as a source of his misery, House implies that the loss of an important personal relationship--Wilson's friendship--would further it and, in an attempt to avoid the relationship's destruction, House honors Wilson's request for "time alone" during his bereavement leave ("Dying Changes Everything", 5.01). Upon the discovery of Wilson's decision to resign, House challenges Wilson's choice, providing reasons in both calm and hostile manners, and, later, genuinely apologizes for his role in Amber's death in order to save their friendship. Wilson invalidates the apology on the grounds that Wilson places no blame on House for Amber's death ("Dying Changes Everything", 5.01). Wilson also expresses a desire to escape House, not because of his part in Amber's death, but because of the destructive effects that House--his personal qualities, attitudes, and habits--imposes on Wilson's life. Wilson cannot recognize any redeeming qualities in House's character, but believes that House "spread[s] misery, because [he] can't feel anything else" ("Dying Changes Everything", 5.01). Wilson acknowledges the need to care for himself and, consequently, not only physically separates himself from House, but also questions the validity of their entire friendship. House's failure to prevent the loss of Wilson's friendship forces House to experience the emotional pain he strives to avoid. House's decision to utilize Lucas Douglas, the P.I., in an attempt to rebuild Wilson's friendship demonstrate the gravity of Wilson's absence as well as its effects; House must act, rather than pose a rational argument, in order not only to draw Wilson back into his life, thereby minimizing his emotional pain, but also to prevent the additional loss Cuddy, the only remaining pillar in his feeble foundation of support.
The circumstances surrounding and reasons for Wilson's departure as well as House's instinctive desire to avoid additional emotional pain directly affect House's subsequent approach to Cuddy in both "Adverse Events" (5.03) and "Joy" (5.06). Prior to "Joy" (5.06), the abstract threat of the loss of Cuddy's support propels House to proactively secure Cuddy's position in his life. With Lucas's help, House formulates a mission in order to obtain "personal" and "embarrassing" ("Adverse Events", 5.03) information about Cuddy, as well as to improve Cuddy's perception of him. Under the guise of a manipulative game, House indicates that he hopes to use information "to scare her into saying 'yes'" ("Adverse Events", 5.03). That is, he hopes to encourage her to respond positively to him. This goal remains consistent with House's interest to ensure that Cuddy remains grounded in her role in his life. Simultaneously, House sacrifices embarrassing, revealing material to Cuddy about himself. This action serves to improve Cuddy's perception of him and prevent Cuddy from potentially reaching the same conclusions at which Wilson arrived in regards to House's personal character prior to his departure. House's attempt to paint himself "in a different light" ("Adverse Events", 5.03) suggests a desire to illuminate a sliver of his own goodness in order to keep his relationship with Cuddy. His plan, however, fails on both fronts; he obtains no significant information about Cuddy, and Cuddy's perception of House remains the same. According to Lucas, "not only didn't she see [House in a different light], she didn't even believe it was possible" ("Adverse Events", 5.03). Consequently, the potential loss of his relationship with Cuddy, as well as House's potential to experience additional emotional pain, remains a threat.
House's concern for the abstract, potential loss of his relationship with Cuddy diminishes upon Wilson's return following "Birthmarks" (5.04). In the closing scene of "Lucky Thirteen" (5.05), however, this concern re-emerges. House discovers that Cuddy plans to adopt a child. Almost instantly, House realizes the magnitude and implications of Cuddy's decision. The decision to accept a child "changes the rest of your life" ("Joy", 5.06); House recognizes the potential shift in Cuddy's priorities, the dissolution of his current relationship with her, and, consequently, the guarantee of the emotional pain of loss. Additionally, House's visible, emotional reaction results not only from the implications of the news itself, but also from the knowledge that Cuddy, like Wilson following his departure, refuses to include him in her life. In light of Cuddy's news, House renews his attempts to prevent the loss of his relationship with Cuddy in order to avoid an increase of emotional pain.
With the loss of Wilson's friendship still relatively fresh, House launches a campaign to prevent the destruction of his current relationship with Cuddy. House employs logical, but brutal, arguments in order to illustrate the fault in her reasoning and desire for a child. House remains vehement throughout "Joy" (5.06) and refuses to relinquish his stance on the matter. In the operating room, in which the baby Joy is born, House explicitly states: "This doesn't need you. I do" ("Joy", 5.06). House's declaration reveals a thinly-veiled desperation to ensure that Cuddy will respond to him, rather than dismiss him; House receives confirmation, however, that Cuddy's priorities have shifted, and House no longer receives "top billing". House attempts to force her away from the child, serving to remind her of the reality of her "new life" and refusing to accept his demoted status, and exhibits a curt attitude towards Cuddy, displeased with the situation.
House alters his approach, however, following the birth mother's decision to keep her child. Upon the loss of a Joy, Cuddy's grief replaces the child as a threat to House's relationship with Cuddy. Cuddy's grief and related emotions make her susceptible to viewing House negatively, as well as viewing his selfishness and his lack of support as cause for dismissal from her personal life. Because Cuddy's situation mirrors Wilson's earlier one, House needn't seek advice about a suitable or safe way of approaching her; House already received it from Cuddy herself. In "Dying Changes Everything" (5.01), Cuddy advises House that if "you want to keep [Wilson], he needs to know he's not alone." In the final scene of "Joy", House, in the best way he knows, follows this advice. House comforts Cuddy and attempts to encourage her to continue to pursue her desire for a child on the basis that she "would have been a great mother" ("Joy", 5.06"). Because House follows Cuddy's specific advise, his confusion is appropriate in light of her negative reaction. House exercises all of his logical options, acts on Cuddy's advice, and demonstrates that he can consider the needs of others. Out of any other options, the kiss results from his desperation, a last-ditch effort to communicate to Cuddy that he possesses redeeming qualities, that he cares for her, which serve as a reason for her to remain in his life, and to improve her perception of him in order to keep her. Simply, House chooses to kiss her as his last effort to show Cuddy that she is not alone. He attempts to show her that he is there for her, effectively admitting that he needs to keep her in his life not only because she is important to him, but also because her continued presence spares House additional emotional pain in his life. Thus, House creates a literal connection to complement his emotional one. The kiss communicates the need he's incapable of saying--a need for her to remain in his life--and a desperate need to avoid the pain of losing a person who is important to him.
In the aftermath of House and Cuddy's kiss, House's need to avoid pain overpowers both any feelings he possesses for her and any desire for happiness. "The Itch" (5.07) draws clear parallels between House and the agoraphobic patient, specifically in their similar approaches to pain. Through his words to the patient, House expresses awareness that his own habitual avoidance of pain results from a rationalization formed to justify his way of life. Aware that this rationalization amounts to a lie, House comments on the patient, and, consequently, himself, citing that he "doesn't think he's happy here. He's miserable. [...] He's also a coward" ("The Itch", 5.07). This parallels House's words to Foreman in "Euphoria - Part 2" (2.21), in which House expresses his belief that "pain makes us make bad decisions. Fear of pain is almost as big a motivator." In both cases, House views his decision to avoid pain as a rationalization, leading to poor personal decisions. However, he also adheres to his worldview to the point that he believes fleeting happiness fails to neutralize physical or emotional pain, thereby creating a life-goal not of happiness but to minimize pain and to "keep misery to the minimum" ("Mirror Mirror", 4.05). House's need to avoid pain will undoubtedly affect his decision to enter into another romantic relationship, with Cuddy or any other woman, as "The Itch" (5.07) demonstrates. For all of House's willingness to risk patients' lives, his medical license, and his employees' and employer's jobs, House cannot risk experiencing additional physical or emotional pain; House would rather live with the knowledge that, when it involves personal emotions and decisions, he is a coward.
I doubt this goal to minimize pain will ever change for House, and in that sense, he will always be cowardly, but what may change is his perception of which kind of pain is worse: the pain of constant loneliness and misery or the pain of finding a slice of happiness and human connection, only to experience the inevitable pain of losing it. This is the struggle that seems to be happening in House, and, in addition to seeing the importance of Cuddy in House's life, I hope we see more of this struggle. Also, this season has made me realize that House is no less complicated than he ever was, and the writers have been remarkably consistent in keeping his core traits throughout the series.
(Oh, my goodness, that was long. Sorry for going on and on, but it's just really great to me how things are being tied together, and how skilled these writers are in shaping House's character.)
30 - NancyGail
Poor Wilson! ; ) He deserves more than a Cuddy kiss. As much as I enjoy RSL, the episode of him in bed with a new woman is the one I want.
31 - sf
Pam - When I wrote that Orange's summary of the Stacy years was formidable I meant it in the sense of masterful or unassailable. In other words, excellent writing even when looked at from all fronts and perspectives. Solid.
32 - Pam
SF - Sorry. I assumed you meant the "causing fear, dread, or apprehension" definition of the word. Without a whole lot of context, I wasn't sure, but sorry about that. We're on the same page, after all. =)
33 - Orange450
SF and Pam, thanks for the clarification and the consensus.
Pam wrote:
"While this arc is primarily about House's struggle with pain and misery versus a chance at happiness, however fleeting, his life with Stacy, and the person he was then, is entirely relevant to how he may or may not approach Cuddy. This arc is doing a nice job, so far, of portraying the importance of Cuddy in House's life, and how she plays a distinctive and significant role in it (different but no less significant than Stacy's), but to discount House's past and, as far as we know, his only happy romantic experience would be a disservice to this storyline. It's certainly interesting for me to see how consistent House's characterization is, and how his core motivations haven't really changed. Personally, I hope that continues."
I definitely agree with this. Sometimes I have the urge to tell House that "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it", but I get the feeling that he'd just give me a rude snort :-)
I can also relate to your experience of compiling your thoughts as you observe themes and central ideas converging. You did an amazing job of tracing House's approach to pain and the avoidance of it. I really appreciate the opportunity that Barbara's blog gives us to articulate and air our various views in an environment of mutual respect and courtesy!
34 - Phillip Winn
I'm late to this; just finally watched the episode last night.
As you suggest, the parallels were more clearly and explicitly drawn than usual, maybe too clearly and explicitly.
What struck me was House mocking the patient for being scared, and then the cuts back and forth as the patient does what House cannot. Wow. Who's the chicken now, Greg?
The other scene that was full of pathos was Wilson's attempt to propose to Cuddy. She was surprisingly oblivious, and Wilson took the easy out, and it was almost too much to bear. Poor Wilson!
So Taub and his wife make progress, Cameron and Chase make progress, and the patient makes progress, but House is unchanging. Very, very nice.
What's also interesting to me is how much more I enjoy these seasons without a clear antagonist than the seasons with Tritter or Vogler. As much as I loved the Tritter arc, my wife hated it, and the Vogler arc just didn't work, because I couldn't quite believe that House could fail.
Anyway, excellent writeup again. Thanks, Barbara!
35 - Barbara Barnett
Hi Phillip--
I am so much liking this season. I especially like the journey that House seems to be on. He has been more self-aware this season, picking up on clues to himself through his interactions with others.
House's fear is such a fabulous thing to explore because he is outwardly Mr. Confidence...even arrogant. But inside he is terrified, hurting and clueless about himself.
I loved that he was able to try to take a step, but loved even more that he chickened out. As so often happens on House, he has a positive impact on others, but fails himself. Like Cameron astutely said way, way back in the pilot. "He cured you--you didn't cure him." This is a fundamental truth of the character. Glad you liked the write up!
36 - NancyGail
Wilson proposed? Hardly. Like he said, it's too soon after Amber. Think you meant propositioned.
37 - sf
Barbara wrote, "...he has a positive impact on others, but fails himself....This is a fundamental truth of the character."
It is generally agreed among many that the saddest words in Shakespeare's tragedies are, "Never, never, never, never, never."
It refers to the death of a loved one (daughter) and the consequent futility of life thereafter for the lover (father). But while there is life there is hope.
I wouldn't resign House to hopelessness. He has the raw materials of the 'good' man and has the ability to develop them. However, I can also see a very powerful and neat(tidy) ending of the series if it is concluded with House's death. Perhaps Cuddy would be carrying his child.
But with Obama as president there is more of a chance that the scales will be tipped on the side of hope, rather than tragedy in David Shore's writing room. Either way, House M.D. has been well worth watching.
38 - Orange450
SF wrote:
"However, I can also see a very powerful and neat(tidy) ending of the series if it is concluded with House's death."
As SF also wrote:
"Never, never, never, never, never"!!!!
I thought I detected a moment of hopefulness on his part in this episode, when he told Cameron that he risked his life because he didn't want to be a cripple.
I may be wrong, but it struck me that this was the first time that he's ever admitted that he did indeed risk his life at the time of the infarction. I think he'd previously been quite firm that he was never in any danger of dying. I saw this as a subtle indication of his being honest with himself about himself - a state of mind that we don't always find him in.
It seemed to me that the throwaway line might be meant as further instantiation of the slowly increasing self-awareness that's been the one of the overriding themes this season - realizing how much he needs Wilson, realizing that he's more like his father than he thought, realizing that his feelings for Cuddy are stronger than he thought - which came along with the realization that she would make a good mother (and that her motherhood might not be a threat to him), and realizing that a destructive and hopeless downward spiral is not a good path to take in life (reflected in his reaction to 13's activities).
39 - Barbara Barnett
Orange--yes, yes, yes, maybe. I agree that that line was much more than a throwaway. It's the first reference to the events around the infarction since (maybe even) House and Stacy's argument about it in Honeymoon.
This season has been one of self-discovery for House. Something that might have happened in season three had the ketamine not worn off so quickly--and followed on quickly by his legal problems. After he was shot, he also became introspective, but also didn't know quite where or how to start. Wilson was not helpful to him; this time he is. He's also in a different place, and maybe he's resigned himself to never becoming physically healed, and needing to finally enter the "acceptance" stage of grief over his loss (of mobility).
He was pretty close to despair both in seasons three and in season four by the end in the white bus scene. At that point, hitting rock bottom (again) he determines that he doesn't want to be miserable. And season five has been that journey, which has to begin with acceptance (or at least a move towards it) so that he can begin to allow himself to feel and allow those moments of humanity to be unfettered.
Again, he won't succeed, not for awhile--and this is what I love so much about the show. House can hope and wish and try all he wants. But actual permanent change is so incredibly difficult when you're in such a deep emotional hole. We root for him, but know he can't really succeed.
40 - Sheelagh
Well, perhaps House won't completely succeed...or succeed in the way we anticipate. I thought the most pivotal line to date in this season was deliverd in " Not Cancer" where House says to the corneal transplant patient that the difference between her bleak view of the world and his was that he :
"hadn't given up."
He got off the bus and moved into Season Five , and kept pitching !
41 - Barbara Barnett
Sheelagh--true. One thing that House hasn't done is "given up." He's been on death's door several times, and had he been despairing, he might have given up, but something won't allow him to do that. The only time I think he was on the verge of it was at the height of the Tritter arc. In Merry Little Christmas we saw him as close to despairing as we've ever seen him.
42 - Orange450
"Again, he won't succeed, not for awhile--and this is what I love so much about the show. House can hope and wish and try all he wants. But actual permanent change is so incredibly difficult when you're in such a deep emotional hole. We root for him, but know he can't really succeed."
One of the things I love most about the show (and the character) is the way House forces me to like him - sometimes even to love him - against my own inclination. If he weren't trying - or if I was absolutely sure that he wasn't going to succeed - I would find the whole premise unsatisfying and unfulfilling.
For me, it's the dynamic tension of his struggle - the two steps forward, one step back - done in such an unpredictable, yet (mostly) believable (and in hindsight - inevitable) way, which - IMHO - is a chief genius of the show (and the actor).
I've been enjoying the discussion of House and his relationship to the heroes of Victorian novels that's been going on over at your KJ interview thread (and I have a comment to make over there :-)), but I have to admit - my favorite novels in that genre are the ones with happy endings. "Reader, I married him" - now *that's* the way to begin the final section!
The true Romantic Hero usually undergoes a redemptive experience at the end of his story, which transforms him. We know that a happy House will mean that the series is over - but I would really love to see him end it off on a positive note like Rochester did. And Heathcliff. I just can't decide what form the redemptive experience should take - there are several I would be happy to see :-)
43 - Barbara Barnett
Orange--
Did you ever read my essay on House as a romantic hero? I wrote it about a year ago, and is one of the first I posted here on Blogcritics.
I think that a lot of (especially) women who gravitate to House do so not for the snarkiness but for his journey.
I never really bought into the notion that people like House because he says what we can't, has no filters and is a funny jerk. It's the character's essential humanity that I find fascinating along with his struggle. Something that Hugh Laurie so much infuses into the character.
44 - JL
Oh, dear, this terrific discussion of Bronte and Byron and everybody else has finally sucked me in. I suppose I'd better get into some reading.
So: should I be reading Byron? Or should I tackle a Bronte? And which one is good to start with?
(I did dabble with 'Don Juan' once...)
(Preferably one that's not overwhlemingly depressing, since I'm asking for recommendations, here...)
45 - JL
BTW, I should note that I have read your 'House as romantic hero' essay, Barbara - it was the first thing that brought me here and I thought it was just terrific. Thanks!
46 - Barbara Barnett
I'm totally biased towards Jane Eyre (Bronte). If you really want to be sucked in, rent the BBC version and then read the book--or vice-versa.
But any of the Victorians--Thomas Hardy wrote fantastic tragic heroes. Anyone else???
47 - Orange450
What a beautiful article, Barbara! You have such a gift of articulating what is more easily sensed than said!
If House continues to track along Edward Rochester's (and Edmond Dantes' - another classic RH) trajectory, he will indeed eventually have a redemptive experience that transforms him, as Edward Rochester did when he and Jane discussed their respective strange midnight experiences (p. 492 in the Bantam Classic edition). And as Edmond Dantes did when he realized that he had gone too far in his quest for revenge - although in both cases, the redemptive experience had to be precipitated by an unpremeditated tragedy. Which actually sounds like something the House PTB would do a very good job with.
You captured him so well! Everything you said about him is true, and so, IMO, is everything I said about him in my long rant about the Stacy arc up above. If it was all about House saying what we can't, and having no filters, and being a funny jerk, I'd be less inclined to like him - not more.
It's the way HL puts it together and makes us believe it - as we've all said a million times already, and will probably say a million times more. But it can't be said too often!
48 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks, Orange. I remember from Jane Eyre (it's now been awhile since I've read it) the sort of mind games Rochester played with Jane, going so far as to pretend to be a old hag fortune teller at a party to ascertain Jane's thoughts before he hazarded revealing his own.
It seemed as if Rochester's reveals to Jane always came at night, at vulnerable moments, but then composure regained, he'd go back to hiding from her, until he finally proposed. The terrible tragedy of their relationship and the events that drove Rochester to the despair and his bad life-style choices ultimately drove Jane from him--until further tragedy struck and he could finally find redemption and cause for optimism. Sigh.
There is a lot of Rochester in House (and a bit of Heathcliff as well). Hugh does such a great job bringing all of House's complexities to light...
49 - Orange450
"But any of the Victorians--Thomas Hardy wrote fantastic tragic heroes. Anyone else???"
My personal favorite is George Eliot, even if her work is not typically as romantically tempestuous as that of the Brontes. Although The Mill on the Floss is dramatic enough for anyone. You can't go wrong with Adam Bede (I'm ashamed to admit that I'm more drawn to him than to the more typical romantic heroes). And The Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch present some very interesting romantic heroines - struggling with a different but just as compelling set of issues as the heroes do.
Hmmm, now I'm wondering whether there are any good literary examples for the women surrounding House.
50 - Barbara Barnett
Love Eliot. Adam Bede was the first Eliot I read.
51 - JL
Thanks for your ideas!
On perusing my bookcase, I find I already have an as-yet-unread copy of Wuthering Heights, so perhaps I'll start with that (apprpriately enough, it was tucked in with Tess, which is who I was thinking of when I mentioned 'overwhelmingly depressing'. I'd have to be in an unassailably content mood before I'd dare tackle another Hardy heartbreak...).
52 - sf
Orange, For the women surrounding House I would look at Margaret from Mrs. Gaskell's "North and South" and there are a plethora of exceptional women in "Wives and Daughters".
All of Mrs. Gaskell's heroes are women but she is also praised as being one of the only female authors who successfully and extensively explores the minds of her men. She does not dwell on tragedy but, in the midst of it, on overcoming it. She is an engaging force for life.
If I had to quickly characterize Mrs. Gaskell, she would be a cross between Austin and Eliot, with the exception that her female heroes are always strongly and vibrantly connected to the people around her. No gray angst or alienation, just frustration.
(I'm using the American spell check but I know there are a lot more Brits in my timezone, sorry.)
53 - Orange450
SF -- Elizabeth Gaskell is one of my favorites too. I love Molly, in Wives and Daughters. (Mrs. Gaskell's portrayal of Osborne in that novel is also very powerful, because she allows him to take such an unconventional route.)
I agree with your comment: "no gray angst or alienation, just frustration". I would add that she conveyes everyday emotions in a very authentic manner. I'm just not sure that I see a comparison with any of the House women. (Not in Cranford, either :-))
54 - sf
Orange, Margaret from Gaskell's "North and South" would be Cuddy. Margaret held her family together after they moved to the industrial North as Cuddy holds the hospital together. Margaret even extends that support to the sick workers in the community as Cuddy does in her hospital. Margaret reforms and supports Thornton, the male protagonist, as Cuddy tries to reform and support House.
Could Cameron be Molly?
55 - Orange450
SF - I don't really see Cameron as similar to Molly. One of Molly's most consistent characteristics is an emotional honesty and a total lack of guile that I don't think Cameron posesses to the same degree at all. Also - at the risk of sounding old-fashioned - Molly has a natural refinement that would never permit her to perform of the reckless activities that Cameron has performed over the years.
This game is fun :-) We'll have to dig up some more classics along the way, and see whether or not we can match them up with other House characters.
56 - sf
Orange, It is fun, isn't it? For Stacy, after almost no reflection, :-)
I thought of Sue from Hardy's "Jude the Obscure". I'm sure there is a better fit somewhere...