The Swan Thieves - a resolution that didn't resolve and my…
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The Swan Thieves - a resolution that didn't resolve and my gripes
Hello! Spoiler warning, but the book has been out for about 17 years. I just finished The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, and I have some questions and thoughts if anyone else has read the book.
My main question and thought was that the revelation of why Beatrice stopped painting and that being the motive behind Robert's attack on the portrait, *not* Leda as we thought, just fell flat. As the reader, we are taken through long sections detailing Robert's personality through the eyes of his wife/ex-wife and then his mistress, about his attack and prior obsession with painting Beatrice (the impetus of this whole almost 600-page story). At the conclusion, Marlow confirms that Beatrice was blackmailed by her affair with Oliver, and that is why she stopped painting... and Robert just starts talking again after months of silence, says he is in his right mind, and checks out of the facility.
That is it? Did he just need proof of the wrongs committed against his long-dead lady? Why was he obsessed with her from the Met museum, and where does that leave him now? Is he free from her now that someone else knows (even though Robert beligerently refused to tell people who were earnestly asking about his paintings of her)? I am not of the opinion that a good ending has to explain everything in grand detail, but I would like an ending where I feel like I have some clue as to what the point of all of this was. The couple of times that either Kate, Mary, or Marlow said something about how Beatrice just drew them in; she couldn't help but be loved by everyone... doesn't cut it for me narratively. Throw in some God-honest mental illness (or much more) on Robert's part, or some history as to why he obsesses over *her.* If the reason why he was obsessed with her was the tragedy of why she stopped painting, buddy, you could've looked at your then wife, who had no time to paint for years because she was running a household of 2 kids with an emotionally absent (and actually absent) husband.
My criticism of the story also stems from my completely biased dislike of Robert and his treatment of women. \*Take with a grain of salt as it is from Kate and Mary's Pov we learn what we do, they are not reliable narrators\* The story consistently tells us of how much of a genius he is, how enigmatic, how sensual and how he naturally becomes gravity of whatever room he is in, blah blah blah, but all I can see is an egotistical, entitled asshole who gets away with what he does *because* of that artistic genius. He takes and takes from the women around him, and either gets kicked out or leaves when they have had enough and want an equal. I kept trying to get wrapped up in the mystery of Robert and kept getting disgusted with this cheating, condescending, mooching, slop of an almost 50-year-old man. Not to get dramatic, but the marriage between him and Kate adequately summed up my literal worst marriage nightmare. And I'm supposed to care about his journey after? Don't get me wrong, a good character does not have to be morally good (Glokta from First Law, for example), but I need something to remain attentive to their story. We never get a good reason why he is obsessed with Beatrice, and what we are given regarding his life is less than impressive. Great, you're an asshole painter who has unhealthy dynamics with women, GET IN LINE.
Overall, I still enjoyed the book and the unraveling of Beatrice and Oliver, the artistic exposition, but I felt like the plot kept building up to this grand reveal that fizzled out, while my care about the main subject dwindled into vindictiveness. What did y'all think? Do you have any different perspectives that could help reconcile the ending?
#entertainment
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Hello! Spoiler warning, but the book has been out for about 17 years. I just finished The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, and I have some questions and thoughts if anyone else has read the book.
My main question and thought was that the revelation of why Beatrice stopped painting and that being the motive behind Robert's attack on the portrait, *not* Leda as we thought, just fell flat. As the reader, we are taken through long sections detailing Robert's personality through the eyes of his wife/ex-wife and then his mistress, about his attack and prior obsession with painting Beatrice (the impetus of this whole almost 600-page story). At the conclusion, Marlow confirms that Beatrice was blackmailed by her affair with Oliver, and that is why she stopped painting... and Robert just starts talking again after months of silence, says he is in his right mind, and checks out of the facility.
That is it? Did he just need proof of the wrongs committed against his long-dead lady? Why was he obsessed with her from the Met museum, and where does that leave him now? Is he free from her now that someone else knows (even though Robert beligerently refused to tell people who were earnestly asking about his paintings of her)? I am not of the opinion that a good ending has to explain everything in grand detail, but I would like an ending where I feel like I have some clue as to what the point of all of this was. The couple of times that either Kate, Mary, or Marlow said something about how Beatrice just drew them in; she couldn't help but be loved by everyone... doesn't cut it for me narratively. Throw in some God-honest mental illness (or much more) on Robert's part, or some history as to why he obsesses over *her.* If the reason why he was obsessed with her was the tragedy of why she stopped painting, buddy, you could've looked at your then wife, who had no time to paint for years because she was running a household of 2 kids with an emotionally absent (and actually absent) husband.
My criticism of the story also stems from my completely biased dislike of Robert and his treatment of women. \*Take with a grain of salt as it is from Kate and Mary's Pov we learn what we do, they are not reliable narrators\* The story consistently tells us of how much of a genius he is, how enigmatic, how sensual and how he naturally becomes gravity of whatever room he is in, blah blah blah, but all I can see is an egotistical, entitled asshole who gets away with what he does *because* of that artistic genius. He takes and takes from the women around him, and either gets kicked out or leaves when they have had enough and want an equal. I kept trying to get wrapped up in the mystery of Robert and kept getting disgusted with this cheating, condescending, mooching, slop of an almost 50-year-old man. Not to get dramatic, but the marriage between him and Kate adequately summed up my literal worst marriage nightmare. And I'm supposed to care about his journey after? Don't get me wrong, a good character does not have to be morally good (Glokta from First Law, for example), but I need something to remain attentive to their story. We never get a good reason why he is obsessed with Beatrice, and what we are given regarding his life is less than impressive. Great, you're an asshole painter who has unhealthy dynamics with women, GET IN LINE.
Overall, I still enjoyed the book and the unraveling of Beatrice and Oliver, the artistic exposition, but I felt like the plot kept building up to this grand reveal that fizzled out, while my care about the main subject dwindled into vindictiveness. What did y'all think? Do you have any different perspectives that could help reconcile the ending?
#entertainment
source
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