Review: The Judge by Rebecca West

I was so impressed with Rebecca West's first novel, The Return of the Soldier, that I wasted no time getting another book by her. The Judge is her second novel, set in the 1920s and concerning the love story of a young Scottish suffragette, Ellen, and a wealthy English traveler, Richard. There are certain aspects of the novel that are completely unique and utterly captivating. There are also aspects that are disturbing and even obscurely disgusting.

I freely admit that what I look for in a work of literature more than 'literary value' or even character development is a certain style that is at once beautiful and transcendental, a certain tone that is sympathetic and touching, a certain mood or atmosphere of something fascinating. West's writing provides this in plenty, which is why, even when I was displeased by some features, I was still captivated. West's style leaves, for me, little to be desired. It is somewhat reminiscent of Virginia Woolf's (which is to me the most satisfying writing of all that I have yet found). There are striking stream-of-conscience passages, descriptions of nature in which the characters interact with their surroundings in powerful psychical journeys, brilliant characterization, an enormous variety of internal worlds as West flits from the mind of one person to another, from the heroic to the ignoble. The style is deeply poetic and evocative, tinting all of life with deep satisfaction and harmony that communicates itself to the reader. The (perhaps) main character, Ellen, I could relate to best, and the way West portrays her young consciousness exploding in alterations of joy, confusion, and despair is a true delight. She is a character portrayed so vividly that one would recognize her in a second if one met her, her personality and charm shine out irresistibly. West also describes most vibrantly of anyone I have ever read the changeability and rapidity of human emotion. The characters swerve vertiginously and endlessly between hate, love, disgust, sympathy (etc) towards each other; nothing is stable. Every emotion, no matter how deep, cannot be relied upon to be there a minute later.

The disagreeable parts of the novel (for me) are all concerned with sexuality. There is an insistence on portraying a woman as a miracle because she has the ability to bear children and an overwhelming concern with pregnancy, childbirth, and the fertile state of the female. The section concerning Richard's mother, Marion, digs so deeply into the realm of female sexuality and the female as reproductive agent that it becomes utterly disgusting, though the style never becomes crude or fails in its beauty. The subject matter is pursued in revolting and tiresome depth. Disturbingly, Ellen is not aware of the actual facts about sexual intercourse (a little strange as she is seventeen) and Richard does not seem to mind the idea of keeping her ignorant until the wedding night. This seems like a sentiment belonging several centuries earlier and verging on cruelty, as she is clearly afraid of this knowledge.

Another aspect that I find distasteful is the preoccupation with Freudian ideas. Of course, the novel was written in the early 20s, at the height of Freud's popularity. But it is actually repugnant to me to read someone of West's obvious depth and intelligence buying into his clumsy and preposterous ideas and trying to make them into something natural and beautiful. Marion's almost sexual feeling towards Richard, her tendency towards 'natural' subservience to males, Ellen's immature sexuality, the denial and/or avoiding of female desire unless directed towards procreation are frankly ridiculous. This entire psychological 'analysis' ruins the brooding, Gothic tone that the novel initially promises. It is notable that the only weak and anticlimactic section of The Return of the Soldier is when the title character gets his memories back by being reminded of his dead son, which was West's previous attempt to introduce rudimentary psychology into her writing.

In general, I could not put the book down due to its stunning language and style, its clear, sparkling characterization (especially of Ellen), its sympathetic view of all the characters, its emotional flexibility. In terms of writing, I found it highly satisfying and inspiring. However, this was not enough for me to forgive the ridiculous take on and preoccupation with female sexuality and clumsy psychological bullshit.