linda hirshman in today's "slate" (see article here) disinters the old feminist bugaboo of "hysteria"* in rushing to the support of hillary clinton.hirshman asks, à propos of hillary, whether she belongs in the company of lucia di lammermoor, lady macbeth, and "anna o" from freud's quack studies. the answer is a gimme. no. she doesn't. hillary isn't an hysteric. in fact, she appears to have no feelings at all. she is gelid. the lady macbeth comparison is nice but doesn't quite apply: hillary would never fall apart after attaining power.
who then are hillary's natural analogues? two immediately spring to mind: nurse ratched from "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" and mrs danvers from hitchcock's "rebecca". but i think hillary's real affinity is with norma desmond from "sunset boulevard": a faded star, desperate for the limelight, who doesn't realise the audience has moved on. presidential politics is still big, it's hillary who got small.
*(a word i'm glad to say jane austen uses frequently)
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