John And May Bertram's Relationship In The Beast Of The Jungle

In Henry James’ The Beast of the Jungle, John Marcher’s and May Bertram’s relationship centers around their obsession with knowledge. The reader must look at John and May’s relationship in order to gain an understanding of both the big, mysterious event that is supposed to occur as well as the characters themselves. Through the use of psychoanalysis, a more complex understanding of John Marcher’s character can be obtained and used to analyze the text.
Bersani believes that “knowledge of oneself is conducive to intimacy, that intimacy is by definition personal intimacy, and that narcissism is the enemy, the saboteur, of this personal intimacy considered to be the source and medium of personal development” (7). Marcher’s only concern is experiencing the big event in all its glory. Since May gives off the impression that she knows what this event is, Marcher stays with her for the sole purpose of finding out what the big event will be. Whenever he is with May, all he ever talks about is the big event he is waiting for. He does not seem to care about her as a person, only the knowledge she possesses. One might perceive these actions as …show more content…
He lives his life in anticipation of this event. The event becomes his only focus despite having a wife who loves him and has been nothing but kind and understanding. “What May presumably comes to know is that the ‘crouching beast’ is Marcher’s failure to make the possibility of their love a reality” (Bersani 15). This knowledge May possesses is what separates them. In this situation, May has the knowledge that Marcher desires making her the analyst in Freud’s eyes. Marcher, on the other hand, can be perceived as the patient and the one chasing the answers May has. It is not until the very end, Marcher gains clarity and he is able to see that he watched his life waste