The Elected Member

It often occurs in the families of the insane that a certain member of the family is unconsciously chosen by the others as a scapegoat; Such a person may be called the elected member. This idea is the underlying theme of Bernice Rubens' novel—a sharply observed yet very moving story of a barrister, Norman Zweck, whose addiction to a hallucinatory drug is destroying his mind.

The story opens with one of Norman's attacks and his removal to a mental hospital. The effect on Rabbi Zweck, his father, and on Bella, his sister, is complex. Through their reaction, we gradually become acquainted with the family history and begin to understand the reasons for Norman's 'election'.

If the root of Norman's tragedy lies in his mother's ambitions for him, she, by contrast, remains a comic figure, a brilliant contender for the title of Jewish mother; and when the doctor tries to calm Rabbi Zweck, who is angry that his son should be seeing silverg-fish all the time, he says to him, 'Rabbi, if your son went into the garden and said, Father, I have seen a burning bush, would you not bless him?'

It is this combination of humor and tragedy that lends The Elected Member its distinction. For the author's sympathy, which lies strongly with each of her characters, shows above all how the hurt is hardest for the sane to bear, and, in this, it is Rabbi Zweck himself who emerges as the most memorable of the characters. He displays to the full Bernice Rubens' wit and sharp observation on the one hand, and her warm and compassionate portraiture on the other. Never before has she used these qualities to such impressive and telling effect.