Fascinating observation about Spike as the master of transference! And the idea of Buffy as someone who ultimately rejects the transference and claims her own space and her own power (including her transcendence of limited gender roles) made a lot of sense to me.
I thought Spike's decision not to tell Buffy that he was back from the dead in season 5 of AtS might have smacked a bit of the kind of high-handed paternalism that Angel, Giles, and Riley practiced (as well as Xander in his decision to withhold information from Buffy about the continuing effort to re-ensoul Angel in "Becoming, pt 2"), but I'd prefer to believe that it was instead part of his genuine desire to see her 'live long and prosper' (rather than keep interfering in her life after leaving her, as others had done).
Regarding Spike's "lesson the first" and "here endeth the lesson" language in "Fool for Love", since that's so strongly reminiscent of high church Anglican liturgical language, I could almost see him taking on a priestly role, rather than a teaching role, with Buffy. Contradictory as always, he speaks to her as the voice of authority (the lector or even the priest speaking to the congregation from an elevated position) to the ordinary worshiper, yet what he's REALLY trying to communicate on some level is that he feels himself to be the priest worshiping at her altar -- the altar of the Slayer, the mother and warrior and source of the only validation that really matters to him. His worship may be twisted and perverted alot of the time, but it is always sincere and whole-hearted.
Really fascinating points about Angel, Giles, and Riley as well, but honestly it's the discussion of Spike that always intrigues me most (because, I think, he is the man who doesn't leave -- who is least likely to fall into paternalistic patterns and attempt to make Buffy less than she is).
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I thought Spike's decision not to tell Buffy that he was back from the dead in season 5 of AtS might have smacked a bit of the kind of high-handed paternalism that Angel, Giles, and Riley practiced (as well as Xander in his decision to withhold information from Buffy about the continuing effort to re-ensoul Angel in "Becoming, pt 2"), but I'd prefer to believe that it was instead part of his genuine desire to see her 'live long and prosper' (rather than keep interfering in her life after leaving her, as others had done).
Regarding Spike's "lesson the first" and "here endeth the lesson" language in "Fool for Love", since that's so strongly reminiscent of high church Anglican liturgical language, I could almost see him taking on a priestly role, rather than a teaching role, with Buffy. Contradictory as always, he speaks to her as the voice of authority (the lector or even the priest speaking to the congregation from an elevated position) to the ordinary worshiper, yet what he's REALLY trying to communicate on some level is that he feels himself to be the priest worshiping at her altar -- the altar of the Slayer, the mother and warrior and source of the only validation that really matters to him. His worship may be twisted and perverted alot of the time, but it is always sincere and whole-hearted.
Really fascinating points about Angel, Giles, and Riley as well, but honestly it's the discussion of Spike that always intrigues me most (because, I think, he is the man who doesn't leave -- who is least likely to fall into paternalistic patterns and attempt to make Buffy less than she is).