| "Naked Eyes" : Analysis of the "Naked Eyes" Arc of ABC-TV's Port Charles
(c) Alison Armstrong |
| An analysis of the "Naked Eyes" episodes of the show Port Charles, formerly of ABC-TV. This site will focus on the scenes featuring the vampire character Caleb Morley/Stephen Clay (portrayed by actor Michael Easton). The character of Caleb Morley/Stephen Clay and any other characters relating to Port Charles are the property of ABC and their creators. This is a fan-run site and is not an official site, nor is it affiliated in any way with ABC, Port Charles, or the actors portraying any of the Port Charles characters. No copyright infringement is intended. The writings on this site are copyrighted by the author, Alison Armstrong, and may not be reproduced without the author's express permission. |
| "Naked Eyes" #6 (cont.) The references to her late husband’s life-sucking cruelties are, of course, ironic foreshadowings of her future relationship with Stephen. Everything she sacrificed for her late husband she will also sacrifice for Stephen, and, as before, she will lose everything that is most precious to her. Elizabeth’s apparent martyrdom is actually a symptom of her intense narcissism. She paradoxically derives self-esteem by boasting of her self-abasement, manipulating people by trying to make them feel sorry for the psychological abuse she perpetually receives from the men she loves. She is a psychic vampire, draining the energy of those around her by subjecting them to her tales of woe. It is, therefore, fitting, that she becomes involved with Stephen and will later be transformed by him into a full-fledged vampire. Elizabeth continues her self-pitying saga by telling Stephen that she has been trying to “build a relationship” with her daughter, Alison. “I explained to her that sometimes you have to make hard choices, that I had made mistakes, I’m doing the best I can,” she whines. “But she won’t let me in. She won’t even try.” After Stephen suggests that she give Alison time to deal with this situation, Elizabeth says she believes the problems are only going to get worse because Rafe feels “threatened” by Alison’s relationship with her mother. “Rafe?” Stephen repeats in a cold tone of voice. “Yeah, Rafe Kovitch, Alison’s fiancé,” Elizabeth answers. “What? Do you know him?” “As a matter of fact, I think I do,” he replies. “You know Alison’s fiancé?” she asks in surprise. “I think I met him tonight at the party,” Stephen explains. “Rafe is such an unusual name.” When Elizabeth points out that he probably met Alison too, Stephen says he met a lot of people there, then shifts the conversation back to the topic of Rafe. “This guy, Rafe, I take it you’re not a fan,” he observes. “Oh, he’s poisoning Alison against me,” she laments. “Why is it that men . . . some men,” she emphasizes, “feel the need to have power over women?” “Some men see beauty and vulnerability, and they do everything they can to destroy it,” Stephen observes, adopting again his poetic, sensitive guise. His words reinforce Elizabeth’s tender feelings about Stephen, convincing her that Stephen is not one of those men that use and destroy women. Little does she know, however, that Stephen speaks from experience, for he is a master at destroying vulnerability, as well as innocence and virtue. “You really do get it, don’t you?” Elizabeth exclaims, almost swooning at his show of gentle insight and using his apparent empathy as an excuse to continue her sob story. She asks Stephen what she is to do now that her husband, Malcolm, left her out of his will. “I don’t even know how to take care of myself anymore,” she adds, as an unsubtle hint that she needs Stephen’s chivalrous support, emotionally and perhaps financially. “You know, I don’t like to speak ill of the recently deceased, but your husband was an idiot,” Stephen replies, thereby assuring her that he is on her side and, unlike her brutish husband, can appreciate such a lovely, charming woman. In this scene both Stephen and Elizabeth are assuming masks, presenting themselves the way they want to be seen, the way that fulfills their needs. Stephen hides his ruthless, domineering, vampire aspects behind the guise of a sensitive, attentive, empathic lover, and Elizabeth hides her selfish, manipulative, materialistic traits behind the guise of a loyal, self-sacrificing wife and mother. But whereas Stephen sees through her thinly-veiled façade, Elizabeth cannot see through his. She wants to believe that Stephen is the long-sought answer to her prayers and doesn’t even seem to mind that she doesn’t know his name. Perhaps not knowing his identity at first makes him seem even more exciting and magical, as if she has cast herself in her own fairy tale, she as the damsel in distress and he as the lustful yet gentle knight who will rescue her from a life of boredom and neglect. The hotel room they share is an oasis of fantasy, an escape from problematic relationships and bitter truths. It is a haven of bliss in a world that threatens their self-protective illusions. |
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| Snappies of "Naked Eyes" scenes taken by A. Armstromg |