What if he played - oh I don't have my copy here - the man who taught her chess, the janitor. That was maybe the most nuanced male part, and the most silent.
I didn't think the janitor was especially nuanced. Came off as a rather one-dimensional guy to me. As did all the guys in Beth's life, to be honest, except Borgov. He's her nemesis, the one she will continue to fear and respect - the one she will be in constant mental and professional battle with, the one she won't ever excel over and pass by or tire of. So I think he's the most interesting and nuanced guy because of that.... seen through Beth's eyes.
The reason why every other guy than Borgov seemed so
blah probably was because we do somehow see them through Beth's eyes - and she leaves them, finds them of little interest, once she's managed to make all the use of them she can as relates to her "art" - chess. Once they've got nothing more to teach her there, she leaves them behind with little fuss. They are only "persons" as far as their chess-playing abilities reach. (Although perhaps there is a chance that Benny could become something more...that last tleephone conversation out of the blue leaves hope for that..?) It is a seemingly cold and callous attitude towards others, and a very single-minded focus on her own "art" and development of same (one that however is not uncommon in very talented artists, I beleive - I've read biographies where this kind of relationship to others seems prominennt).
But this way of dealing with others probably also stems from her childhood abandomment issues - she subconsciously fears emotional attachements because life has taught her those just end up with pain and grief and loneiness - and she picks men that can contribute to developing her passion for chess, rather than men that she might become truly emotionally attached to beyond that - and so she can leave them before they can leave her, and without the pain that would come from a real break-up.
Argh... enough said. I'm NOT gonna start this till everyone's read the book!
