Thursday, October 25, 2012
92. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe
Poe piles one horror on top of another: the trial, the conviction, the descent into the pit, exploring the pit in complete darkness, the well in the centre of the pit, being bound to a frame below the descending pendulum, the rats, escape from the pendulum, the heating metal, walls closing .... and then a last minute rescue.
I imagine Poe watching the swing of a clock's pendulum in an opiate haze.
I imagine Poe watching the swing of a clock's pendulum in an opiate haze.
91. Lost Illusions by Honore de Balzac
This is three novels about the same characters: Lucien and Eve are brother and sister, and David is Lucien's best friend and Eve's husband.
David buys his faather's printng businss. He loves his father, who is a miserly and greedy old man who mercilessly exploits David.
Lucien is a poet, and David and Eve support him when he goes to Paris to seek his fortune in the train of Louise, an eccentric local spinster. Lucien starts off with noble aspirations and believes himself in love, but ends up living with a prostitute and becoming a journalist. (Balzac has a very low opinion of journalists). Lucien forges notes of credit that put David in prison when he can't pay, and Eve and David continue to love him but no longer trust him.
Various characters conspire to steal David's printing business and his invention of a new kind of paper; David is a trusting soul, even when Eve begins to think something's going on. Eventually they sell his invention and the business and retire to the country, with the aid of a gift from Lucien.
Lucien goes off to commit suicide but meets a priest on the road who employs him as a secretary. Lucien claims to be an atheist but discovers the priest is even more cynical.
So, lost illusions all round. There are various other subplots going on at the same time.
What struck me most about this was Balzac's desciption of journalism, and how newspapers can manipulate people's ideas and influence politics. It's still relevant today.
David buys his faather's printng businss. He loves his father, who is a miserly and greedy old man who mercilessly exploits David.
Lucien is a poet, and David and Eve support him when he goes to Paris to seek his fortune in the train of Louise, an eccentric local spinster. Lucien starts off with noble aspirations and believes himself in love, but ends up living with a prostitute and becoming a journalist. (Balzac has a very low opinion of journalists). Lucien forges notes of credit that put David in prison when he can't pay, and Eve and David continue to love him but no longer trust him.
Various characters conspire to steal David's printing business and his invention of a new kind of paper; David is a trusting soul, even when Eve begins to think something's going on. Eventually they sell his invention and the business and retire to the country, with the aid of a gift from Lucien.
Lucien goes off to commit suicide but meets a priest on the road who employs him as a secretary. Lucien claims to be an atheist but discovers the priest is even more cynical.
So, lost illusions all round. There are various other subplots going on at the same time.
What struck me most about this was Balzac's desciption of journalism, and how newspapers can manipulate people's ideas and influence politics. It's still relevant today.
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