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From: "Robert Borski" <rborski@charter.net>
Subject: (urth) The Haunted Boardinghouse
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 22:12:54 

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I've been wanting to write an in-depth analysis of "The Haunted =
Boardinghouse" for some time. Unfortunately, it does not now look like I =
will have the temporal wherewithal to do the necessary research and =
cognitive digging involved (to say nothing of the fact that I'm =
currently between airports), so forgive me if the following version =
seems somehow cobbled together from notes and is not particularly =
cohesive. It has been and isn't.

In my opinion, the key to understanding a big part of THB can be found =
on p. 232 of STRANGE TRAVELERS: "Hell was a labyrinth like the =
Minotaur's." This makes Seely both Hades and Minos, and his wife =
Persephone/Pasiphae (recall that Mrs. Seely is usually called "the =
maiden," which is also what Kore means in Greek; also that Pasiphae =
bewitched Minos so that he would give his illicit lovers a terrible =
venereal disease; cf. Mrs. Seely's remark, "Paul Snyder [a chemist, so =
probably Daedalus] swears you can't infect me.") The fighting bull or =
buffalo encountered at the end is obviously both minotaur and horned =
devil, while the boy who falls to his death from a height as he tries to =
escape the labyrinth is almost certainly Icarus; Enan does find "an =
irregular clump of wilted feathers," remember, and "Wade" may be some =
sort of wordplay by Wolfe since Icarus drowns. As for Enan himself, if =
he's not Theseus, he may well be Aeneas, another harrower of =
hell--Aeneas/Enan (note again the nested name) is also more than likely =
an ancestral link back to Marcus Junius Pera and the Army of Rome. How =
this relates to the varied architectural faces of the boardinghouse I'm =
not sure--either hell is timeless or the labyrinth is both temporal =
*and* spatial; this at least would help to explain how Enan is later =
able to see Wade climbing out a window after he's already supposedly =
fallen to his death.

Also worth mentioning, if must needs briefly so, are the bevy of =
literary works and authors Wolfe mentions throughout THB. W.H. Hudson =
seems particularly important, as is John Ruskin, whose cited QUEEN OF =
THE AIR (1869) is itself about Greek Myth (Gratutious quote: "A myth, in =
its simplest definition, is a story with a meaning attached to it, other =
than it seems to have at first; and the fact that it has such a meaning =
is generally marked by some of its circumstances being extraordinary, =
or, in the common use of the word, unnatural"). Two of Ruskin's works =
were also translated into French by one Marcel Proust after he gave up =
on JEAN SANTEUIL--yet another reason Wolfe may have chosen to =
incorporate him.

So will that do you for now, normal bean of jizma?

Robert Borski











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<P>I've been wanting to write an in-depth analysis of "The Haunted=20
Boardinghouse" for some time. Unfortunately, it does not now look like I =
will=20
have the temporal wherewithal to do the necessary research and cognitive =
digging=20
involved (to say nothing of the fact that I'm currently between =
airports), so=20
forgive me if the following version seems somehow cobbled together from =
notes=20
and is not particularly cohesive. It has been and isn't.</P>
<P>In my opinion, the key to understanding a big part of THB can be =
found on p.=20
232 of STRANGE TRAVELERS: "Hell was a labyrinth like the Minotaur's." =
This makes=20
Seely both Hades and Minos, and his wife Persephone/Pasiphae (recall =
that Mrs.=20
Seely is usually called "the maiden," which is also what Kore means in =
Greek;=20
also that Pasiphae bewitched Minos so that he would give his illicit =
lovers a=20
terrible venereal disease; cf. Mrs. Seely's remark, "Paul Snyder [a =
chemist, so=20
probably Daedalus] swears you can't infect me.") The fighting bull or =
buffalo=20
encountered at the end is obviously both minotaur and horned devil, =
while the=20
boy who falls to his death from a height as he tries to escape the =
labyrinth is=20
almost certainly Icarus; Enan does find "an irregular clump of wilted =
feathers,"=20
remember, and "Wade" may be some sort of wordplay by Wolfe since Icarus =
drowns.=20
As for Enan himself, if he's not Theseus, he may well be Aeneas, another =

harrower of hell--Aeneas/Enan (note again the nested name) is also more =
than=20
likely an ancestral link back to Marcus Junius Pera and the Army of =
Rome. How=20
this relates to the varied architectural faces of the boardinghouse I'm =
not=20
sure--either hell is timeless or the labyrinth is both temporal *and* =
spatial;=20
this at least would help to explain how Enan is later able to see Wade =
climbing=20
out a window after he's already supposedly fallen to his death.</P>
<P>Also worth mentioning, if must needs briefly so, are the bevy of =
literary=20
works and authors Wolfe mentions throughout THB. W.H. Hudson seems =
particularly=20
important, as is John Ruskin, whose cited QUEEN OF THE AIR (1869) is =
itself=20
about Greek Myth (Gratutious quote: "A myth, in its simplest definition, =
is a=20
story with a meaning attached to it, other than it seems to have at =
first; and=20
the fact that it has such a meaning is generally marked by some of its=20
circumstances being extraordinary, or, in the common use of the word,=20
unnatural"). Two of Ruskin's works were also translated into French by =
one=20
Marcel Proust after he gave up on JEAN SANTEUIL--yet another reason =
Wolfe may=20
have chosen to incorporate him.</P>
<P>So will that do you for now,&nbsp;normal bean of jizma?</P>
<P>Robert Borski</P></FONT><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D2>
<P>&nbsp;</P></FONT><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D2>
<P></P></FONT><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman" size=3D2>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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