A concept worth considering.
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Crossroads of the Highbrow Commonwealth
- Carter Kaplan
- Carter Kaplan has taught in Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York City, and Scotland. His work includes a book on Wittgenstein and literary theory, Critical Synoptics: Menippean Satire and the Analysis of Intellectual Mythology. Articles on “Karel Čapek,” “Menippean Satire” and “Dystopian Literature” appear in The Encyclopedia of Literature and Politics. He has contributed a chapter on William Blake and Michael Moorcock to New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction. Author of the novel Tally-Ho, Cornelius! and the Aristophanic comedy Diogenes. Editor of Emanations, Emanations: Second Sight, Emanations: Third Eye, Emanations: Foray into Forever, Emanations: 2 + 2 = 5, Emanations: I Am Not a Number, the IA edition of The Scarlet Letter, with his Afterword, "A" is for Antinomian: Theology and Politics in The Scarlet Letter. He is editor of the anthology Fantasy Worlds. He is co-translator and editor of Creation of the World by Torquato Tasso.
Emanations: I Am Not a Number
Emanations: 2 + 2 = 5
Emanations: Foray into Forever
Emanations: Third Eye
Emanations: Second Sight
Emanations
Creation of the World by Torquato Tasso
Fantasy Worlds
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Diogenes
Tally-Ho, Cornelius!
Critical Synoptics: Menippean Satire and the Analysis of Intellectual Mythology
New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction
Encyclopedia of Literature and Politics
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6 comments:
Doesn't he fight against the villains? (or, villa-in-habitants?)
Indeed he does! How about a sequel? Maybe a story of The Red Death chasing Hitler around in his bunker?
Modern Capitalism, rather than Hitler. They gathered all goods and enjoyed life while all others died.
I was rather thinking about the scenario in the bunker. Wasn't thinking about the political implications. Maybe capitalism (essentially, it isn't an "ism"; it is rather the activity of trade) produces too much wealth, and supports a population that is not educated enough to control its politicians and armies? All things being equal, I would prefer an educated populations and liberal trade, if it could be done. Have to pay teachers more, maybe. And create standards for cultural artifacts--literature, TV, film and music--that encourage individual virtues and civic mindedness? Very much what we do at International Authors! We are the Athens of the Internet.
But really I have not got a clue!
I've always wondered if the red death might be compared to adolescence and coming of age; the end of childhood (red blotches = teenage acne). Or--and certainly this has been written about--the story is about waking up from a night of dreams. The red death is the manifestation of flesh around the face of the spirit that had been free in the realm of dreams, our true native home.
But your point is well taken.
My main suggestion is that Red Death is Christ. Poe provides a clue in the final lines: "He had come like a thief in the night," that's what Jesus told about himself dealing with his Second Coming.
This seems to be a key for a great part of Poe's narrative, starting from "Metzengerstein" (that opens with the quote "Death, I will be your death," as St Paul said with reference to Christ) all the way up to "Hop-Frog." The Divine Judge who destroys an evil and selfish world.
Excellent suggestion. I hope to re-read these stories soon.
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