My thoughts on the subject: forgive me if I sound like a conspiracy theorist or just a regular old nut case.
To begin with, on page 134:
"Now the shadow of the column falls across the flagstones over this central part of the veranda in front of the bedroom. The oblique direction of the dark line points, when it is extended to the wall itself, to the reddish steak which has run down the vertical wall from the right corner of the first window, the one nearest the hallway.
"The shadow of the column, though it is already very long, would have to be nearly a yard longer to reach the little round spot on the flagstones. From the latter runs a thin vertical thread which increases in size as it rises from the concrete substructure. It then climbs up the wooden surface, from lath to lath, growing gradually larger until it reaches the window sill..."
Could this reddish streak be blood? Granted, the stain is old, but because time seems to jump around in the novel anyways, I would not be surprised if such a large time "jump" occurred under our noses.
Second thought on the subject: Cockroaches tend to get killed off quite frequently. On p. 107, the narrator (if I may use that term), observes insects crawling around a lamp, "tracing uncertain paths with many detours and problematical goals". This sounds like a pretty solid description of humanness to me... indeed, the sound of these flying insects transforms into the sound of a car on the road. Perhaps humans are like bugs bumbling around a lamp?
OK. here comes my very oversimplified conclusion. Humans are like insects, insects get squished and leave juicy bits on the walls, so why wouldn't humans also leave juicy bits on the wall if they get their head, say, squished into the wall?
thoughts?
Evan
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Mmmm.. I'm going to have to think about it more and get back to you. Interesting idea though. This question stood out and I want to follow-up later.
ReplyDelete"Perhaps humans are like bugs bumbling around a lamp?"