RE: JCO: A Bloodsmoor Romance

I agree with Steve and would just add that in Bellefleur, she opens with that quote from Heraclitus ("Time is a child playing a game of draughts; the kingship is in the hands of a child) and then that great Author's Note about her work being of the imagination ("that time twists and coils and is, now, obliterate, and then again powerfully present....."). She plays with time everywhere in Bellefleur - and in her other gothic novels. She seems to be blending gothic traditions and magical realism and adding her own twist. I think it's all very purposeful and allows us to see American history from a new perspective.
Karen

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-jco@usfca.edu on behalf of jandsmerritt
Sent: Wed 12/8/2004 8:14 PM
To: jco@usfca.edu
Cc:
Subject: RE: JCO: A Bloodsmoor Romance



Hi Laurie:

> Some of the older relatives seem to live to a very
> old age. Even Rumford's grandfather is mentioned
> briefly--when Rumford is already middle-aged. I can't
> believe that JCO just didn't do the math. Are these
> old hangers-on supposed to suggest influences that
> survive longer than you might expect?

The math doesn't work in "Bellefleur" or "Mysteries of Winterthurn", either.
This seems to be a constant in the Gothic novels, presumably one of the
signs that we're dealing with meta-realities.

Steve



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