| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft: resented all the more because I could not help sharing certain
conclusions forced upon us by many features of this morbid survival
from nightmare antiquity. The speculations worked on his imagination,
too; for in one place - where a debris-littered alley turned a
sharp corner - he insisted that he saw faint traces of ground
markings which he did not like; whilst elsewhere he stopped to
listen to a subtle, imaginary sound from some undefined point
- a muffled musical piping, he said, not unlike that of the wind
in the mountain caves, yet somehow disturbingly different. The
ceaseless five-pointedness of the surrounding architecture and
of the few distinguishable mural arabesques had a dimly sinister
At the Mountains of Madness |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald: by which you detect evil, it's the half-realized fear of God in
your heart.
Whatever your metier proves to bereligion, architecture,
literatureI'm sure you would be much safer anchored to the
Church, but I won't risk my influence by arguing with you even
though I am secretly sure that the "black chasm of Romanism"
yawns beneath you. Do write me soon.
With affectionate regards, THAYER DARCY.
Even Amory's reading paled during this period; he delved further
into the misty side streets of literature: Huysmans, Walter
Pater, Theophile Gautier, and the racier sections of Rabelais,
This Side of Paradise |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Letters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac: the novel sensation of being a father is apt to give rise, I may tell
you that little Armand is a beautiful infant, and you will have no
difficulty in believing it when I add that he has Renee's features and
eyes. So far, at least, this gives proof of intelligence.
The physician and accoucheur assure us that Renee is now quite out of
danger; and as she is proving an admirable nurse--Nature has endowed
her so generously!--my father and I are able to give free rein to our
joy. Madame, may I be allowed to express the hope that this joy, so
vivid and intense, which has brought fresh life into our house, and
has changed the face of existence for my dear wife, may ere long be
yours?
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