Iroquois Theater Fire of 1903

On this day in 1903, A massive fire broke out at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
       
    The Iroquois had only been built just a month prior and was considered one of the most beautiful temples of drama in the Midwest.  It had also been advertised as "Absolutely Fireproof"*, but unfortunately, it anything but.  As construction of the place had fallen behind schedule earlier that year, the owners took shortcuts in order to insure that the Iroquois would be completed on the appointed date.  Among other things the fire exits were never completed, there were no sprinkler systems, alarm boxes, or even telephones installed (and this at a time when telephones were no longer a novelty), and the asbestos curtain which could lowered in case a fire broke out onstage, was made of flammable canvas.  The result was a death trap waiting to happen.
      There were 2,000 people, mostly women and children,who were in attendance that fateful afternoon for a performance of a popular comedy called Mr. Bluebeard.  The seats were all filled, but many people had filled the space behind the back rows and some had brought camp chairs and watched from the aisles.  After the start of Act 2 during the "Pale Moonlight" sequence, an arc light shorted and ignited a drop curtain.  The various backstage workers tried to put the fire, but were unsuccessful. People didn't notice what was going on until bits of the burning curtain began to drop down to the stage.  The fire grew out of control and went out into the auditorium.  When people tired to flee the fire, they found that they could not escape because the ushers had locked the accordion gates to prevent people from sneaking down to better seats, and the fire exits were unfinished.  As a result 602 people were killed in the inferno.  
     In the aftermath of the blaze, new codes were put in place to prevent massive fires like this from happening again.  Today we have lighted EXIT signs over fire exits so that people know how where they can escape.  Doors in public places swing outward and have panic bars to keep people from getting trapped inside.  And in theaters, rules are now in place to keep people out of the aisles during performances.  These are only a few of the new rules, but it's because of disasters like the deadly Iroquois Theater Fire that they exist.  
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 *This idea was repeated nine years later with a certain ocean liner.  

Double Whammy

Yesterday Carrie Fisher died, and then this evening her mother Debbie Reynolds died.  Both of them made their film debuts at the age of 19, Debbie in the role of Kathy in the musical comedy Singing in the Rain, and Carrie in the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope".  

I liked seeing both these actresses.  Carrie will always be Leia for me.  Then again, that's her most iconic role.  She was absolutely awesome as the Rebel Princess, who as we later find out, trains for thirty years to become one of the most powerful Jedi in the Galaxy.
     I only saw Singing in the Rain once many years ago, but I can still say that Debbie was just awesome as Kathy.  She had an awesome singing voice and her dancing would have put Ginger Rogers to shame.  

They are now both one with the Force.  

Well Dante, Your Theory Has Just Been Confirmed.

Screwtape reported a colossal buildup of snow and ice last night.  The Cubs have won their very first World Series since 1908.  I myself have waited for this to happen and am so glad that it did.  

Screwtape Reports Significant Temprature Decrease

The Cubs have just won the National League Pennant.  It's not over, though, they still need to win the World Series before we can say that Dante's theory of Hell being frozen over is factual. 

ANFSTD

George and Barbara go on their honeymoon to the Twin Cities and afterward Barbara gives birth to twins.  They go see the movie Three Coins in the Fountain and Barbara gives birth to triplets.  They vacation in the Four Corners and Barbara gives birth to quadruplets, and George divorces her after she suggests that they go visit the Thousand Islands. 

The Withered Flower

There was a flower once near my home.
I often went to find it.
It was stunted, dull, and badly withered
and choking weeds did bind it.  

I tried to to help the unfortunate plant 
As much as I could do.
I often went to keep it company 
And maybe pull the vines, too.  

The flower, I learned, had been oft uprooted,
Moved from place to place.  
This prevented it from getting
Sustenance from its space.  

One day the flower vanished away.
I did not know where to.  
I feared that it would die completely
And fade from memory too.  

But one day I saw it in another place
And, were my eyes deceived?  
The flower was thriving as never before.
I would never have believed

That this flower could ever revive and live.
But live it did, and thrived.
And I rejoiced to see it blooming,
Tell see it now alive.
 


 

Fifteen Years Later

I have little to nothing to say about the 9/11 attacks.  All I can say is that I was ten-years-old when it happened.  It was also my very first exposure to Islamic ideas, which meant that I feel into the prejudice trap.  It has taken me years to recognize that most Muslims are honest people who do not want to see their neighbors blown up.  But I have also learned just how complicated a lot of issues are, and that there is often no clear-cut answer to many of the questions today.  

I'd talk about what needs to be done, but I would only go off on a riff, so I will simply for those who lost families when the Twin Towers were destroyed. 

Johan Botha: 1965 to 2016

South African tenor Johan Botha died untimely at the age of 51 earlier today.  Let's just say that I'm glad I got to see him when I did.  While he was known for such roles as Calaf in Turandot or Florestan in Fidelio, I'll always remember him the title roles of Otello and Tannhäuser.  He was what is known as a Heldentenor or "Hero Tenor", a very heavy tenor voice for which such roles as Siegfried and Tristan are written.  

I do regret that this guy is gone.  He was an amazing singer and I was looking forward to hearing more from him.  It's one thing when a famous person goes in their old age after a long life, but it's a completely different thing when someone dies in the middle of their career.  May his soul forever rest. 

THE GONDOLIERS: A Strange Case Of Royal Confusion

So the Madison Savoyards did The Gondoliers, or The King of Barataria this evening.  This being a Gilbert and Sullivan farce means that I can't do a plot-line play-by-play, but can only give a bare summary.  

The story is as follows.  Two young men work as gondoliers in Venice, and one of them just so happens to be the long-lost heir to the throne of the island kingdom of Barataria.  The question, however, is which one is it?  Add to the mix the two young ladies who marry the gondoliers, the Duke of Plaza Toro whose daughter had been married by proxy to the prince when they were babies, and a secret hidden by the prince's old nursemaid, and you have quite a chaotic situation on your hands!  Suffice it to say that the whole is settles in the typical Gilbert and Sullivan fashion--a plot twist that is just absurd and hilarious as the rest of the story.  

Overall the performance was good.  The only issues came with the occasional stumble over the rhythm (which is to be expected every now and then), and one young woman lost her voice, but they tried having the substitute singing in the pit rather than just offstage which made the lyrics hard to hear.  

The acting was good even the voices stumbled a bit.  the chemistry between the couples was especially good.  Case in point comes at the very beginning when all the country girls are vying for the attentions of Giuseppe and Marco.  When the two guys choose Tessa and Gianetta for their brides, the other girls react with jealousy before reluctantly letting the rest of the gondoliers comfort them.  "Dance a Cachucha" and "There lived a King" count as the main highlights of the opera for me.  
      
Heck, forget about the acting.  Once again, it's the costumes stole the show for me.  The country girls in their romantic little dresses and the gondoliers in their breeches and waistcoats were so much fun to watch.  And the Duchess of Plaza Toro's dress was a piece of caricaturish piece of hilariousness.  I think it accidentally hit poor Giuseppe in the midriff during the Act 2 gavotte.  

Whole some parts could have been done better, overall it was a good performance.

Medieval Times Pros And Cons

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament is a place for those who want to experience a meal with live entertainment.  I went for the first time today and had a good time.  I've decided to make a list of pros and cons just so that I would know what to expect in the future. 

Pros: 
1. The food is good, if a little inauthentic.  Just be mindful of the portion size.

2. The Tournament.  Shaw's Death, what a wonderful tournament!  Granted it's scripted from the start, but then again you don't want to hurt the horsemen.  

3. The little fair before the show.  I just wish I had visited the Torture Museum is all.

4. If you get the V.I.P. Royalty package, you get a front-row seat.

Cons:
1. Wearing those tacky paper crowns.  They clash horribly with my outfit (Red crown with an olive green shirt?  Fashion crime city!).  The Royalty package includes getting your picture taken with the king.  While not a problem in of itself, I can't stand to see myself wearing a paper crown!

2. Being addressed as "My Lady" (or "My Lord" if you're a guy).  That just gets irritating.  

3. Do we really have to keep the lanyard?  

4. The announcer is overly dramatic.  

That's my impression of it. 

Uses Of Poetry In Novels

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

  “Who says that I am dead knows nought at all.
    I am that is,Two mice within Redwall.
  The Warrior sleaps twixt Hall and Cavern Hole
   I am that is, Take on my mighty role...
   Look for the sword In moonlight streaming forth
  At night, when days first hour Reflects the north
  From o'er the threshold Seek and you will see;
  I am that is, My sword shall wield for me.” 

Ah, Brian Jaques' Redwall, one of my favorite series of books. And one that involves a lot of riddling clues to what our heroes have to accomplish. But then again, riddles and poetry sometimes play an interesting role in a story, whether it's a riddle like in the above quote, or even a method of exposition like in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings epic. Let's use this poem as an example. How does it serve the story? We find out as we read that it is a riddle. Look at the phrase repeated thrice throughout the poem: "I am that is." These are the words written over the picture of Martin the Warrior on the Redwall tapestry. What does it mean? Continuing on a little further, it turns out that the phrase is a word scramble. Unscramble the letters and you get "I Matthias". The answer is that long ago, Martin chose Matthias to take on his role as Warrior Mouse. Matthias then sets out on a quest to find Martin's lost sword and become a warrior, using the rest of the clues contained in the verse. So that's how this poem serves the story. Let's take another case, The Song of the Misty Mountain from Tolkien's novel The Hobbit.

"Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells. 
For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.   
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun. 
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song  
Was sung unheard by men or elves.
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale
And men they looked up with faces pale;
The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves they heard the tramp of doom.
 They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him"

The Dwarves sing this piece while explaining to the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins where they came from. This group is led by Thorin Oakenshield, grandson of the King Under the Mountain. This poem is a means of exposition, telling in ten short verses what the kingdom of Erebor was and how it was destroyed by Smaug the Dragon. The Dwarves want to reclaim their home and golden treasure from him. Bilbo is then taken with them on a long journey eastward to help the Dwarves on their mission. So now we see how that serves the story. Stories have an interesting way in incorporating poetry into the narrative. Go find out for yourself. Do you want poetry in a novel that's just for fun? Look at Lewis Carrol's various works. Do you like seeing how poetry can show just how much someone has between the ears? Find a copy of Edmond Ronstad's play Cyrano de Bergerac. You'll be amazed and just how much poetry can serve a story.

ANFSTD

An astronaut gets a briefing on his mission.  "Your mission," says his superior, "is to go to the sun."  "But that's impossible," says the astronaut, "the heat will be too strong."  His superior says, "That's why you're going at night." 

That Old Rivalry Between Cats And Dogs

Me and my boyfriend took a trip to the zoo this morning.  This zoo is fairly small, so you can do everything in one day.  Both the Lion and Tiger enclosures are huge because these big cats need a lot of room to run around.  The lion enclosure has two viewing spots: one is what one might call the main pavilion, which is large and has a lot of room to move.  The other is just a little ways down the hill and is a smaller pavilion with an enormous thick window.  
     The big male was not out today (he must have been resting inside; it was a tad chilly outside), but the lioness was more than active.  She was pacing up down in her enclosure when a woman with a service dog entered the pavilion.  The lioness took one look at that dog and charged, stopping right at the window.  Now if there had not been any sort of barrier, that service dog would have been lunch for the lioness.  As my mother put it when I told her later, the lioness may have thought the dog was a jackal.  In the wild, lions and jackals compete with each other for food.  So then it would make sense for the lioness to see the service dog as a rival.  She doesn't mind the scores of people that pass through and make noise at her.  That's something she sees every day.  But not only are dogs not something the lioness sees everyday, in the wild they are among her natural rivals.  So if she sees a dog enter on her turf, she will let him have it (she also would've killed several people if she nabbed the dog). 

It's never been a secret that dogs and cats are not famous for getting along.  But this afternoon's event seems to have taken that old rivalry and cranked it up to eleven.  Sometimes we can easily forget that where we see a loyal and helpful companion, another creature sees a rival and will treat it as such.  

Monumental Debate

There has been some shouting going on in recent weeks over whether or not to take down a Confederate statue in Kentucky.  I can understand why this would be an issue.  The South was fighting to keep slavery; but then again most of the Confederate soldiers were told by folks like Calhoun that they were fighting for their rights.  I would say keep the statue for two reasons.

Reason Number One would be that this is still a monument to American soldiers.  the South may have seceded in 1860, but not only did it come back after the Civil War, but the people who live in the South are Americans.  This statue is a memorial to American soldiers who died during the war.  

Reason Number Two is that this is a war memorial.  If it were dedicated to John Wilkes Booth or Jefferson Davis, I would be all for dismantling it.  Booth was a traitor who murdered his president.  Davis was the traitor president who could not admit defeat even when it was clear the South had lost, and as a result became a laughing stock.  But this a monument to the soldiers; and the soldiers recognized when the game was up and surrendered with honor.  There's a reason I admire folks like Robert E. Lee.  

Yeah there's a lot of the usual "Our noble Southern ancestors" and all that jazz, but it is still a memorial to the soldiers.  Soldiers who need to remembered for their service even if it was for the wrong cause.  An act of valor is an act of valor no matter which side you're on.  

THE GREAT DIVORCE: Number Three On My List Of Best Allegories Ever!

Ah, The Great Divorce; one of my favorite C.S. Lewis novels!  I have been reading it for the umpteenth time for the past week or so.  This story is one surreal adventure involving a bus that goes between Heaven and Hell.  The title is a reference to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.  Lewis is writing of their divorce, which makes sense as sin cannot exist in Heaven.  This novel shares a lot in common with Dante's La Divina Commedia, in particular the presence of a guide (in this case George MacDonald), how sin and salvation are represented allegorically, and a surreal setting. It shares a lot with John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (spoiler alert: in this case, it all being a dream).

 The story opens with the narrator standing in line at a bus stop at dusk in a miserable grey town where it is always raining.  The town goes on for miles on end and doesn't seem to stop.  The narrator gets on the bus and is taken to a spectacularly gorgeous natural landscape, but finds that he can't even so much as bend the grass.  In fact, it goes right through him and causes a lot of pain; he's a Ghost!  As is everyone who got off the bus.  There are radiant Solid People (most often called Shining Ones in the novel) coming to convert these souls, and one of them leads the narrator as he helps him understand the respective natures of Heaven and Hell.

One thing stands out is how so many of the Ghosts will not accept Joy because it means giving up their quirks, such as saying mean things to their loved ones or lording superiority over other people.  There is one character who always considered himself to be a good man and can't understand why a convicted murderer is in Heaven whereas he is not.  Another man used other people's pity as means to blackmail them in life and won't let go of that power in Heaven.  And a possessive mother will quite cheerfully drag her son to Hell to her if it means she will keep him.  They would much rather cling to their sins than accept God.  There's a lot of insight as to how sin works and how grace works, and how ultimately there are only two types of people in the world: those who submit to God and those who don't.  
      And there is also quite a lot of talk about how hard Heaven is to those who are not saved.  The Ghosts are insubstantial and just walking on the grass feels painful.  But they can become solid by accepting God's grace and letting it change them.  This is a very interesting concept.  

Read it.   

ANFSTD

A penguin walks into a bar.  "What will you have?", asks the bartender.  "A Canadian Club," says the penguin, "I have to go through Leopard Seal territory several times a day!"

No More Flash-Bashing!

WARNING: THIS POST IS A RANT!   

I am so tired of other MLP fans bashing Flash Sentry.  Yes, I know he was meant to be a random love-interest for Twilight in Equestria Girls.  So what?  I like him anyway and am thoroughly tired of people bashing him.  He was designed to be a regular ordinary guy who finds out he likes this new girl who seems to have a propensity for bumping into him.  There's nothing wrong with that.  He may be slightly generic, but I tend to like the generic nice guys characters in stories.  If you don't like Flash, that;s fine, but please don't bash him.  

 

MANON LESCAUT: A Tour da Force of Mad Passion

Another opera based off of Abbe Prevost's novel Manon Lescaut; this time, it's by Giacomo Puccini.  This new production by Sir Richard Eyre reset the story from the 18th Century France to the 1940's during the Nazi occupation.  Soprano Kristine Opolais starred in the demanding title role, and tenor Roberto Alagna was her faithful lover the Chevalier des Grieux.  While Puccini had already written two operas, it was Manon Lescaut was his first successful one (the first two flopped miserably). 
      The story is as follows: En route to a convent, Manon stops at an inn.  There, she meets and falls in love with the student des Grieux.  The two of them run away to Paris where thety live together for a while.  Eventually Manon leaves des Grieux to become the mistress of the wealthy Geronte.  But soon she misses the love that she had with des Grieux, and the two reunite--only to be arrested when Geronte catches them together.  The two of them go into exile in Louisiana where Manon dies of fever outside a penal colony.  
      
This opera is not for the faint-hearted singer.  In this piece, the main characters are rarely offstage and there is a lot of music.  The role of Manon requires a soprano who has both great acting skills and superb musical talent.  Opolais shows both, although I think it took her a few moments to get going in Act 1.  Alagna, however, was at full strength the whole time, which is saying something given the fact that he stepped in halfway through rehearsals in order to fill in for Jonas Kaufmann.  

If there was one scene that really stood out to me, it was the final scene of Act 3.  The soldiers are preparing the women prisoners for deportation and calling them one by one.  Manon, however, will not be parted from des Grieux, and the two of them try to say goodbye without leaving.  Finally, des Grieux persuades the captain to take him with as a cabin boy.

I do have one problem with the updated production.  Because of the demands of the plot, the Nazis are doing something that is out of character, and sending the women across the sea.  In reality, they would have sent them further inland to be worked to death in a concentration camp.  But, it was still a moving and heart-wrenching scene nonetheless.

This opera is a must-see. 


 

Triumph at the Lyric

Yesterday I drove all the way down to Chicago to see Dmitri Hvorostovsky in recital at the Lyric Opera.  He just about never comes to the Midwest, let alone the Great Lakes region; so when I read that he was doing a recital in Chicago, I got the tickets.  There were a lot of Russians in the audience; two were right behind me. 

The lineup was a series of romances by Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and Strauss.  A romance in this case is a short song, typically the sort of piece one would sing in the parlor or drawing room.  I recognized one piece on the list, and that was Tchaikovsky's "I bless you, forests".  

At first it seemed to take Dima a while to get his energy going, but once he got moving he was unstoppable.  Hearing him live was a different experience from hearing him Live in HD or over the radio.  His voice is very rich and seductive, and he showed it at full force last night.  One piece that absolutely stood out to me was Rimsky-Korsakov's "The lark sings louder", which sounded for all the world like a secular version of the hymn "Wonderful Grace of Jesus".  He received such an ovation at the end that he did three encores.  One of them was the classic Neapolitan song "Core N'grato" (this was the first time I heard it sung by a baritone).  I cannot place what the second encore was, but the third one was the famous Russian folk song "Farewell my joy", traditionally sung acapella. 

This was a major undertaking for Dima given that his health has not been all that great (see my review of Il Trovatore for more information).  So for him to pull off a long recital at this stage of the game is quite an accomplishment.  Now the question is when is he going to perform for Madison or Milwaukee.  

More Links

I Don't Know, But... has a few thoughts regarding distractions during church services.

Dr. Boli is continuing a farcical novel about a good-for-nothing ne'er-do-well.  

The Anchoress has some thoughts on the Coptic martyrs.

And S. Weasel has a very nice image of a Triceratops.  

 

This Is Really Not The Best Comparison In This Situation.

I've seen it all over various Star Wars fan pages on Facebook and on YouTube; videos, comic strips, and fan art all about a Storm-trooper's point of view of the destruction of the first Death Star from A New Hope.  While it is interesting to see events from another point of view, many fans treat it as though they were speaking of the 9/11 attacks from 2001.  This is not a very good comparison given the situation we're talking about.
     The problem is that these fans are comparing the destruction of a battle station meant for terror purposes to an unprovoked attack on helpless civilians.  Yes millions of people got killed in the Death Star explosion, but the Rebels had no other choice.  This Death Star had proven just how dangerous it was when it destroyed an entire planet full of billions more innocent civilians.  And Darth Sidious could have used it to destroy hundreds more planets and billions more people unless someone put a stop to it.          
      The attack on the Twin Towers in New York City was an unexpected surprise attack meant to terrify a whole country.  It was done by fanatics who wanted to kill people for an evil cause.  The ones who hijacked the planes believed that dying for their religion and sending as many infidels to Hell as they could meant that they would live forever in Paradise.  This not at all like the Rebels from Star Wars who are trying to overthrow a tyrannical regime that has enslaved and butchered so many people.  This is a culture of death that values mass murder as means of furthering their cause.  

 To be quite frank, I think that the destruction of Alderaan would been a better comparison in this case.  It was an unprovoked attack on an entire population with the means of demonstrating what would happen to anyone who didn't like the Empire.  I do want to see stories written from an average storm-trooper's point of view, but not in a "Where were you on September 11th?" kind of way.  Actually, it's a very inappropriate comparison as it's trying to compare a necessary attack on a battle station that obviously represented the strong arm of the law in its most extreme form, and a vicious and horrendous attack on a civilian population.   

Also for the record, the Storm-troopers would have known full well that the Death Star was a military space station, and the Rebels would probably try to take it out.  No one ever anticipated that someone would try to take out a civilian skyscraper like the Twin Towers. 

Okay, Let Me Be Very Clear On This!

Jar Jar Binks is not a Sith Lord.  I say this because for one thing, he is not Force-sensitive.  If he were, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi would have sensed it right away.  Now Palpatine has the power to cloud minds and hide his true purposes from the Jedi, but he can't entirely hide that fact, which is why the Jedi are able to sense that the Dark Side is clouding the future.  
      Also Jar Jar is naturally clumsy and stupid.  I seriously doubt that someone like Palpatine would even bother training someone like him.  To Palpatine, Jar Jar is just a naive fool who can be easily manipulated.  
 
     And finally, even if Jar Jar were Force-sensitive, Palpatine cannot possibly take on two apprentices at once.  Aside from the Rule of Two, it isn't feasible to train to apprentices because of the time and effort it would take.  Even a Sith Lord wouldn't be able to pull that off.  
      Besides, there is nothing in the canon to even suggest that he's a Sith Lord.  Sidious was trained by Plagueis, and Sidious trained Maul.  Looking at the novels, Palpatine met Plagueis in 65 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), and Jar Jar Binks was born in 55 BBY.  So Jar Jar was no where near Palpatine or Maul at the time.   

Alan Rickman: 1946 to 2016

Well, we lost another great this week.  Actor Alan Rickman died after battling cancer.  He was a superb actor who was very well-known for playing villains.

I personally will always remember him as Potions Master Professor Severus Snape in the film adaptations of the Harry Potter series.  He is also known for the role of Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, and Judge Turpin in Sweeny Todd.  

 

David Bowie: 1947-2016

Yesterday, the world lost a famous rock legend.  David Bowie was one of the biggest artists from the 70's and 80's.  Among his most famous tunes are Diamond Dogs, Ziggy Stardust, and his cover of Dancing in the Street with Mick Jagger.  He is also very famous for his role as the rock star Goblin King in the movie Labyrinth in which he sings the famous Magic Dance.  

ANFSTD

Two hydrogen atoms collide.  The first one asks the other, "Are you okay?".  The second one says, "No, I'm afraid I lost an electron."  "Really," says the first, "Are you sure?".  "Of course," says the second, "I'm positive." 

MARRIAGE ALA MODE: When Paintings Skewer Frivolity

I have been unable to put down this huge tome about the works of William Hogarth, an artist from the mid-18th Century.  He is most famous for his satirical pieces and his progresses (series of engraving and/or paintings that usually depict someone's downward spiral towards destruction).  
       Perhaps his most famous work is Marriage ala Mode.  This famous progress tears into arranged marriages.  Now arranged marriages are not bad in of themselves, but in Hogarth's day the wealthy tended arrange marriages based on money alone.  There were no questions asked about the compatibility of the couple so long as there was plenty of money.  Typically, an arrangement like this led to trouble.  
       There is a lot of detail in Hogarth's progress.  I cannot go into all of them, but I can give a summary of the scene and explain a few of the details involved.  
    

The first tableau shows the signing of the marriage contract in the Earl of Squanderfield's luxurious home.  As you can see, there's trouble from the start.  The marriage is being conducted as little more than a business deal between two avaricious men.  The Earl is bankrupt after having spent his money on a fancy new house and is in serious need of some cash.  He has arranged for his son the Viscount (seated at the far left) to marry the daughter of the rich-but-miserly alderman.  Neither the bride or the groom has any real interest in each other.  Also, the bride's dismay is soothed by Silvertounge the barrister.  And the Viscount has a black beauty patch on his neck, which in Hogarth's works indicates syphilis.  
         The paintings on the wall are primarily scenes of suffering and martyrdom from the Bible and Ancient Greco-Roman mythology.  The exceptions are a large, ridiculous portrait of the Earl, and a horrified Head of Medusa about the heads of the young couple.  The mutual disinterest between the Viscount and the alderman's daughter is mirrored in the two chained dogs in the bottom left corner.  The Earl reclines, pointing to a family tree dating all the way back to William the Conqueror.  The alderman pours over the contract while a lawyer overseas the transaction. 

The second tableau takes place either at 1:30 am or 1:30 pm (it's damning no matter how you slice it).  Already the marriage is falling apart and it is clear that the couple has spent the night indulging themselves.  The Viscount is hung-over after a night with his mistress while a dog eagerly sniffs the nightcap in his pocket.  His sword is broken indicating impotence and a fight with the watch.  The Viscountess on the other hand seems quite pleased with herself after a night of adulterous sex.  The house is in disarray and the fuming steward walks out of the room with a stack of unpaid bills.  
        Portraits of the Twelve Apostles adorn the walls of the dining room, as well as a painting so scandalous it has to be covered by a green curtain.  On the mantelpiece is a curious array of Buddha figures, statuettes, and glassware, with a Roman bust towering above them.  There is an overturned chair in front of the Steward.  This is a device that Hogarth used to indicate disharmony and discord.  This same symbol appears two more times in Marriage ala Mode.

The third tableau has the Viscount visiting a particularly ugly-looking quack.  He is holding out a container of mercury pills, which in those days was used to treat syphilis.  There are two prostitutes on either side of the Viscount, one of them giving him a death-glare, the other crying as she dabs sore on her lip.  
      All around the room are disgusting images; a skeleton leans suggestively on a mummy.  There is rigging that looks for all the world like a gallows. An embalmed head, a wolf's head, a narwhal tusk, an ostrich egg, and a wig on a plaster head are also visible.  Both the Viscount and the angry prostitute sport black patches.  


In the forth tableau the old Earl has died and his son is now the Earl of Squanderfield. So his wife is now the Countess.  She is holding a reception in her bedchamber during her morning levee.  She has been carrying on an affair with Silvertounge since the start and is completely absorbed with him.  A little black slave in Moorish dress points to a figure with the horns of Actaeon, long a symbol of cuckoldry.  The guests are some the most ridiculous stereotypes of fops and hangers-on.  
       Silvertounge points to a screen depicting an upcoming masquerade ball, he has the tickets already with him.  The paintings on the wall carry licentious innuendoes; behind the head of a curl-papered fop* is The Rape of Ganymede, and above that is a portrait of Silvertounge.  The other two are Jupiter and Io and Lot and his Daughters.  On the couch next to Silvertounge is a copy of the pornographic novel La Sofa by Crébillon. 

In the fifth tableau everything comes crashing down.  The Countess and Silvertounge have retired to a room at an inn after a masquerade ball to have sex.  The Earl has discovered them together, and Silvertounge has fatally stabbed him.  The Countess begs her husband for forgiveness.  Meanwhile Silvertounge escapes through the window as the innkeeper rushes in with the watch.  
       On the floor are the crumpled costumes of a monk and nun along with two masks.  A fresco painting of the Judgement of Solomon is obscured by an erotic portrait of a shepherdess.  Above the door (much more visible in the engraving) is a picture of St. Luke, author of the third of the Four Gospels and the Patron Saint of doctors. 

The sixth tableau depicts the final consequences of the whole deal.  After reading the account of Silvertounge's execution at Tyburn, the Countess has poisoned herself.  She has ended her days in her miserly father's barely-furnished house and in poverty.  The doctor shakes the servant who gave the Countess the laudanum, and the Alderman eases the wedding ring off his daughter's limp finger.  A maid has brought in the child** to kiss the mother's corpse one last time, but the child has leg irons and a black patch.  This means that the disease has been passed on to the next generation. 
     The spartan parlor of the Alderman's house is a stark contrast to the Earl's luxuriously decorated house from the first scene.  The paintings here include a man relieving himself against a wall, a still life depicting a pile of dirty dishes, and a woman lighting a pipe on a man's nose.  The meager meal of a half a pig's head is about to be carried off by a starving dog. The upturned chair means that there is discord.

Hogarth's masterpiece is both satire and tragedy.  The story is about the downward spiral of the marriage of convenience from the signing of the marriage contract to the deaths of the young Earl and his Countess.  But at the same time it is a parody.  The rooms are exaggerated and even a little distorted.  With the possible exception of the nurse and child in the final scene, everyone in Marriage ala Mode is a caricature and meant to look ridiculous.  The details such is the guilt-framed paintings, the collected antiques, the ornate mansion shown incomplete outside the window in the first tableau, all of them are designed to mock the elite culture of idleness, frivolity, and acquisition. 

I enjoy a lot of Hogarth's work, but this one my favorite.   
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 * There are some who suggest that the fop with curl-papers is none other than the Earl himself.  If that is the case, then the curl-papers do double-duty as a symbol of the horns of the cuckold.  The Earl is right there in the room watching his wife commit adultery. 

** It is a little hard to tell if the child is a boy or a girl.  Most sources say a girl, but in the 18th Century both boys and girls were typically portrayed with cherubic faces and long(ish) hair.  Also, boys wore dresses like girls did until around the age three or four when they would be switched to wearing short pants.  If the child is a girl, then even if she makes it to adulthood she does not stand a chance to inherit anything because of the customs of the day.  If the child is a boy, then his chances of inheriting are stymied due to his disease.  He will most likely die before he reaches adulthood.  Either way the inheritance is lost. 
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Pictures found on Wikipedia

Two Worst Film Sues

One's the Captain of the Guard of Mirkwood, who last time I checked should have gotten drunk on the job.  The other claims to be the daughter of Luke Skywalker, when Skywalker had no daughter!  
     One of them is wiser than the men, which shouldn't be a problem, but given the context it is.  She can wield a bow and arrow better than my former L.O. (which makes me irritated), and has a tacky romance with a dwarf.  The other masters the Force without any training whatsoever, while Skywalker took five years to master it.  Given how hard it is to learn the ways of the Force, being able to do everything without trouble when one has never used it before is just wrong.  

I have seen one, but have no plans to see the other.  One should have been eaten by the Mirkwood spiders, the other should have fallen into the Sarlacc.  They shall remain nameless for the sake of my sanity.  

There, I'm through ranting.