MALDOROR 6: THE BLOOD AND TEARS OF A CHILD

Balladeer’s Blog resumes its examination of The Songs of Maldoror, the neglected 1868 masterpiece of surreal horror written by Isidore Ducasse, the self-designated Count de Lautreamont. As I’ve mentioned previously this 1868 work was so far ahead of its time it is still considered disturbing not only for its violence and demented sexuality but also for its vehement assault on religion and its overall tone.  

The Blood and Tears of a Child is the title I have chosen for this 6th poem from The Songs of Maldoror. I will be assigning unofficial titles to each poem for the sake of clarity and for easier cross-referencing. Titles will work better in the memory since otherwise we have only the poem numbers to go by. My unofficial titles should be more efficient than having to refer to a section of the book as “the part where Maldoror is crucified and his testicles are full of spiders” or such.  

THE BLOOD AND TEARS OF A CHILD

This section begins with our mysterious, once-human figure Maldoror rhapsodizing about how wonderful it is to let one’s fingernails grow for fifteen days (shades of Coffin Joe or Freddy Krueger’s bladed glove). He considers it the perfect length for plunging them into the breast of a child you’ve snatched from its bed. He cautions against killing the child outright, so that its long-term suffering can be better enjoyed.

Blindfolding the child first is a must, the monster maintains, because after days of slashing the child’s flesh from its body and breaking the child’s bones Maldoror enjoys slipping away, then returning to the torture room pretending to be a good Samaritan rescuing the child.

“Maldoror and His Smile” by Lord Orlando

Our protagonist relishes the acclaim he gets from bystanders considering him to be the child’s savior. He leaves the now-crippled and emotionally scarred victim in the hands of medical or charitable personnel, then drifts into a reverie about how much he would love to encounter the child again in the afterlife. Maldoror perversely longs to spend eternity with his mouth on the child’s mouth, their bodies locked together as the child now inflicts torture upon the one who was his tormentor in life. To our vile main character it would be ecstacy to feel the child repaying all the abuse Maldoror subjected him to, and he longingly dwells on how warm and loving this tableau would be.

I will point out again this was a work from EIGHTEEN SIXTY-EIGHT! I mentioned last time around how the author Isidore Ducasse begged the publisher to stop after eighty-odd copies had been made. Ducasse feared arrest or incarceration in an insane asylum because of the nature of what he had written. A newcomer to Maldoror may now understand why. And we haven’t even gotten to the monster’s encounters with God yet.  

I WILL RESUME THIS LOOK AT THE SONGS OF MALDOROR SOON. CHECK BACK ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK FOR NEW INSTALLMENTS.

FOR PART ONE CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/2015/02/28/maldoror-a-neglected-masterpiece-of-surreal-horror/

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