Balladeer’s Blog resumes its examination of the macabre 1868 French language work The Songs of Maldoror. People who want to see our vile main character suffer will definitely enjoy this part.
FOUR CENTURIES ON A SHAPELESS THRONE
Image by GodofPegana at Deviant Art.
This stanza opens up with Maldoror paralyzed and suffering a variety of excruciating torments. Like a wooden stake through the heart will take out a vampire and a silver bullet through the heart will kill a werewolf, Maldoror’s weakness is at last revealed to us.
While our supernatural protagonist was seated on a boulder contemplating his next move in the ongoing feud between him and God an unnamed human being crept up on him from behind and drove their sword downward through the nape of Maldoror’s neck and on, vertically, driving it through the fiend’s spine like a spike. This has rendered Maldoror paralyzed but happily (given his countless atrocities) NOT immune to pain.
Maldoror tells the reader that he has remained thus for four hundred years. This being a book of poems instead of a straightforward fictional narrative we are given no clarification how long ago this happened. Did this take place in the distant past and Maldoror was released in recent years to resume his reign of terror? Or is this how Maldoror’s career of evil ENDS, making this hundreds of years in the future?
Like pop culture fans arguing about continuity issues in their favorite television series critics argue on and on about the when’s and how’s of this portion of The Songs of Maldoror. Personally, if I was adapting the lengthy work – and a series of short films would be the only way I feel it could be done justice – I would save this stanza for last. Given all the pain Maldoror has happily inflicted on his countless victims I would love to picture him suffering like this for the rest of his existence.
At any rate Maldoror informs us he is filthy and that lice gnaw at him. Even pigs vomit at the sight of him after these centuries of suffering. Leper’s scabs have formed on some parts of his body, pustules on other parts. Mushrooms have begun to grow from the base of his neck.
His feet seem to have taken root in the soil and vegetation has begun to grow from them, entangling his body. All manner of parasites dwell in his stomach and his body gives off a cadaverous odor even though he still lives. Small toads have taken up residence in Maldoror’s left armpit and a chameleon in the right one. They munch away at his ever-diminishing body fats and oils when they are hungry.
A viper has devoured the trapped and unmoving Maldoror’s penis and used the resulting body cavity as its new home. The villain’s arms have become so atrophied that they are like trunks of wood and his blood moves as slowly through them as sap through a tree.
Two hedgehogs tore out the insides of Maldoror’s scrotum and tossed the meat to a hungry dog. They now sleep in his hollowed-out scrotal sac. A crab lives inside his rectum and frequently brandishes its claws to warn potential intruders away from its lair and those claws cause Maldoror even more intense agony. A pair of jellyfish have attached themselves to his buttocks, one on each, and when they are not stinging him they feed on him.
Maldoror tells us that over the years many people have – out of curiousity – gripped the sword-hilt protruding vertically from his spinal column and attempted to pull it out, like Arthur or Siegfried with the swords in the stone and petrified tree, respectively. Removing the sword would restore Maldoror’s mobility but none of them succeeded.
Our protagonist further mentions that he periodically fantasizes about being free again and storming Heaven with an army of equally murderous underlings or about getting his revenge on God in some other way. Maldoror tells us he wants no pity, that he considers himself to have fought a good fight against God and is now enduring the fate brought on by defying the deity.
In closing Maldoror boasts to humanity that, though they remain at the mercy of God/The Demiurge he has at least shown them God’s “true” nature. Though they are still God’s lowly subjects Maldoror feels that, thanks to him, humanity will no longer be deceived that God is “good”. Nor will they fail to spot the evil in other human beings, even their own seemingly innocent children. +++
I WILL BE EXAMINING ADDITIONAL SECTIONS VERY 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/
FOR OTHER PARTS OF MALDOROR CLICK HERE: https://glitternight.com/category/maldoror/
© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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These Maldor ones are too weird for me.
I understand.
Gotta puke now. Thanks for the acid trip.
Glad to do it!
The guy who wrote these was on some serious shit.
Ha! I agree.
Wow these Maldoror posts are starting to make me physically ill.
Well, just as a warning Maldoror wipes out every man, woman and child in an entire town in the next stanza. Plus he reminsces about additional atrocities.
Heavy punishment!
Heavy but deserved.
This bastard deserves every bit of it!
There’s no arguing with that!
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logged
Too gross and scary!
I understand.
Now that is hardcore punishment.
I agree.
I lost my appetite after reading this.
I understand.