Balladeer’s Blog resumes its examination of the macabre 1868 French language work The Songs of Maldoror. WARNING: This part is not for the weak of stomach.
A THRONE MADE OF EXCREMENT AND GOLD
This stanza starts out with the supernatural being Maldoror describing the visceral reaction he has to the sound of a human voice singing. His eyes are filled with the flame of his loathing and his ears feel assaulted as if by cannon fire. By comparison when he hears the sounds of musical instruments unaccompanied by voices he feels ineffably ecstatic.
Those observations provide a segue-way into yet ANOTHER contradictory account of Maldoror’s past. I will say it again: Maldoror lies, then lies about the lies.
This time around our malevolent main character tells us he was born deaf and didn’t learn to speak for several years and even then it was with great difficulty. He was beautiful in his youth (or was born with his horrific facial scars if you believe his previous accounts) and that beauty was admired by everyone who encountered him. Continue reading
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