Difference between revisions of "Chapter 1"
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* dedication: "to Wieland" | * dedication: "to Wieland" | ||
Wieland is the youngest of Russell Hoban's children. In a coincidence that is appropriate to this novel, Wieland (Wayland, Weland, Volundr) in Germanic myth was a demigod and master metalworker, who forged the sword of Siegfried. | Wieland is the youngest of Russell Hoban's children. In a coincidence that is appropriate to this novel, Wieland (Wayland, Weland, Volundr) in Germanic myth was a demigod and master metalworker, who forged the sword of Siegfried. | ||
Revision as of 13:19, 28 July 2013
- (Naming day; a pig and a dog; "Hart of the Wood"; a night with Lorna)
- A hunting expedition coincides with 12-year-old Riddley's initiation into manhood. A traditional story tells us the basics of how the world got the way it is, and we meet Lorna, the village priestess and Riddley's lover.
- dedication: "to Wieland"
Wieland is the youngest of Russell Hoban's children. In a coincidence that is appropriate to this novel, Wieland (Wayland, Weland, Volundr) in Germanic myth was a demigod and master metalworker, who forged the sword of Siegfried.
- Epigram from the Gospel of Thomas. "Jesus has said: Blessed is the lion that the man will devour, and the lion will become man. And loathsome is the man that the lion will devour, and the lion will become man."
One of the most famous sayings from the Gnostic Gospels, expressing a typically paradoxical view of man's higher nature. Several events in this novel invite us to consider the meaning of devouring or being devoured. Lions themselves do not appear in the Anglocentric world of Riddley Walker, but are prominent in Middle Eastern mythology—and also in Russell Hoban's novels, particularly The Lion of Boaz-Jachin and Jachin-Boaz and Pilgermann.
No dates are explicitly given in the story, but Riddley mentions later that his birthday is "2nd Ful" or the second full moon of the year. Considering the parallels between Riddley's society and ancient Britain, David Cowart speculates that they may date the new year from November as the early Celts did, which would place us near the end of December. BW Riddley mentions later that "Shorsday" (shortest day—the winter solstice, usually around December 21 in the Northern hemisphere) has already come and gone.