I just got a kick-ass review of The Lyons' Den on Saguaro Moon Reviews! The reviewer got what the story's about. I don't yap about it because I wasn't sure I succeeded; I just thought I'd had fun with it. But there it is. Maybe I do know what I'm doing...for now. I'm sure I'll drop back to self-deprecation mode in about 23 hours.
That said...I'm finding my way down to a meaning for Marked For Death. I've bounced a number off the back of my brain, but as I was going through a hardcopy of what I've got, so far, a new idea began to build.
The first one to come up was, "The sins of the father are visited on the son." Which I didn't really go for; Ben's got a great relationship with his parents, so that doesn't fit such a narrative. I thought maybe I could have it turn out that Forrier is NOT such a great guy, that it's all in Ben's memory of him. But that bothers me...not so much because of the reversal and betrayal behind it all, but because then Ben would be seen as backing away from wanting to die because he's lost respect for his father. And that is just wrong for him. He needs to make the decision without external forces forcing him into it.
So another one popped up, "You cannot run away from yourself." Which is a bit too New-Age-y-Pop-Psych for my taste. Besides, Ben's not running away; he's confronted the reality of his life and wants to die...just not without meaning.
I think what it's boiling down to is..."Where there's hope, there's life." A quote from Anne Frank, but it fits Ben's case. He feels dead and wants to end the last vestiges of awareness...until he meets Aurelia. It came out of something he says to her, near the end of act 2 -- "In you, I see life, again." Not love. Not desire. Not even hope, really. He senses what could be a future...and even, maybe, some happiness. A reason to keep on going, even while still remembering...
Hmm...is that what it really is all about?
That said...I'm finding my way down to a meaning for Marked For Death. I've bounced a number off the back of my brain, but as I was going through a hardcopy of what I've got, so far, a new idea began to build.
The first one to come up was, "The sins of the father are visited on the son." Which I didn't really go for; Ben's got a great relationship with his parents, so that doesn't fit such a narrative. I thought maybe I could have it turn out that Forrier is NOT such a great guy, that it's all in Ben's memory of him. But that bothers me...not so much because of the reversal and betrayal behind it all, but because then Ben would be seen as backing away from wanting to die because he's lost respect for his father. And that is just wrong for him. He needs to make the decision without external forces forcing him into it.
So another one popped up, "You cannot run away from yourself." Which is a bit too New-Age-y-Pop-Psych for my taste. Besides, Ben's not running away; he's confronted the reality of his life and wants to die...just not without meaning.
I think what it's boiling down to is..."Where there's hope, there's life." A quote from Anne Frank, but it fits Ben's case. He feels dead and wants to end the last vestiges of awareness...until he meets Aurelia. It came out of something he says to her, near the end of act 2 -- "In you, I see life, again." Not love. Not desire. Not even hope, really. He senses what could be a future...and even, maybe, some happiness. A reason to keep on going, even while still remembering...
Hmm...is that what it really is all about?
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