November 2009
6 posts
Augustus summons Lazarus
“It pains,” said the deified Augustus, growing pale. “But look at me, Lazarus, look.” It was as if some heavy gates, ever closed, were slowly moving apart, and through the growing interstice the appalling horror of the Infinite poured in slowly and steadily. Like two shadows entered the shoreless void and the unfathomable darkness; they extinguished the sun, ravished the...
Lazarus meets a loving pair
And Lazarus came to a youth and his beloved, who loved each other and were most beautiful in their passion. Proudly and strongly embracing his love, the youth said with serene regret: “Look Lazarus, and share our joy. Is there anything stronger than love?” And Lazarus looked. And for the rest of their life they kept loving each other, but their passion grew gloomy and joyless, like...
“Nothing human disgusts me unless it’s unkind, violent.”
– Hannah in The Night of the Iguana (Tennessee Williams)
About sex
SHANNON: What is the sex of this iguana, Maxine?
MAXINE: Hah, who cares about the sex of an iguana... [He passes close by her.]... except another... iguana.
/The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams/
God of the Masses
SHANNON: [...] So the next Sunday when I climbed into the puplit and looked down over all of those smug, disapprovig, accusing faces uplifted, I had an impulse to shake them - so I shook them. I had a prepared sermon - meek, apologetic - I threw it away, tossed it into the chancel. Look here, I said, I shouted, I'm tired of conducting services in praise and worship of a senile delinquent - yeah, that's what I said, I shouted! All your Western theologies, the whole mythology of them, are based on the concept of God as a senile delinquent, by God, I will not and cannot continue to conduct services in praise and worship of this, this... this...
HANNAH [quietly]: Senile delinquent?
SHANNON: Yeah, this angry, petulant old man. I mean He's represented like a bad-tempered childish old, old, sick, peevish man - I mean like sort of old man in a nursing-home that's putting together a jigsaw puzzle and can't put it together and gets furious at it and kicks over the table. Yes, I tell you they do that, all our theologies do it - accuse God of being cruel, senile delinquent, blaming the world and brutally punishing all He created for His own faults in construction, and then, ha-ha, yeah - a thunderstorm broke that Sunday...
/The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams/
