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Turning Point
Posted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 11:29 pm
by jkwilliams
The first time I read the novel, there was one part that really stood out for me because it wasn't like anything else in the story. It was that strange little scene involving Eli and the old woman with cancer.
It was confusing at first because I couldn't see the point of it. It felt like a detour in the story that didn't really go anywhere. I understood the hallucinations probably meant something but I couldn't make any sense of them. I also couldn't understand why Eli seemed to act so differently here than he did in the rest of the novel.
Then it finally hit me. What makes this scene different from the ones where Jocke and Virginia are attacked is that it's told entirely from Eli's point of view. We not only see everything through his eyes but also get a sense of what he feels when he kills someone. That part turns out to be a little disturbing because he doesn't seem to feel anything.
The woman wasn't screaming anymore, just lay still on her back while the blood pumped out of her in weaker and weaker spurts, streaming down behind the sofa cushions. Her eyes were damp and remote as she met Eli's gaze and said, "please . . . please . . ."
Eli held back her impulse to be sick, leaned forward over the woman.
"Excuse me?"
"Please . . ."
"Yes, what is it you want?"
". . . please . . . please."
After a while the woman's eyes changed, stiffened. Became unseeing. Eli closed them. They opened again. Eli took the blanket from the floor and covered her face with it, sat up straight in the couch.
JAL goes into great detail describing every little thing but never gives the old woman a name. That's because it doesn't matter to Eli. He may not like having to kill people but it no longer bothers him, and I think that realization is what this scene is really about. Being with Oskar has reawakened a lot of feelings and memories he probably forgot he still had. The morphine just brings them all to the surface and forces him to confront them.
The penguins walking with their eggs become the parents taking their children to the castle, and the mirrored skyscrapers become actual mirrors. When he sees the wig man on the screen he knows he's really looking at himself. Eli rejects being called a vampire because he wants to believe he's different, but deep down he realizes he's becoming as
"cynical and hollow" as the others.
This is a big turning point in Eli's life and he's not the same character afterwards. When he burns the house down, he's also getting rid of his old life and starting a new one with Oskar. Without this strange little scene, we wouldn't have an
Oskar and Eli.
There! It took me five years but I finally made it to 100 posts.
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 1:48 am
by ltroifanatic
Your 100th is a cracker.I've read that part of the novel lots of times and now you've given me an explanation that I had never thought of.I had always thought that it was showing a hunting strategy as well as an opportunity to show us how a contaminated blood supply can affect vampires and also to read more about the "wigman".Your post suggests so much more.Ohhh! You've got me thinking too much.Another sleepless night..
Thanks for sharing your insights.You should post more if you can.
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2017 2:55 am
by gattoparde59
What struck me in that scene was the way this old woman is heading towards a lonely death. She dresses up and lays out snacks for guests that are never coming. (Eli is rightly worried that someone will visit). Who are you? she asks and Eli answers "Nobody."She lays her head in Eli's lap and Eli tenderly strokes her hair and tells her a story. I always took this as showing Eli's state of mind. Eli wants someone to love and care for him even as he gets ready to kill the old lady.
You are right that this is a very important scene. This is the first clue we get that Eli is both a predator and a victim. For the first time perhaps we see Eli afraid of something.
I never thought of this scene in quite the way you describe here. Both Oskar and Haken are witnesses to the transformation you see but now I am not sure of the timeline.
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 12:43 am
by a_contemplative_life
Thanks for the thoughtful post. I like your interpretation of that scene and why it's important.
Another element that I like about this scene is that it shows not only that Eli is a victim, but also that he, like the other characters, cannot escape "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." In other words, things can go badly for everyone, even those with supernatural powers.
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 12:48 am
by intrige
This is a pretty amaing observation, great job!! I haven't thought of it like that before!
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 2:43 pm
by OskarTheArsonist
jkwilliams wrote: ↑Fri Nov 24, 2017 11:29 pm
The first time I read the novel, there was one part that really stood out for me because it wasn't like anything else in the story. It was that strange little scene involving Eli and the old woman with cancer.
It was confusing at first because I couldn't see the point of it. It felt like a detour in the story that didn't really go anywhere. I understood the hallucinations probably meant something but I couldn't make any sense of them. I also couldn't understand why Eli seemed to act so differently here than he did in the rest of the novel.
Then it finally hit me. What makes this scene different from the ones where Jocke and Virginia are attacked is that it's told entirely from Eli's point of view. We not only see everything through his eyes but also get a sense of what he feels when he kills someone. That part turns out to be a little disturbing because he doesn't seem to feel anything.
The woman wasn't screaming anymore, just lay still on her back while the blood pumped out of her in weaker and weaker spurts, streaming down behind the sofa cushions. Her eyes were damp and remote as she met Eli's gaze and said, "please . . . please . . ."
Eli held back her impulse to be sick, leaned forward over the woman.
"Excuse me?"
"Please . . ."
"Yes, what is it you want?"
". . . please . . . please."
After a while the woman's eyes changed, stiffened. Became unseeing. Eli closed them. They opened again. Eli took the blanket from the floor and covered her face with it, sat up straight in the couch.
JAL goes into great detail describing every little thing but never gives the old woman a name. That's because it doesn't matter to Eli. He may not like having to kill people but it no longer bothers him, and I think that realization is what this scene is really about. Being with Oskar has reawakened a lot of feelings and memories he probably forgot he still had. The morphine just brings them all to the surface and forces him to confront them.
The penguins walking with their eggs become the parents taking their children to the castle, and the mirrored skyscrapers become actual mirrors. When he sees the wig man on the screen he knows he's really looking at himself. Eli rejects being called a vampire because he wants to believe he's different, but deep down he realizes he's becoming as
"cynical and hollow" as the others.
This is a big turning point in Eli's life and he's not the same character afterwards. When he burns the house down, he's also getting rid of his old life and starting a new one with Oskar. Without this strange little scene, we wouldn't have an
Oskar and Eli.
There! It took me five years but I finally made it to 100 posts.
About the guy with the wig I dont think its a reflection of Eli himself but more of a inner demons from his dark past. According to bomth descriptions from Oskar when he was in Elis past and from this chapter its safe to asume that its the same vampire that turns Eli. When the man talks to Eli he says “come home” so this must mean that Eli had escaped from the Man with the wig and that he is still alive. Now in the future there is a chance they could meet the man with the wig wich might even be worth telling as a sequel. 🧐
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:09 pm
by metoo
OskarTheArsonist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 2:43 pm
When the man talks to Eli he says “come home” so this must mean that Eli had escaped from the Man with the wig and that he is still alive. Now in the future there is a chance they could meet the man with the wig wich might even be worth telling as a sequel.
I’d rather say that it
might mean that the wig man is still alive. The issue is left open, although I personally prefer to think that the wig man is no more. In my personal version of the LtROI universe, his cruel ways finally caught up with him and he was killed by an angry mob long ago. Eli was still with him at the time, but was lucky to escape...
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:31 pm
by OskarTheArsonist
metoo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:09 pm
OskarTheArsonist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 2:43 pm
When the man talks to Eli he says “come home” so this must mean that Eli had escaped from the Man with the wig and that he is still alive. Now in the future there is a chance they could meet the man with the wig wich might even be worth telling as a sequel.
I’d rather say that it
might mean that the wig man is still alive. The issue is left open, although I personally prefer to think that the wig man is no more. In my personal version of the LtROI universe, his cruel ways finally caught up with him and he was killed by an angry mob long ago. Eli was still with him at the time, but was lucky to escape...
what do you think the wig man means by "come home" I get its not really the wig guy and its just Eli's subconscious but it still meant something to him.
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:57 pm
by metoo
OskarTheArsonist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:31 pm
what do you think the wig man means by "come home" I get its not really the wig guy and its just Eli's subconscious but it still meant something to him.
I have no idea, haven’t thought much about it. But JAL put it there, so it plausibly means something.
The hallucination is unpleasant to Eli, nightmarish. Perhaps we may find a clue in Eli’s rather strong objection of being a vampire. He apparently puts more into that than just feeding on human blood and killing people in the process. Maybe the hallucination represents a fear of becoming like the wig man and the vampire woman, both of which Eli seems to detest and look down upon?
Re: Turning Point
Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2018 6:08 pm
by OskarTheArsonist
metoo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:57 pm
OskarTheArsonist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 5:31 pm
what do you think the wig man means by "come home" I get its not really the wig guy and its just Eli's subconscious but it still meant something to him.
I have no idea, haven’t thought much about it. But JAL put it there, so it plausibly means something.
The hallucination is unpleasant to Eli, nightmarish. Perhaps we may find a clue in Eli’s rather strong objection of being a vampire. He apparently puts more into that than just feeding on human blood and killing people in the process. Maybe the hallucination represents a fear of becoming like the wig man and the vampire woman, both of which Eli seems to detest and look down upon?
I thought that originally but the "come home" to me seems to punch a hole through that theory. maybe there is a different meaning to it in the Swedish version.