Posted by Sterling on 12/11/2011, 19:04:37, in reply to "Re: Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass"
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SPOILERS
interesting questions, Steven. I personally am convinced that Henry committed suicide. At the end of his section, we see Henry removing the belt from his coat and testing it for strength. This, after Omensetter has left.
Not to mention the objections raised by the doctor and others within the novel itself. Primarily, the bizarre choice of hanging Henry so high that he can't easily be found as a means of hiding the body. Not only would it be extremely difficult to carry dead weight to the treetops, but why not just bury him? No, I'm sure that Henry killed himself.
I think that the contrast with the fox in the well was probably intended. I hadn't thought of the symbolic climb towards grace. That's interesting. I'm unclear why Henry killed himself, but he is acutely disappointed when he realizes that Omensetter is just a man, not a "miracle." Especially after he had "cured" Henry's lockjaw with his beetroot poultice. The magic was drained from the world, leaving him with ashes and emptiness. Perhaps in his act of ultimate despair, Henry wanted to perform something truly extraordinary himself in an attempt to restore the miraculous.
--Previous Message--
: Spoilers!
:
: Interesting thoughts about Omensetter and Amadeus. I
: saw the film when it was released, but not since, so I
: don't recall it that well.
:
: I agree that Jethro Furber was the principal
: character. Omensetter himself didn't so much act as a
: character as exist as an idea in the minds of Pimber
: and Furber.
:
: I was struck by the similarities and contrasts between
: Furber and the Rev. Gwyon in The Recognitions by
: William Gaddis. Both introduce pagan elements into
: their sermons to the bewilderment of their
: congregations, and both have an obsessive interest in
: sexuality. Gaddis and Gass were friends and only a
: couple years apart in age, though The Recognitions
: came a decade earlier than Omensetter's Luck.
:
: So how did Henry get up the tree? Murder or suicide?
: Is it meant to be a symbolic climbing toward grace?
: Are we to note the contrast between the fox down the
: well and the man up the tree? Or is it just the
: outcome of a sordid affair between Omensetter and
: Henry's wife?
