"Saturday, 27 December 1794. Because I cannot starve, because I have a child to feed and clothe and care for, I can no longer sit in a miserable stupor. Virgil has been two days in the ground, and there is nothing I can do. It has addled my mind- I forget things, I lose track of time for I am always in a deep, dark reverie. Perhaps if I were not a Mother, perhaps if Henri's warm little heart did not beat, I might let my grief overcome me and sink full-willing into its pit, take my own life and sleep in peace. But Henri is very much so here, dear little Prince, and I simply must overcome my pain.
Dr. Flood owes Virgil money - it is as uncomplicated as that. The thought of going to him to request it is abhorrent to me: I still suspect him implicated in Virgil's death, for the Wraiths belong to him. But perhaps, like rabid dogs, they also have a taste for death which is independent of their master, and Dr. Flood assured me once that he was extremely fond of Virgil. He showed me tolerance and kindness once before: I can only hope he will do so again."
Wilkins, Kim. "33." The resurrectionists. London: Gollancz, 20012000. 421. Print.
... The diary excerpt from this story is written by a young girl named Georgette. Maisie is living in the same house as her, and is facing the same fate, and has found her diary. The sweet girl of only about 19, is reflecting on the death of her also young husband, Virgil. She has felt utter disgrace ever since she eloped with him, from her family and society. She was a wealthy young lady, and he was a poor poet, but they fell in love. Her father disapproved, but they ran off, and began living in a little cottage, directly on the edge of the largest cemetery in the world. Eventually she became with child, and the young family was struggling against the will of Dr. Flood, a scientist of unknown age, that uses soul magick (<- that is on purpose, NOT a mistake) to live forever. Poor Virgil was his grave robber, until he became too taken over and wanted out-leading him to an untimely and very sad death. Georgette is reflecting upon how her life was before: and feeling such disgrace in herself, that had her child not have been there and alive, she would take her own life to be together with Virgil in death "sink full-willing into its pit, take my own life and sleep in peace" (Wilkins, 421), but it is not that simple. The disgrace she feels is the pressures of her family, and that as a Mother she is failing. Her reflection is half of the novel, but this is an excerpt that accurately gives a taste of her thoughts. All she can do is reflect upon her life, reflect upon the disgrace of the past, and mourn her losses. This can relate to the quote from Mr. Biersack, as she needs to pull up from the sadness in her life and make herself stronger, and go forth and prosper for her dear Henri in the least. She should mourn, but at the same time strike out at the world, and move on, to use her loss to take better care of Henri and learn from her faults to truly love Virgil and his memory and to be a good mother...
(Later on she tries to leave her child at a church, hoping instead a better life for Henri. She hears in a neighbouring village the next day that the blankets had been too snug, and that he suffocated to death. Upon hearing this, she returns to Solgrieve, steals her husband's decaying corpse, and lets the Wraiths have her. She is buried underneath the rose bush in the garden, with Virgil.)
Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
"Lastly, in the theater itself, the celebrated, but heartless and soulless diva made the most scandalous remarks about Christine and tried to cause her endless minor unpleasantness.
When Carlotta had finished thinking over the threat contained in the strange letter, she got up.
"We shall see" she said, adding a few oaths in her native Spanish with a very determined air.
The first thing she saw, when looking out of her window, was a hearse. She was very superstitious; and the hearse and the letter convinced her that she was running the most serious dangers that evening. She collected all her supporters, told them that she was threatened at that evening's performance with a plot organized by Christine Daae and declared that they must play a trick upon that chit by filling the house with her, Carlotta's, admirers. She had no lack of them, had she? She relied upon them to hold themselves prepared for any eventuality to silence the adversaries,if, as she feared, they created a disturbance."
Leroux, Gaston. "7: Faust and What Followed." The phantom of the opera. Charlottesville, Va.: University of Virginia Library, 1994. 96. Print.
...Carlotta "the celebrated, but heartless and soulless diva" (Leroux, 96) had been reflecting on a mysterious letter just before this: a letter warding her away from the Opera house for that night. She assumed that it *must* have been Christine, blaming the innocent young girl of a message completely unrelated to her. The letter, presumably from the Opera Ghost, essentially told her that she would be eternally tormented if she sang that night. Carlotta was reflecting upon what she was being told: and she did not like it. She was feeling much contempt and disgrace towards Ms. Daae, blaming her for this misfortune. The reflection goes much deeper than this, as you can see that Carlotta has been expecting an uprising against her, as though the entire Opera was out to steal her stardom. She seems to channel her disgraceful hatred towards Christine, a hapless young girl just trying to succeed. A whole myriad of issues ensues due to the hateful singer, which in turn gives a very large feeling of disgrace towards Carlotta from the audience (the readers). This is related to the quote from Mr. R. W. Emerson. Carlotta is mistaking herself as being persecuted, when in fact she is merely being contradicted. Her superstitions and fears are getting the better of her, she is dreaming up reasons to fear and loathe Christine, while each new issue is contradictive of the next. She needs to be jolted from this self-pitying near mental slumber to realize that Ms. Daae is not out to get her...
"Photography." Kimz Dezignz. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2012. < http://kimzdezignz.com/gallery/ghosts/
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