Subject: (urth) Last Thrilling Wonder Story

From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Tue, 07 Jul 1998 18:02:45 +0000

On Tue, 7 Jul 1998, in our discussion of Solar Labyrinth, Jim Jordan
wrote:

> 	Well, it could be both, and probably is. Recall how Wolfe is "God" in "The
> Last Thrilling Wonder Story." And while I cannot recall any other titles,
> I'm pretty sure that the Author // God motif is found in other Wolfe
> stories as well. Thus, I'd suggest that "A Solar Labyrinth" can be
> interpreted either way.

I don't think Wolfe is "God" in "The Last Thrilling Wonder Story" (I'm not
even sure that the "author" is Wolfe, but that's another argument).  

The protagonist prays to God and the author gets mad at him and throws the
Devil at him.  But the protagonist not only wins but somehow escapes to
threaten the author. 

So if the author is God, Wolfe's religious message is that God better
treat us right or we'll storm Heaven and punch His lights out? 

If God is in the story at all, I would say it is in hearing the
protagonist's prayer and miraculously allowing him to escape the story
into the author's world.  Wolfe seems to be on the side of the protagonist
against the author.

-Rostrum

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/