5HoC questions

Unfortunately, this intriguing idea is at least partially shot down by the fact that once or twice Dr Marsch is called "Doctor Marsch" by the people he talks to, long before he goes into the back of beyond with VRT. It seems unlikely that VRT would keep the surname and replace the first names. On the other hand, the names do seem suggestive, don't they? I would suggest that what we're looking at here is a classic Wolfian pun: the joke being that Marsch carries his eventual fate with him all the time in the words of his name. Dr John V Marsch, the man who comes to St Anne to find aborigines, gets killed and replaced by a real John-of-the-Marsh. Now there's irony for you.