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From: soren@reed.UUCP (Soren Petersen)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: Re: Pelius and Melisande
Message-ID: <2514@reed.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Feb-86 03:55:32 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.2514
Posted: Sun Feb 16 03:55:32 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 17-Feb-86 06:09:42 EST
References: <912@rlgvax.UUCP> <2467@reed.UUCP> <15255@rochester.UUCP>
Reply-To: soren@reed.UUCP (Soren Petersen)
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 35

<15255@rochester.UUCP> ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) writes:
>I have to take exception with this.  I just read Pelleas & Mellisande
>yesterday, both issues back-to-back, and I felt very disappointed.
>The artwork was great, but the story was not so hot, especially
>all the loose ends, abrupt transitions, and lack of time sense.
>
>Maybe I'm just dense, but this looks like bad storytelling
>all around.  Maybe this is what it means to be "symbolist",
>or "pre-modern", but it just seems like bad craftsmanship.
>
>Uh-oh, now someone will reply and explain all this stuff, and
>I'll look terribly low-brow.  Oh well, nothing new...

Firstly, I suppose I should apologize for throwing around literary terms 
without (1)explaining them, and (2)properly understanding them myself.

As far as 'pre-modern' goes, I meant very late Romantic.  The end of the
nineteenth century was characterized, at least artistically, by a definite
sense that something was not quite right in Denmark, but without any idea
just what.  P&M, (the play) was full of this.  The whole kingdom is founded
on rottenness, the kingdom is in the midst of a major famine and everyone
is dying.  The true 'story' is about how this corruption destroys the 
innocence represented by Pelius, Melisande and their love.  The plot is
not important in itself, the true 'action' is symbolic.  

I read the play, immediately before reading the comic, so I cannot say
how much sense the comic makes on its own.  I enjoyed both immensely,
without really understanding exactly what was going on myself.

If anyone would like to post a detailed analysis, I would be grateful.

Thanks (as they say) in advance

				Have a Nice Day
					soren Petersen