Loneliness/yearning to recognize someone and surprising Shining insight

[Edward A Moore]

Loneliness and yearning to recognize someone
And the recurrent Faustian theme

TR Pt 2 ch 1
p.303
"With his dispatch case, and an unkind thought for everyone he knew,
Otto carried his head high: Affecting to despise loneliness, still he
looked at the unholy assortment past him as though hopefully to identify
one, rescue some face from the anonymity of the crowd with instantly
regretted recognition , and so rescue himself."




On a more upbeat note I am reading Stephen King's "The Shining"
and seeing a Faustian theme which goes back to TR.

Mephistopholes could be seen as the hotel "The Overlook"
tempting Jack Nicholson's character with booze and knowledge.

http://www.shmoop.com/shining-stephen-king/jack-torrance.html

"One reason Jack doesn't want to leave the Overlook is because it's
feeding him forbidden knowledge, which is kind of every artist's dream.
If Jack can write a book about the Overlook's hidden secrets, he can
be a successful novelist."


Dr. Faustus's last lines in Marlowe's play also seem apropos.
The lines are spoken when he's on his death bed and the devil's
minions are coming to take him to hell. In short, he's having
second thoughts. Famously, he says:

"Ugly hell gape not! Come not, Lucifer!
I'll burn my books – ah, Mephastophilis!"


In the Shining Jack's last spoken words are,
"I WIN! […] NOT TOO LATE! I WIN! NOT TOO LATE! NOT TOO LATE! NOT—"

"Although the mindsets of the bargainers are different, they both lose
in the end.
Dr. Faustus wants to do a trade back – he'll burn his books on "black magic"
to get his soul back and escape hell. Jack, on the other hand, is
trying to keep
the bargain he thinks he's made with the devil – to protect the
Overlook and give
Danny to it."

"Can we think of the scrapbook, or even Jack's imaginary book on the Overlook,
as similar to Dr. Faustus's books on black magic?"

"Jack's books are burned up with the hotel; are Dr. Faustus's books
burned upon his death?"

SPOILER ON TR:

I believe Wyatt's stuff gets burned somewhere later on.

ed