Brian wrote:
"The Judge" may be the most harrowing literary character
since Hannibal Lecter, and reads like a cross between that
arch-fiend and Captain Ahab.
*************** I like the connection between The Judge and
Lecter, Brian. They both fit a special niche in the character
category under the heading of genius murderers. There are
some common themes that follow these guys around. One would
be the Nietzschean contrast between master and slave
philosophy. These guys fully understand that what they do is
considered evil by convention, but they consider themselves
above convention. Their crimes are often disassociated from
emotions like greed and hate, feelings they are likely to
consider irrational and below them. Another theme would be
where the line is drawn between genius and insanity. Another
inevitable theme is an examination of conventional concepts
of right and wrong, and if right and wrong are absolute or
relative.
I like all these issues, so I've got a fondness for the
genius killer in literature. You guys got any other good
examples of the genius killer? I'll name one more of my
favorites before I go: Mr. Kurtz, from Conrad's HEART OF
DARKNESS.
miker
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