The Ogre (Day One pages 3-93)

1) At the start of the novel Abel presents himself first as an ogre (which has mythic status) and then as the owner of a Parisian garage. How do you view these self-presentations? How do they correspond to and /or differ from one another?



Abel's first diary entry explains that his wife Rachel used to call him an ogre, or "a fabulous moster emerging from the mists of time" which Abel agrees that he thinks he has issued from the mists of time. He explains that a monster is a creature that is shown and mocked and exhibited at fairs. He says if you don't want to be a monster that you must conform to society's wishes and be just like them. After he explains this he introduces himself and says that he runs a garage in the Place de la Porte. I think he gives both of these self-presentations to show that he is a simple human who runs a garage, but that he also is similar to an ogre because he is special and unique from the rest. I think he also is similar to an ogre because people fear ogres, especially children and he develops an interest in children that is confused with molestation and and petifilia. When I think of an ogre, I think of a disgusting creature that is big and gross, similar to how Nestor is described. Abel, on the other hand, is described as being really puny and clumsy, which doesn't sound like the characteristics of an ogre at all.

2) Why is part one written as a diary? Why does he call these his sinister writings? What might this imply?

I think that part one is written as a diary because he Abel is reflecting on himself as a person and revealing to the reader why he feels a certain way. I think it is interesting that the novel begins with diary entries because a diary is supposed to be something private. Abel tells us that what he has written should be taken seriously and I take this as some sort of warning that we are not going to like what comes in the novel. Abel says, "I have two sets of writing: one that is "adroit," pleasant, social, commercial, reflecting the masked character I pretend to be in the eyes of society; and one that is "sinister," distorted by all of the "gauchenesses" of genius, full of flashes and cries- in short, inhabited by the spirit of Nestor (30). He has mixed perceptions about himself but he believes that he is just as sinister as his writings because he has to constantly conceal who he is and try to appease society. I think this is also saying how he is very similar to Nestor and Nestor taught him how to write by holding his hand and then Abel says that the sinister writings are the work of the both of them. I think it is interesting because although they are similar, they are different. Nestor is limited by time and Abel has an eternity, just like the story of Cain and Abel from the bible. They are alike in the fact that Nestor is "a monstous creature with something of genius and something of magic about him" (18). I am not sure what to make of all of this yet, but these are some things that I have noticed.