Don't recall if I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but the Falconhurst Saga, written ca. the 1960's, contained a number of mentions of eunuch slaves, in most or all of the books. I only read one or two of the books, but there were at least five. These were written by Kyle Onstott, and, in some instances, also by collaborators. It was not a distinguished series as regards literary content, but the books did have some relevance to the civil rights movement of the time. The only one I am sure that I read was MANDINGO, but I think I also read parts of MASTER OF FALCONHURST and FALCONHURST FANCY. You might see if you can find all the titles in the saga. I'm sure they are all out of print.
I once knew Phillip Onstott, the son of Kyle Onstott. Once when we were sitting in his study, I commented on the shelf of books from the Falconhurst series that began with Mandingo and continued on through several others.
We talked a bit about the books, and Phillip noted that his father had interviewed a number of elderly former slaves during his travels through the South in the early 1920s. He said that his father had interviewed one elderly man who had been castrated as a small boy to better serve his mistress. These interviews with former slaves were apparently the inspiration for the novels and the eunuch whom he interviewed was the basis for the talk of slave castration in the series. There were also copies of Kyle Onstotts books on dog breeding and dog training on the shelf, which may explain the plot element of the slave breeding farm.
American historians have tended to avoid all discussion of slave casration in the American South, though it certainly did exist. The most thorough (and still very minor) discussion that I have found to date is the book White Over Black, by Winthrop D. Jordan (University of North Carolina Press, 1968). The most telling point was a reward poster for escaped slaves that noted that one of the slaves being sought had been recently gelded and was not yet healed.
I know I can seem a bit donnish, but that's just me. I have, An Onymus, vaguely heard of those books which you mention - but very vaguely. Jesus knows a lot more than me. But thanks all the same. I will add them to the list (which is now beginning to get quite large - no puns, guys&gals).
And thanks, Jesus, for your knowledge. I was fascinated and very grateful for what you had to say (as I have been before).
Forgive me for a moment, but I must respond to A-1's wickedly humorous and very welcome comments about the corpse spunking maggots. Okay, he was a stiff and, hence, he was very stiff. Sure, the girl in question obviously gave good head, etc. It may be that she was so good that even a stiff (which I seem to remember was an exumed plague victim) was still up for the task. I think either the bubonic or, nastier, "Pneumoic plague" (I might have spellt this wrong) were involved. There is a healthy 65% survival rate of the former. No one survives the latter. Sorry.
Oh, and just to let you all sleep easy, rats still carry these diseases, and all it takes is a sun-spot or a bit of the old climate-change, and we're all as "yuergh" as a character in a Hutson novel. We'll all be shooting those kind of blanks, if we're stiff enough. And, you're never more than six feet away from a rat. When you're asleeep, they're running across your bedroom carpets and have been known to bite people in bed - though don't be too alarmed. They usually go for the kiddies, not we big people. (By the way, I am not lying about that). Just keep the children's rooms clean, and all will be well. And never leave uncleaned plates lying around the place. Better still, get a cat. Depending on where you live, and your local zoology, a good cat will eat the spiders that are danegrous and may even kill the snakes. And they usually eat the rats. Mine does, and I'm in England.
How the hell have I gone so off this subject?
Oh. Another guy who is worth reading in horror. James Herbert. Yeah, I know his very first novel, "The Rats" is a bit old (1970s) but it's still scarey. Grab your groin when you read it.
But that's a horror-novel, not directly connected to what we are discussing.
And the spunky-maggot girl? Well, maybe the corpse took a last chance! Chances are, he was possessed by some terrible evil force, and that's why he became animated enough to spunk. Still doesn't explain why the girl sucked him off in the first place, though? But, what the hey?
Let's face it, what do you expect from "rape by chainsaw" novelits? Insemination by maggots? Think about the kid!
Anyway. Great to hear all this from An Onymous and Jesus. Fascinating stuff.
I am amazed that no one has mentioned "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway. In it, the hero loses his genitals in World War I. Most of the novel is about the life he leads after his loss. There is also a play by Tennessee Williams in which the principal male character, one Chance Wayne, who seems to have given gonorrhea to the governor's daughter, ruining her reproductive system, is finally castrated by the state police at the end of the play (offstage, if I understand the stage directions correctly.)
"Sweet Bird of Youth" and similar Tennesse Williams plays were all about sexual tension in the deep South, often with slave-punishment overtones.
I am not an expert on his work, but Williams was brilliant at evoking the sexual undercurrents that affect outwardly socially-safe micro-societies. Anyone interested in these kinds of plays should also read the more wayward, but some would say superior, Eugene O'Neil. "Mourning Becomes Electra" is one of the best trilogies of plays I have ever read. It is devastating. Oh, and it's very depressing, so be happy when you read/see it.
Other Willaims plays that are worth seeing are "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", and, of course, "A Streecar Named Desire" - his masterpiece, so I am told.
Other O'Neil plays is the trilogy of "The Iceman Cometh" (and "The Long Day's Journey into Night")
No direct castrations in any of these, but in many of these plays, especially "Mourning", the boy is a eunuch before he even has a chance to become a man. (I really hate those plays. They're so depressing). Read or see the first play in "Mourning" and you will see what I mean. Especially the end at the docks.
As I say, I am no expert, but the literary style that Williams and O'Neil began, found its apogee in that good old favourite; "Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?" by Edward Albee.
With Albee, a real eunuch is revealled.
I have a coupla messages to send in this post: To tjstill. I will look into "Dearest Orient" and "Golden Voyager". I am sorry that I have taken so long to acknowledge these.
To others:
Please, everyone, remember that this is a strand, and I am just a contributor too. Don't expect me to write back about everything. That's not me saying that I don't appreciate and welcome and want every single post anyone and everyone makes, of course. It's just that I am not in charge of this. You all are. So, keep contributing, please. We can play "Ask the Professor" another time. And if I don't write back soon or contribute, it's only because I am busy elsewhere. And, remember, you can always tell be to shut up.
Two of William Faulkner's novels deal with (among other matters) the castration of a severely retarded young man for attempted rape. The second of them is "As I Lay Dying" told, in a stream of consciousness, from the viewpoint of the eunuch, Willy. I don't remember the title of the preceding novel in which he is castrated.
Unfortunately, I probably do remember these Faulkner novels, but not off the top of my head, as it were.
Great American literature divides itself into three simple parts: Robert Lowell, playwrites and Faulkner; and Raymond Carver. (Yes, I meant three parts of four).
I can ask my own professors for all you want to know about Faulkner, but he has never been one of my favourites (Faulkner, not Dr Bauer). I do have vague recollections of the order by which his books should be read, but since I have always hated his work, I am the last person to ask.
Faulkner was a difficult man and I suggest that you read his books in the order that he published them. Sorry to be so useless, but I will ask my professors.
Please don't ask me about Robert Lowell. I'll never stop. He just happens to be the greatest poet of the late twentieth century. Don't believe me?
Then see if you can get a hold of "Skunk Hour". No direct castrations, but it's a helluva poem.
Bye,
Nicky
PS if you can't find it, I'll post it. Just let me know.
n
(But I don't wanna start posting poems. This is supposed to be a site about castration, not my favourite poems)
.n.
Addendum from Nicky:
According to my sources, "As I Lay Dying" is a kind of sequal to "The Sound and the Fury". From what I have gleaned, I don't think "Dying" was really a sequal to anything. But I will do my best to prove myself wrong. Bit not ce soir. My back's aching.
Karelescu (imported) wrote: Sat Sep 18, 2004 8:08 pm
Unfortunately, I probably do remember these Faulkner novels, but not off the top of my head, as it were.
Great American literature divides itself into three simple parts: Robert Lowell, playwrites and Faulkner; and Raymond Carver. (Yes, I meant three parts of four).
I can ask my own professors for all you want to know about Faulkner, but he has never been one of my favourites. I do have vague recollections of the order by which his books should be read, but since I have always hated his work, I am the last person to ask.
Faulkner was a difficult man and I suggest that you read his books in the order that he published them. Sorry to be so useless, but I will ask my professors.
Please don't ask me about Robert Lowell. I'll never stop. He just happens to be the greatest poet of the late twentieth century. Don't believe me?
Then see if you can get a hold of "Skunk Hour". No direct castrations, but it's a helluva poem.
Bye,
Nicky
PS if you can't find it, I'll post it. Just let me know.
n
(But I don't wanna start posting poems. This is supposed to be a site about castration, not my favourite poems)
A-1 