Date: Sat, 03 Aug 2002 14:07:52 -0500
Subject: (urth) PEACE: the sepia photo
From: Adam Stephanides 

I'd always assumed that the photo of the woman was the photo of Candy that
Charlie says he is sending, but looking over the passage again, I have my
doubts.  Weer shows the photos to Miss Hadow, whom he does not know,
implicitly asking for her reaction.  The photo Charlie described showed
Candy in a G-string and pasties.  Is it likely that Weer would have shown
such a photo to a middle-aged woman he didn't know?  And when Miss Hadow
sees the photo, she says "Well, the woman is an obvious tramp."  If the
photo had shown Candy nearly nude, this response would be like being shown a
photo of Chief Sitting Bull in full regalia and being asked to comment, and
responding "Well, he's an Indian."  Miss Hadow goes on to say "The woman
has--you know--an old-fashioned kind of hairdo, and she's the kind that gets
killed by some man, or gets drunk and wrecks her car."  This sounds like a
film noir femme fatale (the movie connection again!), not like a stripper.

Given the problematic nature of Part Five, it's possible that Weer never in
fact showed the photos to Miss Hadow and that the entire encounter is his
fabrication.  But even if that's the case, he would presumably have made
himself and Miss Hadow behave realistically.

--Adam


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