I couldn’t help but notice that Geryon’s relationship with his mother is almost always signified by some sort of mention or source of light throughout the first part of the novel. To me, the presence of light is representative of the love and trust Geryon feels for his mother.
This connection is first made through frequent mentions of light, lamps, and luminosity in the section titled Tuesday. Here Geryon clearly states his love for the weekly occasion, and this security and genuine happiness are accompanied by images and descriptions of light that fills the house and memories of Tuesdays with his mother(34). Lamps flare when Geryon is given genuine praise from his mom, and thus allows Geryon to describe his own skull (brain, creativity, mind?) as luminous (35).
Space and Time: “He and his mother eyed each other from opposite shores of the light” (42). Geryon is growing up, something quite unfamiliar to both himself and his mother. In adolescent turmoil and confusion, they have become separated from the relationship they once had with each other. They stand opposite one another, Geryon reflects briefly on his departure from childhood with the line Stale peace of old bedtimes filled the room. Love does not-” (42), I would like to note that this thought on love is broken up into two lines, where the thought is continued on with slightly different context than it would if the line ended with “love does not” suggesting a double meaning here, but more so the emotional conflict within Geryon. This is a conflict that his mother is clearly unaware of shown by their opposite stances. But she herself is also slightly detached from this light when she refuses Geryon’s offer to light her cigarette (43).
She: This section starts with the line: “Back at the house all was dark except a light from the porch” (57). After this distinction, Geryon gets an unusual urge to call his mother. I had a hard time making sense of this section in the following moments; however, darkness and light are used here in relation to his mother, but also allow Geryon to express feelings of fear or relief in this scene of distress “He had been here before in the dark…He banged the light off ”(57). This light then extends itself to The Grandmother who, perhaps being a maternal figure herself, is viewed as slightly more approachable for Geryon in his adolescence and attachment to Herakles.
Fruit bowl: In this section, Geryon takes a break from volcanoes to focus on a conversation with his mother. There is only one mention of light here “They spoke of a number of things, laundiy, Geryon’s brother doing drugs, the light in the bathroom”(69). There is a certain shortness and fragmentation emphasized in this section through the use of clipped, almost unfinished sentences, “Wanted to go straight to his room”, “Hands in his jacket”, “Eyes on his chest” (68), this is then followed by a number of short, punctuated thoughts. Both of these express the distance and unfamiliarity that has clearly grown between Geryon and his mother. Where once they sat together under the lamplight in Geryon’s childhood, they now only share the light in infrequent moments of small talk that are shortlived, but perhaps still valued by Geryon despite his discomfort.
There are more examples that I don’t have space to touch on (not to mention electricity and a deeper exploration of Geryon’s relationship with the grandma). The “elements” as depicted in various forms are a vital mode of symbolism throughout the novel I’m excited to see how they play a part in the second half.
I hadn’t thought about the light before, I was so distracted by the meanings of colors and sounds. I also think there is a lot to be said for Geryon’s relationship to fire, which is of course a source of light. Not just the volcano, but in the second section he talks about a science project where he describes the roses as “roaring” and being on fire.
I enjoyed reading your blog post and your interpretation of the metaphor of “light” in the novel. I agree that there is a close connection between his mother and light, as the scenes you described point out. I interpreted the metaphor of light in these situations to also stand for hope and understanding. Light often represents hope, and Geryon’s mother seems to be one of the few people who believes in him. Regarding the metaphorical meaning of light as understanding, there is a common German saying “Licht ins Dunkel bringen” (“to bring light into the dark”) which means that you solve/ clarify something that was previously very confusing/ unclear. I suppose the saying also exists in English, and the metaphor of the light in the novel reminded me of that, because Geryon’s mother seems to be the one person who understands him most, more than all the other people who he is struggling to find a common language to communicate with.
I give this post a 10/10. To be completely honest, I read this as a metaphor for his relationship with Herakles. However, with the light shed from your reading (get it?) I love this interpretation as well. Especially in the section where he asks to light the cigarette for his mother, I feel that is a really strong chapter that you can build this argument off of. If I had to add anything to maybe bolster this into a wider argument, it would be the so what question. Why is his mom his light? Or rather, does he feel in the dark without her, and how does that develop in the novel. So cool.