DVD Commentary Meme: The Blue Flower.
Jul. 3rd, 2017 09:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tree_and_leafFor grond_fic
The fic is here
I like this fic, and am proud of it. The references to German Romanticism were great fun, and I enjoyed hinting that a lot of Phineas’ academic interests are laying the groundwork for the Marauder’s Map. I’m not sure if Sirius actually realises this, but suspect he doesn’t. Portrait!Phineas does know about it, though he’s never commented on it to Sirius, because he might end up admitting he’s secretly proud.
The dragon-lover was located at his pension the next morning, and proved happy to take his official visitors out to his favourite spot opposite the Loreley. Phineas attempted to engage him in conversation, the better to find out what sort of man they were dealing with. But it was difficult:
Of course, it might be less difficult if Phineas was either interested in dragons, or not a raging snob….I wanted a sympathetic Phineas, as I always rather liked him, but I want him to be in character, too.
the man, one Georg Lindner, was uneducated, a shop-keeper and dealer in magical stain-removers from Munich, and somewhat taciturn.
What could be more unromantic, or unRomantic than stain removers?
He had been in the Rhineland on holiday since, since,…
"You have been here two months, at least!" said von Schwartzerde, his voice slightly startled: the implication had never occurred to him till now. Phineas raised an eyebrow; if this cousin of his was viewed by the Prussian ministry as a high-flier, they must be even more desperate than their English counterparts.
Phineas is, in fact, a bit of a dick. Phillip is not, in fact, stupid (though he is somewhat lacking in common sense). What he’s not is a natural detective (or an administrator. He’s definitely better suited to the priesthood than being a Prussian civil servant).
Lindner looked indifferent when asked what was happening to his business in his absence. "Ach, my boy can look after it well enough. My wife can manage the house. She makes no objection to my going on holiday."
There was a pause, in which Phineas and Phillip looked awkwardly at their feet, and Lindner continued to look unconcerned.
Lindner is not embarrassed about what he’s revealed about his marriage, or his sudden violent loss of interest in his firm, because all he cares about is the dragons. And if you think that’s mildly implausible, then that’s because there are, as is becoming apparent, more to the dragons than meets the eye….
"And when did you first see dragons here?" asked Phineas.
"But Herr Professor, I have told all this to the Herr Landrat!" protested Linder.
"And the Herr Landrat would be obliged if you would tell it again to the Herr Professor" said von Schwartzerde, a bite of impatience in his voice. "It may be that you will recall some new detail."
Because it’s much more interesting to have Lindner on stage than to have Phillip recap it. I’m trying to suggest some of the patterns of German speech here, rather than their dynamic English equivalent (but hopefully without going too ‘Allo, ‘Allo). You probably wouldn’t do this in a modern novel, but a nineteenth century writer might well have done - so that’s my excuse!
"That would have been a month and a half ago, then, Herr Professor. I was walking along the river, and decided to stop to eat my lunch."
"Why there? The view? Did you hope to see dragons?"
"No. The Herr Professor must know that they are very rare hereabouts.
Lindner isn’t stupid, either, but he’s under the influence of something that’s making him not ask too many questions….
It just looked like a comfortable spot. And there were many pretty flowers. I am fond of flowers, though I don't know much about them, and of course they are not dragons. There was a little blue one, in particular…
And so, the titular blue flower appears. Shout out to Novalis (and various other German Romantics), for whom the Blue Flower is a symbol of hope, love, inspiration, and (probably unattainable) desire, as well as self-discovery, longing, and spiritual transcendence.
Anyway, no sooner had I sat down than I saw the first dragon. It was a female Horntail – I have always wished to see one of those, but I have never been able to afford to travel to see them.
Just what Lindner most wanted. Funny, that…
And since then I have been back every day. Look, I have quite filled a sketchbook!"
Phineas looked at the drawings attentively. He was no expert on dragons, but as far as he could see, they were the fruit of accurate observation, though they did seem rather large in comparison to the landscape in the background, and were all extraordinarily good specimens.
Exactly the sort of dragons an enthusiast would most want to see, in fact.
"You have been fortunate."
"Yes, indeed!" said Lindner; there was a strange, enthusiastic glow in his eyes. "Always, always have I wished to see such things. Let us not waste any of the daylight!"
"Has anyone else seen these dragons?" Phineas asked von Schwartzerde in a low voice, and in English. The latter shook his head. "No, though that spot is not much frequented. But we certainly have found no traces of the activity of dragons elsewhere in the area.
Again, Phillip is not as stupid as Phineas implies earlier; he has checked some of the obvious points.
I have had men out looking – though to be sure, in the circumstances I do not like to send them too close to the Loreleyfelsen."
"It doesn't do to be squeamish, man" said Phineas, irritated. "You need data. And it's no good talking about not risking people. You're risking every passer-by as it is.”
Unlike Phillip, Phineas is a confirmed Clausewitzian. As a proud Slytherin, he is constitutionally predisposed to think that the end justifies the means, and he certainly thinks that total war is the most humane in the long run.
"I suppose so" said von Schwartzerde, reluctantly. "But what would really interest me is to know why Lindner was not affected.”
Key question, and in fact Lindner has told them.
"Yes, that's a point. Did you sense anything from this bank when he rescued you?"
Sense? Odd choice of word there, which I can’t explain at this distance.
"No. But look, we are nearly here."
It was, indeed, a pretty spot: a little cove with a stony beach fringed by flowery grass and then a line of trees. From the beach one looked over to the steep grey cliff of the Loreleyfelsen, stark against the green leaves of the trees surrounding it.
The Lorely is, after all, a famous beauty spot.
""What exquisite flowers!" said Phillip, who hadn't realized, in the shock of being saved from drowning, quite how lovely the spot really was. "I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like that. So delicate, and such a subtle shade of blue… Now, what does that remind me of? Perhaps it was a poem, or a song?... Nigellus, do you hear that music? Like birdsong, only more complex, purer… Nigellus? Lindner?"
The music was clear, inhuman, and more beautiful than any music Phillip had ever heard; his companions did not answer him.
The music is, of course, also a symbol of romantic transcendence.
Lindner was beginning to sketch another dragon – and yet there was no dragon – and Phineas was gazing into the distance. His lips moved as if in prayer, and his eyes were abstracted. At length he said "You, I assume, see no dragon?"
"No."
"But you have heard music?"
"Yes."
"And saw the flowers?"
"Of course!" said Phillip, beginning to be angry that he was being distracted. What did anything matter, but listening?
Phillip, a nice, innocent young man with a fondness for poetry, is falling under the spell. Phineas, being a cynical old sod, is safer
"I begin to see…" Phineas said slowly. "Come, cousin. I have calculations to make. And we'd better bring some of those little blue flowers along, too."
grond_ficThe fic is here
I like this fic, and am proud of it. The references to German Romanticism were great fun, and I enjoyed hinting that a lot of Phineas’ academic interests are laying the groundwork for the Marauder’s Map. I’m not sure if Sirius actually realises this, but suspect he doesn’t. Portrait!Phineas does know about it, though he’s never commented on it to Sirius, because he might end up admitting he’s secretly proud.
The dragon-lover was located at his pension the next morning, and proved happy to take his official visitors out to his favourite spot opposite the Loreley. Phineas attempted to engage him in conversation, the better to find out what sort of man they were dealing with. But it was difficult:
Of course, it might be less difficult if Phineas was either interested in dragons, or not a raging snob….I wanted a sympathetic Phineas, as I always rather liked him, but I want him to be in character, too.
the man, one Georg Lindner, was uneducated, a shop-keeper and dealer in magical stain-removers from Munich, and somewhat taciturn.
What could be more unromantic, or unRomantic than stain removers?
He had been in the Rhineland on holiday since, since,…
"You have been here two months, at least!" said von Schwartzerde, his voice slightly startled: the implication had never occurred to him till now. Phineas raised an eyebrow; if this cousin of his was viewed by the Prussian ministry as a high-flier, they must be even more desperate than their English counterparts.
Phineas is, in fact, a bit of a dick. Phillip is not, in fact, stupid (though he is somewhat lacking in common sense). What he’s not is a natural detective (or an administrator. He’s definitely better suited to the priesthood than being a Prussian civil servant).
Lindner looked indifferent when asked what was happening to his business in his absence. "Ach, my boy can look after it well enough. My wife can manage the house. She makes no objection to my going on holiday."
There was a pause, in which Phineas and Phillip looked awkwardly at their feet, and Lindner continued to look unconcerned.
Lindner is not embarrassed about what he’s revealed about his marriage, or his sudden violent loss of interest in his firm, because all he cares about is the dragons. And if you think that’s mildly implausible, then that’s because there are, as is becoming apparent, more to the dragons than meets the eye….
"And when did you first see dragons here?" asked Phineas.
"But Herr Professor, I have told all this to the Herr Landrat!" protested Linder.
"And the Herr Landrat would be obliged if you would tell it again to the Herr Professor" said von Schwartzerde, a bite of impatience in his voice. "It may be that you will recall some new detail."
Because it’s much more interesting to have Lindner on stage than to have Phillip recap it. I’m trying to suggest some of the patterns of German speech here, rather than their dynamic English equivalent (but hopefully without going too ‘Allo, ‘Allo). You probably wouldn’t do this in a modern novel, but a nineteenth century writer might well have done - so that’s my excuse!
"That would have been a month and a half ago, then, Herr Professor. I was walking along the river, and decided to stop to eat my lunch."
"Why there? The view? Did you hope to see dragons?"
"No. The Herr Professor must know that they are very rare hereabouts.
Lindner isn’t stupid, either, but he’s under the influence of something that’s making him not ask too many questions….
It just looked like a comfortable spot. And there were many pretty flowers. I am fond of flowers, though I don't know much about them, and of course they are not dragons. There was a little blue one, in particular…
And so, the titular blue flower appears. Shout out to Novalis (and various other German Romantics), for whom the Blue Flower is a symbol of hope, love, inspiration, and (probably unattainable) desire, as well as self-discovery, longing, and spiritual transcendence.
Anyway, no sooner had I sat down than I saw the first dragon. It was a female Horntail – I have always wished to see one of those, but I have never been able to afford to travel to see them.
Just what Lindner most wanted. Funny, that…
And since then I have been back every day. Look, I have quite filled a sketchbook!"
Phineas looked at the drawings attentively. He was no expert on dragons, but as far as he could see, they were the fruit of accurate observation, though they did seem rather large in comparison to the landscape in the background, and were all extraordinarily good specimens.
Exactly the sort of dragons an enthusiast would most want to see, in fact.
"You have been fortunate."
"Yes, indeed!" said Lindner; there was a strange, enthusiastic glow in his eyes. "Always, always have I wished to see such things. Let us not waste any of the daylight!"
"Has anyone else seen these dragons?" Phineas asked von Schwartzerde in a low voice, and in English. The latter shook his head. "No, though that spot is not much frequented. But we certainly have found no traces of the activity of dragons elsewhere in the area.
Again, Phillip is not as stupid as Phineas implies earlier; he has checked some of the obvious points.
I have had men out looking – though to be sure, in the circumstances I do not like to send them too close to the Loreleyfelsen."
"It doesn't do to be squeamish, man" said Phineas, irritated. "You need data. And it's no good talking about not risking people. You're risking every passer-by as it is.”
Unlike Phillip, Phineas is a confirmed Clausewitzian. As a proud Slytherin, he is constitutionally predisposed to think that the end justifies the means, and he certainly thinks that total war is the most humane in the long run.
"I suppose so" said von Schwartzerde, reluctantly. "But what would really interest me is to know why Lindner was not affected.”
Key question, and in fact Lindner has told them.
"Yes, that's a point. Did you sense anything from this bank when he rescued you?"
Sense? Odd choice of word there, which I can’t explain at this distance.
"No. But look, we are nearly here."
It was, indeed, a pretty spot: a little cove with a stony beach fringed by flowery grass and then a line of trees. From the beach one looked over to the steep grey cliff of the Loreleyfelsen, stark against the green leaves of the trees surrounding it.
The Lorely is, after all, a famous beauty spot.
""What exquisite flowers!" said Phillip, who hadn't realized, in the shock of being saved from drowning, quite how lovely the spot really was. "I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like that. So delicate, and such a subtle shade of blue… Now, what does that remind me of? Perhaps it was a poem, or a song?... Nigellus, do you hear that music? Like birdsong, only more complex, purer… Nigellus? Lindner?"
The music was clear, inhuman, and more beautiful than any music Phillip had ever heard; his companions did not answer him.
The music is, of course, also a symbol of romantic transcendence.
Lindner was beginning to sketch another dragon – and yet there was no dragon – and Phineas was gazing into the distance. His lips moved as if in prayer, and his eyes were abstracted. At length he said "You, I assume, see no dragon?"
"No."
"But you have heard music?"
"Yes."
"And saw the flowers?"
"Of course!" said Phillip, beginning to be angry that he was being distracted. What did anything matter, but listening?
Phillip, a nice, innocent young man with a fondness for poetry, is falling under the spell. Phineas, being a cynical old sod, is safer
"I begin to see…" Phineas said slowly. "Come, cousin. I have calculations to make. And we'd better bring some of those little blue flowers along, too."
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Date: 2017-07-03 09:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2017-07-04 10:40 am (UTC)