The Manuscript Found in Saragossa so far...

I am no where near being done with The Manuscript Found in Saragossa but I am absolutely loving what I have read so far.

One of the reasons that I have not been able to get as far as I wanted to in this novel is because I tend to fall asleep while reading. This is in no way a slight against Potocki's work but actually a compliment. I fall asleep and then I dream of the world that Potocki has created with the mere use of words. As we all remember I'm sure this class is built on the foundations of dreams and worlds within worlds. I always fall asleep and then have crazy dreams even though I have no idea what actually happened in my dream.

I am definitely having a hard time remembering all of the little details in this novel and keeping all of the stories and characters straight. I chalk that obstacle directly up to the repeating themes throughout this entire novel.

One thing that I am definitely liking, which Dr. S has pointed out, is the themes of initiation. They are everywhere and just completely make my day. Since becoming Obsessed with initiation rituals last year, I have always thought of them as actual planned out rituals but that is completely wrong to think of them like that. They are so much more complex and much simpler. I definitely don't have any clear and distinct answers about what exactly is going on in this novel but it has been fun exploring, meandering  and guessing my way through it. I will be very sad when we end working on it next week!

This is a really rough idea that has been playing in my mind since we started reading it. I feel like I could be completely off since I have not finished the book yet but I think I won't be able to work through it if I don't get it all out there. Our discussion of cautionary tales, relation to the Bible, initiation rituals, and so much more.

My idea is this: The Manuscript Found in Saragossa is a cautionary tale against all other religions. More specifically it is a cautionary tale against all knowledge that does not stem from the religion of Christianity. My reasoning for this is as follows.

1. Alphonso
1. He is safe until he takes off his necklace thus symbolizing his desire to have knowledge that is forbidden to him.
2. He is found in between two criminals when he wakes up which could be connected back to Jesus on the Cross.
3. His name: Alpha is similar to Alpha which is a name that is sometimes used for God meaning the beginning and the end. 
4. Alphonso itself as a whole means ready for battle. Is Christianity in this novel battling against all other religions and forms of knowledge?
2. Women are demonized in this novel as well as related to snakes
1. Snakes are directly related to the Garden of Eden which was the human races' fall from Paradise. 
2. Throughout this novel, women are either related to forbidden knowledge or else they are demonized. 
3. Anytime that anyone has any contact with anything that goes against the Christian religion that Alphonso follows at the beginning of the novel, they experience pain, horrible illusions, and confusion. 

I'm sure there are probably more connections that could be made but these are the main ones that come to my mind. However, like I said I could be way off thinking that this novel could be a cautionary tale against following religions other than Christianity. I guess I will just have to see how the novel progresses to see if my hypothesis has a good foundation or not!