In ‘It’s Your Funeral’ a daily activity
prognosis report on Number 6 is carried out, and during that report Number 6
daily climbs the Bell Tower, the subject is seen as eccentric, he’s constantly
watching, waiting, or that he simply likes the view. But Number 6 never does
anything without good reason. He might well be motivated to climb the Bell Tower because of what happened down on the
beach that evening during ‘Dance of the Dead,’ when Number 2 caught Number 6
looking out to see. He was looking for a light, a boat, a plane, somebody who
belongs to his world. So it seems reasonable that Number 6 still maintains that
look out, but now from the highest point in The Village, the Bell Tower.
Just one other thing, the statue has been removed since the Prisoner first climbed the Bell Tower on the day of his arrival in The Village. It makes one wonder why the statue was carried up the tower in the first place. If for some reason it was for the Prisoner’s benefit, it was a lot of trouble to go to haul a heavy statue to the top of the Bell tower, only later to have to remove it.
Just one other thing, the statue has been removed since the Prisoner first climbed the Bell Tower on the day of his arrival in The Village. It makes one wonder why the statue was carried up the tower in the first place. If for some reason it was for the Prisoner’s benefit, it was a lot of trouble to go to haul a heavy statue to the top of the Bell tower, only later to have to remove it.
If Number 6 is looking for someone from his
world, a light for example, perhaps he should climb the Bell Tower at night, then he might see a light in
a window of the house on the other side of the estuary! Unless the house is an
outpost of The Village!
Be seeing you
A good observation, the statue gone. The statue could be seen as the "petrified" representation of the individual looking down from the tower after No. 6 had left his new home. He then rushed upstairs to get hold of her but, of course, there was nobody. Even more, later he'd encounter other but similar statues on his escape attempt, those with gleaming spying eyes. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteHello Arno,
DeleteAn interesting comment, and what you say about the statues is true. I like your idea of the statue in the Bell Tower as being the "petrified" representation of the individual looking down from the tower,” that’s original, I’ve never known of anyone coming up with that before.
It’s similar to the way the Prisoner saw the maid flicking her yellow duster standing on the balcony of his cottage, he rushed round to catch her, but like the man leaning out of the window of the Bell Tower, when he got there the maid wasn’t there!!!
Best regards
David
BCNU
The maid, true! One could put it this way, a bit pointedly, that the person on the tower and the statue are one and the same. However, "physically" No. 6 isn't able to get hold of her (or him). This happens many times in the Village. So the stone figure is also a reminder of the permanent surveillance in the Village of which No. 6 knows nothing in this moment. - BCNU!
ReplyDeleteHello Arno,
DeleteWell of course the statue and the man are not the same obviously, nor are they in the same place, as the man leaning out of the window is half way up, while the statue is at the top of the Bell Tower. What I meant was, that by the time the Prisoner reached his cottage the housemaid had gone, much like the man in the Bell Tower.
I'm not sure that the statue is a reminder of permanent surveillance in The Village, simply because it would be lost on the Prisoner at that time. And not all the statues in The Village are fitted with covert surveillance cameras, only the bust of Voltair.
Someone took that statue up into the Bell Tower, and they took it down again, because by the time Number 6 goes up into the Bell Tower in 'It's Your Funeral' the statue is gone!
Best regards
David
BCNU
On a practical level yes, somebody would carry the statue up there and remove it later on. Perhaps, who knows, it had been standing up there for some time where no one would see it. So why then? But don't take it too literal!
DeleteAnd it isn't the maid that I'm up to. Only that she also is seen very fleetingly leaving an unknowing, and unsuspecting viewer puzzled. Makes you wonder if ever there was somebody, if ever something happened at all. Something that's in accordance with the illusionary aspect of the Village as such; a matter of perspective and so on. - BCNU!
Hello Arno,
DeleteYes, no-one would see the statue so why put it there in the first place? Why do they do anything in The Village? But when they do they seem to have a good reason for doing it, well sometimes!
Yes it is puzzling for the viewer regarding the maid, she must have hid out of sight as the prisoner returned to his cottage or he would have seen her, but she did go back for a reason!
Yes its all a question of perception, and the illusionary quality to mislead the viewer!
Best regards
David
BCNU