Carter’s fantastical world isn’t too far from the unreal. Such obvious moments occur, for example, when Walser explores and (exposes) the lower-class section of St. Petersburg:
“Of the most beautiful of cities, Walser, as it turns out, has, in reality, seen only the beastly backside -- a yellow light in a chemist’s window; two noseless women under a streetlamp; a drunk rolled under a doorway in a pool of vomit… In a scummed canal, ice in the pelt of the dead dog floating there.” pg. 104
Carter also uses such imaginative and unreal language to explore common themes seen in an uncommon fashion. For instance, Wasler’s confrontation with the Professor monkey alludes to the half-witted persons we encounter. Dressed intelligently and under the belief that they are indeed intelligent, many ignorant and egoistic people often, unfortunately, hold high positions of authority that govern a given body of individuals. Faced with embarrassment and feeling prideful, the monkey professor shares a profound moment with Wasler:
“Their eyes met. Walser never forgot this first, intimate exchange with one of these beings whose life ran parallel to his, this inhabitant of the magic circle of difference, unreachable… but not unknowable; this exchange with the speaking eyes of the dumb.” pg. 108
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