Revenge

3 3 4 RUTHLESSNESS

were founded by Goering in 1933 and were feared for their ruthlessness.

Harlan Potter is a cold-hearted son of a bitch. All Victorian dignity on the outside. Inside he's as ruthless as a Gestapo thug.

RAYMOND CHANDLER The Long Goodbye, 1953

Given what she had learned from Liz, Lolly's so-called strength of character was beginning to degenerate into Gestapo-like cruelty. She appeared to have ditched a husband, kept two daughters entirely ignorant of their background and family ties, lied over and over again.

SUSAN MOODY Sacrifice Bid, 1997

inquisitor An inquisitor was an officer of the Inquisition, a court set up by the Catholic Church, originally in the thirteenth century, to determine whether individuals were heretics. The inquisitors of both the original Inquisition and the later Spanish Inquisition were known for their ruthlessness and use of torture.

MURIEL SPARK 'The Dark Glasses' in The Collected Stories, 1961

Jehovah Jehovah is an Old Testament name for God used by Christians. The name is sometimes used in the context of the severity of divine retribution.

Standing as she stood in Grammer Oliver's shoes, he was simply a remorseless Jehovah of the sciences, who would not have mercy, and would have sacrifice; a man whom save for this, she would have preferred to avoid knowing.

THOMAS HARDY The Woodlanders, 1887

You placate him like Jehovah. That's no good.

A. s. BYATT The Virgin in the Garden, 1978

Simon Legree Simon Legree is the cotton plantation owner in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1851-2) to whom Tom is sold and who beats Tom to death.

I don't mind him. He's a pretty good sort of old stiff. It's his sister Beulah. She was the one who put him up to it. She's the heavy in the sequence. As tough as they come. Ever hear of Simon Legree?

p. G. WODEHOUSE Laughing Gas, 1936

Senator McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (1909-57) was an American Republican senator. He became chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in 1953 and carried out a campaign against supposed communists, which resulted in many citizens who were suspected of being members of the Communist Party being blacklisted and facing discrimination.

Wackford Squeers Wackford Squeers is the cruel headmaster of Dotheboys Hall, the Yorkshire school in Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby (1839). He systematically beats and starves the boys in his charge, especially Smike, a half-witted boy who is employed as a general drudge.

SAFETY 3 3 5

Safety

The main idea that links the allusions grouped below is that of being hidden from danger, being safe from harm. Figures who survive a dangerous situation, like Jonah or Lot, are covered in the theme Escape and Survival. • See also Danger, Rescue.

Adullam In the Bible, when David wasfleeingfrom Saul because Saul wanted to kill him, he took refuge in the cave Adullam. When others heard that he was there, they went to join him: 'And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him' (I Sam. 22: 2). Adullam can be mentioned in the context of a place where those in trouble can seek refuge.

Mixen Lane was the Adullam of all the surrounding villages. It was the hiding-place of those in distress, and in debt, and trouble of every kind.

THOMAS HARDY The Mayor of Casterbridge, 1886

Alsatia In the 17th century, Alsatia was an area around Whitefriars, London, which became a sanctuary for criminals and debtors. The name is taken from Alsace, the much disputed territory between France and Germany.

But Maggie always appeared in the most amiable light at her aunt Moss's: it was her Alsatia, where she was out of reach of law—if she upset anything, dirtied her shoes, or tore her frock, these things were matters of course at her aunt Moss's.

CEORGE ELIOT The Mill on the Floss, 1860

Jehoshabeath According to the Bible, Ahaziah was a king of Judah who followed Ahab in his worship of Baal instead of God. He was killed by Jehu, and after his death his mother 'arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah' (2 Chron. 22: 10). However, her daughter, Jehoshabeath, took one of the sons, Joash, and hid him in a bedchamber to keep him safe.

J o a s h •See JEHOSHABEATH.

Linus blanket Linus is a character in the Peanuts cartoon strip, created in 1950 by Charles M. Schultz. The cartoons feature a group of children, including Charlie Brown with his dog, Snoopy. Linus is always shown carrying a piece of old blanket as a comforter, and the term 'Linus blanket' has come to represent anything that provides reassurance and a feeling of security.

figured. He never went anywhere without it. TED WOOD A Clean Kill, 1995

Moses Moses (c. 14th-13th centuries BC) was a Hebrew prophet and lawgiver. According to the Bible, he was born at a time when Pharaoh had decreed that all male Hebrew children were to be killed at birth. His mother hid him for three months and then, when she could hide him no longer, made him a small