Wanda Tamberly:
"...imagined the Liberty Bell being cast, and herself ringing it." (p. 351)
I never really knew what the Liberty Bell was so I googled it. See here. The Bell is inscribed with an extract from Leviticus 25: 10 so this is an indirect Biblical reference.
I do remember a superheroine called Liberty Belle. See here. This is not an inappropriate comparison because Wanda's timecycle and future tech would make her a superheroine in some contexts. Indeed, a couple of comic book characters have been time travelers with technologically generated "powers" and Anderson's mutant time traveler, Jack Havig, certainly meets the criteria of a superhero. Superheroes grew from sf and remain connected to it.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
What struck me most, on going thru that link about the Liberty Bell, was finding out how SHODDILY made this revered relic of American history was! The city council of Philadelphia even wanted to send the bell back to the foundry (probably demanding a refund) back in 1752.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Maybe the cracks in the Bell symbolize the vulnerability of freedom. Strong in some ways but vulnerable in others.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That's one way of allegorizing the cracks in the bell! And Britons have similar relics, such as the surviving original and official copies of the Magna Carta of King John. A good deal of exaggerated praise has been heaped on it (albeit it did enunciate some important principles).
Ad astra! Sean
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