(urth) The Nebraskan and the Nereid

Gerry Quinn gerryq at indigo.ie
Sun Apr 17 01:16:31 PDT 2011


From: "Andrew Dubbeld" <andy at foisdin.com>


[SPOILERS BELOW, for anyone who hasn't read it]


>I was recently reading through Endangered Species, and came across The
> Nebraskan and the Nereid. It all seems relatively straightforward, right
> up until the end, when Dr. Thoe Papamarkos dives into the sea, leaving
> her things behind, including a canteen which seems to contain salt
> water, and suddenly there's a dead woman on the beach.
>
> "She smiled, then when he realized he could not convey the news of a
> tragic death with any decency in his inadequate Greek. Thoe would have
> to tell them. He would wait until someone came."
>
> I'm left with a couple of questions that perhaps someone on the list
> might be able to help with:


> - Who is the girl? Is she the woman Sam's seen in the water earlier?
> - Where did she come from and why is she dead?


My understanding is:

The dead girl was the maid at the inn where he stayed, and to whom he made 
love to in the cave.  After he went back to the inn, he complained about the 
bed not been made.  Later the landlady must have said this to the maid.  She 
realised that he had not recognised her, and drowned herself.

Dr. Papamarkos is a Nereid.


> - The introduction to Endangered Species hints that there's either love
> or sex in this story, but where?

Sex for the Nebraskan, love for the maid, I think.


- Gerry Quinn






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