Pelicans in Tim Powers' Dinner at Deviant's Palace
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Aaron Irber asked me yesterday on Twitter whether Gregorio Rivas’ violin-like pelican in Dinner at Deviant’s Palace is a reference to the medieval representation of the Passion of Christ by means of a pelican feeding its young by piercing its own breast and allowing them to drink the blood, a mythical practice known as vulning.
![Pelican_tweet.png](https://www.benespen.com/content/images/content/v1/51259dfce4b01b12552dad3e/1605991966236-LY76GW9MM7SAHV2M41RB/pelican_tweet.png)
Given that a major theme of Dinner at Deviant’s Palace is painful self sacrifice, I find this pretty plausible. Plus, as Misha Burnett pointed out, with Tim you should probably assume any reference is deliberate. I endorse this position.
By the way, Dinner at Deviant’s Palace [Amazon link] happens to be $1.99 on Amazon right now. I can think of worse ways to spend a couple of bucks.
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Other books by Tim Powers
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