The Dream of X, Pg.16
- THE DREAM OF X, PG.16 - A black ink and gray pencil drawing on an 11 x 14 size vellum paper.
It appears, without the framework, in the book, "The Dream of X," by William Hope Hodgson, Published by Donald Grant in 1977. The drawing also appears framed in the new, huge collector's edition of Hodgson stories published by Centipede Press.
When I started this drawing I had already decided that it should symbolize what this story is all about; On the surface it is the story of a man who goes through hell on Earth to reach the woman he loves who dwells on the opposite side of a dying Earth . . .
Beneath the surface, the story is about our sun, it is dying and it's fading light can no longer sustain life on Earth. Final darkness is slowly descending, the existance of mankind is destined to end . . .
But not yet! I, the illustrator will not allow it! Because the story does not actually end with the final death of Earth and mankind. In fact, the two lovers are united at the end, and the novel ends with X writing; " And to have love is to have all; for that which doth be "truly" LOVE doth mother Honor and Faithfulness; and they three to build the House of Joy".
So I thought, surely, the surving humans in their two massive towering Pyramids will find a way to create a new light for the world, to bring about a new beginning . . .
So I began to sketch some trees to symbolize the return of fundamental life on Earth. I then sketched in the two lovers to symbolize the survival of mankind. And finally, I decided to show the man X to be suffering the pain of the struggle, and the woman to show a determination . . . To go on, together, to a new beginning . . .
And that is what my drawing is all about; The "End" is not yet!
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