The Castle in the Forest by Norman Mailer Read Free Book Online Page A

to permit a good poke into “the smelly and the damned” (or so he would characterize it). Fanni would moan in a very low voice (in order that the rest of the attic not hear) but they were both suffering. All the more intense became their embrace. In the heat of the hour, they loved each other, a not uncommon reaction when the carnal ore is considered to be contraband.
    He told himself that she was no more than a good-looking daughter of a prosperous farmer—she did have a decent dowry—but he also told her that he loved her. She said, “Enough to give up your wife and live with me?”
    â€œI will give her up,” he said, “when you give me something else!”
    No, she must remain a virgin. So soon as she was ready to do what he wanted, there would be a child. She knew. Then there would be another child. Then she very well might die.
    â€œHow do you decide such things?”
    â€œWe have gypsies in my family. Maybe I am a witch.”
    â€œWhat a remark!”
    â€œNo, you are a bad man and I am a witch. Only witches put their mouths in forbidden places. Now I am afraid to go to confession.”
    â€œStay away from priests. They are there to suck your blood. They are the ones who will leave you weak and good for nothing.”
    They argued round and round about whether she should or should not go to confession. She was tempted to let him win, and then, given the force of his desire, she did give it to him, she gave it up, and proceeded to tell him one month later that she was pregnant. Had the time come, she asked, to tell his wife?
    He no longer trusted Fanni. He did not think she would have become pregnant if she was really afraid of dying. Besides, he had been lying to his wife with so much skill that now he did not dare to confess. Prevarication, like honesty, is reflexive, and soon becomes a sturdy habit, as reliable as truth. Anna Glassl-Hoerer Hitler was fifty-seven and looked ten years older (although to his continuing surprise she could be a virago at dawn). To lose her would reduce his financial situation measurably. Moreover, he would be giving up a lady for a farm girl, a most attractive farm girl, but then he had decided long ago that in the end a peasant was like a stone. Throw a stone high in the air—it will always come down. Whereas a lady was like a feather. A lady could tantalize you with her intelligence. He would hate to give up his ever-increasing skill as a liar.
    Here is a sample from the dining room at the Gasthaus Streif:
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    A NNA G LASSL: I see you are looking at her again.
    A LOIS : I am. You have caught me. If your eyes were not so beautiful, I would have to say that you own the eyes of an eagle.
    A NNA G LASSL: Why don’t you catch up with her after we eat? Just give her a good one for me.
    A LOIS: Your mind is wicked. I like it when your tongue is so crude.
    A NNA G LASSL: Cruder than it used to be.
    A LOIS: Anna, you are exceptionally wise, but, in this case, you are wrong.
    A NNA G LASSL: Look, my dear, I have put up with chambermaids and cooks. You have come to bed smelling of onions on many a night. And that is better than sniffing laundry soap. But I don’t care, I tell myself. The man must remain amused. Only, why do you still try to insult my intelligence? We know the girl is beautiful. At least once in your life make love to a waitress who does not look like last night’s pudding.
    A LOIS: All right, I will tell you the truth. I like her looks, yes, a little bit. Although she is not truly my type. No, she is not. But in any case, I would not go near her. One hears the worst talk. I don’t even want to tell you because you like her.
    A NNA G LASSL: Like her? She’s a tart. She’s a tart in training. Your true type.
    A LOIS: No, she is diseased. I have heard that she has an infectious disease between her legs. I would not go near her.
    A NNA G LASSL: I do not believe you. I cannot