Notes on Chapter 45

This chapter purports to be the account of the dream of Katenus,
imprisoned for a night in the (bugged) jury conference room in
the Island Police Station. - (Significantly on the Island the
Police and the Court are merged) In satire of his vanity Katenus
dreams that he has been awarded the Nobel Prize in literature. He
has prepared his acceptance speech, I considered having him fly
to Stockholm, which I have never visited and which I know nothing
about, to accept the prize. There is available on the Internet
more than enough information to spin a narrative about such a
trip.  I don't know whether it was his decision or mine, that
even though Katenus had prepared his speech,
home.earthlink.net/~ej1meyer/diary11/f045b01
he shouldn't go to Sweden after all. But by now, he has become
restless on the Island.  He needs to go somewhere; he needs to
escape.
home.earthlink.net/~ej1meyer/diary11/f045a01
finds him the only passenger in the single coach on a "mixed"
train, winding its way into the mountains.  He disembarks at a
flag stop some miles from his house, and realizes he has
forgotten to arrange for further transportation. Before he has
time to look for help in the local village store, he is
recognized by a childhood friend in a pickup truck and driven to
his house.  Katenus marvels at the majestic views.  His house he
finds very clean, very neat and very lonely. Soon the house and
the mountain ridge are enveloped in fog. Katenus has found the
solitude which he sought, but is now overcome with loneliness.
He cannot understand, and tries to explain to himself why he is
isolated and alone.  He blames himself for having accepted the
prize and permitting himself to be distinguished from Jonathand
and Joachim, who he believes may have gone home because they were
envious of him.  He dreams that the police chief - I've forgotten
his name - has issued to Elly, because she loves him too much, a
restraining order, prohibiting her from all contact with him.
Her love is deemed a threat to the women's liberation movement
and to public decorum.

Katenus finds at least a modicum of respite from his despair by
reminding himself that he must prepare for his guests.  The
members of the Svenske Akademien had refused to take "No" for an
answer and had informed him that they would appear on his
mountain to award him the Nobel Prize. Accordingly, he lines up
the dining-room chairs the living room and practices his speech
on the empty furniture. Sometime later Katenus learns whether
from a telephone, email or postal message I haven't decided, that
the Swedes have changes their minds, will not visit him after
all, and have awarded the prize instead of to him, to the chief
of police for his writings about Nancy Drew. Under what
circumstances Katenus should awaken from his dream, hasn't yet
occurred to me.