The Dazzle
Little else was known of the “hermits of Harlem” until their bodies were discovered 14 years later. But the facts, though sketchy, make it clear that something extraordinary happened to these men–and perhaps even more extraordinary things happened between them. Moreover, their lives suggest a succinct metaphor for the social upheavals of the early 20th century, as the last vestiges of a self-absorbed American aristocracy crumbled while new forms of urban life took root.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Specimens in a diorama rather than people caught up in one another’s lives, these three cling together for no discernible reason. Homer in particular has no clear relationship with his brother–in fact he does little but skulk around the house in a smoking jacket. Yet he purports to be Langley’s “prime mover,” the one who keeps him from degenerating into psychic paralysis. It’s a claim dramatized only late in the play, when Homer (who’s able-bodied until the final scene) cares for his brother as if he were a child.
