Lipton’s Journal/January 24, 1955/221

When Elena^[1] is first introduced and makes her silly boner bout melted ice cream, Eitel^[2] could give a little protective speech about how right Elena is essentially—for commodities are altered today by warming them up or cooling them down. And Sergius^[3] could wonder if Elena was one of those sensitive ones for whom life was so painful that she could speak her wisdom only in the words if a fool.

notes

↑ Elena Esposito is the lover and later wife of Charles Eitel in The Deer Park. Their love affair is one of Mailer’s finest fictional creations. Mailer based her character on his wife Adele.
↑ Charles Francis Eitel (I-tell is the pronunciation), the protagonist of The Deer Park, is a blacklisted film director, who names former communists to a congressional committee.
↑ The narrator of The Deer Park, Sergius O’Shaugnessey, is a veteran U.S. Air Force pilot who flew combat missions in Korea. After his discharge, he settles in Desert D’Or, where he has an affair with movie star Lulu Meyers.

[1] Elena Esposito is the lover and later wife of Charles Eitel in The Deer Park. Their love affair is one of Mailer’s finest fictional creations. Mailer based her character on his wife Adele.

[2] Charles Francis Eitel (I-tell is the pronunciation), the protagonist of The Deer Park, is a blacklisted film director, who names former communists to a congressional committee.

[3] The narrator of The Deer Park, Sergius O’Shaugnessey, is a veteran U.S. Air Force pilot who flew combat missions in Korea. After his discharge, he settles in Desert D’Or, where he has an affair with movie star Lulu Meyers.

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