The Schizophrenic Virgin (Original Writing, Short Stories)

University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2000 The Schizophrenic Virgin (Original writing, Short stories) Dean Michael Serravalle University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Serravalle, Dean Michael, "The Schizophrenic Virgin (Original writing, Short stories)" (2000). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4256. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/4256 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). 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Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE SCHIZOPHRENIC VIRGIN by Dean Serravalle A Creative Writing Project Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research Through the Department of English in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree of Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2000 © 2000 Dean Serravalle Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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Neither the droit d’auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts from itNi la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes reproduced without the author’s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 0-612-52660-7 Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. <?/£/vs APPROVAL PAGE - Master’s APPROVED BY: lame [outside dep^itmenFftader] Spartrnent Name Department Name, Advis / / CJ ■ Name, Chair [BAU head or delegate] Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iv CHAPTER PROLOGUE 1 The Schizophrenic Virgin 4 The Constellation of Scorpio 35 The Dragon and The Indian Princess 63 Jordan Donne 79 Mr. and Mrs. Angeli 90 A Part Time Job 115 Hutch The Horse Jockey 120 Gabriel's Wreckyard 133 The Inability to Say No 140 Dufferin Island 145 Daredevils 155 Karaoke Night 165 The Cave of Winds 180 Attic Diary 191 Grapes From The Vineyard 210 Halloween 229 EPILOGUE 243 VITA AUCTORIS 247 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT The Schizophrenic Virgin is an experimental look at how stories interrelate and "congeal" to form one. Each chapter is in the semblance of a short story. The point of view changes, while characters reappear to continue their development and growth through the eyes of another. The intended effect is to show the realism of the present with an undercurrent of history, myth, hearsay, folklore and fiction. The story is set in Niagara Falls and revolves around an historical stone brick building at the cliff of the escarpment overlooking the great and infamous cataract. Niagara Falls is renowned for its beauty, majesty, commercialism, honeymooners. tourists, daredevils, death, and above all else - the extraordinary. The Falls itself is a natural phenomenon, which refuses to be capitalized upon, but it is nevertheless exploited. It is a place rich in history and abundant in character. The plot centers on a Michael Angeli. a young man coming of age who is imprisoned by familial duty, and Scorpio, a schizophrenic, who is in search of a daughter he believes to have fathered. Both characters meet each other by chance when Michael and his brother Gabriel postpone their lives to live their father's dream of opening a bar/restaurant. Ironically, the bar is a renovation to the old building atop the escarpment, and dramatically, it is the stage from which each story is performed. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Prologue It was once the home of a medical missionary whose fraudulent practice almost got him hanged over The Falls, mid 18th Century. He was a tall, thin Loyalist with spectacles and an idea. He lived alone in an old stone-brick building at the edge of the escarpment. In late autumn, early winter, he would leave his tiny castle, walk across a golden moat of fallen maple leaves, descend a rock stairway, and find himself next to a torrent of falling water. He was a rock collector by hobby. But on one day in particular, he had found something special, something to sell. It was a white, grainy rock which he claimed was "congealed mist.” The very next day he hammered a wooden sign at the foot of the slate walkway to his home. It read in hurried paint. "Congealed Mist From The Bottom of The Rainbow Cures Sores. Festules. and Ulcers.” A mixture of the mist from The Falls and the magical rainbow, he proposed to every visiting patient, created the healing rock. His name was Christian Fitzpatrick, and he abandoned the building to save his life. Within the same building, almost two centuries later, a Michael Angeli prepares to write two letters. He is in a hurry to leave. The woman whom he has recently fallen in love with prepares herself in the bathroom. He looks for paper to write on. He can't find any so he is about to tear two printed pages from the Bible - The Bartender's Bible. On one of the pages is written. Floating Liqueurs Creating a rainbow effect in a glass with different colored cordials requires a special pouring technique. Simply pour each liqueur slowly over an inverted teaspoon (rounded side up) into a glass: Start with the heaviest liqueur first. Pour slowly. The rounded surface o f the spoon will spread each liqueur over the one beneath without mixing them. You can accomplish the same trick using a glass rod. Pour slowly down the rod. He feels the instruction is of no more use to him so he tears it and writes over top. in bolder ink: I Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dear Scorpio, I write for fear o f never seeing you again, ft's a possibility Vm fighting not to accept, especially tonight. The bar is closed, fo r good, and I sit at its funeral. I sit on your stool, amidst the candles I left to burn out on their own, amidst the silence that set the stage fo r our friendship. I took for granted our last good-bye. Improper good-byes do little to resolve a story without an ending. I had assumed you would come back. But you didn't. And now it's loo late for you to return to this place, this bar. where you felt at home. How I miss you like family. How I wonder whether you allow yourself to feel the same. How it hurls me to think that you don't care. It's a risk trying to remember you. I must admit. I hold what you were to me like a drink I'm trying not to spill. Careful not to upset your memory. Careful to walk the fine line. I have found her.

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