Charlotte's Web and Francis Bacon

[Light-of-Truth]

Poking around yesterday I came across an old forum where someone named Charlotte was posting interesting and well written ideas on Bacon. Intrigued, I went back this morning and have enjoyed reading many of her posts.

One of her topics is E.B. White's "Charlottes Web" and the pig named Wilbur who she compares with Francis Bacon. At one point she says, "In E. B. White's 'Country Fair', Wilbur, William Tudor, known as Bacon, is 'the greatest Hog in History'." I assume she had come across Light-of-Truth.com in her research back then. 🙂

But anyway, she is very fun to read and passionate about Bacon, with great knowledge. I wanted to try to find her and give her an invite to the B'hive, but it sadly appears she passed away in 2019.

Main "Charlotte's Web and Francis Bacon" forum:

Charlotte's Web and Francis Bacon The first installment of a fresh look at the story "Charlotte's Web" by Charlotte.

https://ahatmose2002.proboards.com/board/22/charlotte-web-francis-bacon

Here is a good starting point:

Author: Charlotte Masuda
Date: Feb-03-03 09:16

Part one of God only knows how many parts concerning the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy, and a girl named Fern saving a pig named Wilbur "from an untimely death", until he is sold down the road to Homer Zuckerman, where a spider named Charlotte comes into the picture to think of ways of keeping Wilbur alive by playing a harmless trick on Mr. Zuckerman and the townfolk by weaving words into her web, "because people believe anything they see in print."

E.B. White, the author of "Charlotte's Web" describes his story as "a tale of friendship and salvation, a story of miracles, the miracle of birth and the miracle of death." And Wilbur, "the greatest hog in history" a rather inelegant name for Lord Bacon, when thought of in the common way, desparately wants to live, wants "to lay in the beautiful sun and breath the beautiful air", and make "beautiful noise." Every time he hears someone say that "its only a matter of time before he is killed" to become "smoked bacon", he promply faint.

https://ahatmose2002.proboards.com/thread/341/bacon-chronicles

 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Light-of-Truth

[Christie Waldman]

It is interesting to me that Wilbur is saved by the writing in the spider's web. In the third century, according to the story, Saint Felix of Nola and the Catholic Bishop Maximus were saved by the spider's web that formed over the doorway to their hiding place (or covered over their hole-in-the-wall hiding place, depending on the version), so the Roman soldiers who came thought, "Oh, that spider's web is untouched; there will be no one hiding behind that doorway" (or hole-in-the-wall). Giordano Bruno, real name Philippe, was also from Nola. Is any of this related to Francis Bacon? Oh, possibly! I have wondered whether E. B.White knew of the story of St. Felix and the spider. I think he must have. Here is one telling of the story: http://www.catholickingdom.com/People/Lady_Gwen/s_scrapbook/tales/sos_T_042/sos-T-042.html.

In my book, Francis Bacon's Hidden Hand, I explored possible parallels between Bacon and Shakespeare, etc. on these pages: 98-99 (Shakespeare made fourteen references to spiders, www.opensourceshakespeare.org. Both Bacon and Shakespeare spoke of "self-drawing webs," the making of which required mental activity (99); 105 (Felix and the spider story; 106 (Lancelot Andrewes' sermon mentioning spiders); 157 (Lancelot Andrewes quoting Job 8:14); 224 (Queen Elizabeth's "spidery" handwriting). It may be speculation, but I have wondered about whether "felicity" might have signalled to "insiders" close to Bacon like Lancelot Andrewes "Queen Elizabeth" herself, in his sermons, after King James came to the throne. Bacon's elegy to the Queen, published only after his death, and Andrewes' death, was called, In Felicem Memoriam Elizabethae. Bacon once referred to Andrewes, Queen Elizabeth's chaplain, as his "inquisitor," in a letter to Toby Matthews. It is speculation, worth pondering or exploring further I think.

[Eric Roberts]

A bit off topic, but here's a short account of the interesting life of Felix of Nola: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=639

Thanks, Christie, for the wonderful story of the spider and the saint. Typically brilliant Italian folkloric story-telling. Why hasn't Felix's life been turned into a film yet?

Felix of Nola, Saint, beaten and hidden by a spider's web - 15th Century

 

Nola, not far from Naples, within sight of Vesuvius.

 

[Christie Waldman]

Thanks, Eric, for these photographs and the information on the life of St. Felix!