Alternative ideas

Based on Henry Fuseli's 'The Nightmare', 1781, and his letter to a friend about a woman he was trying to propose to.

Fuseli wrote of his fantasies to Lavater in 1779 as a marrage proposal:

Last night I had her in bed with me—tossed my bedclothes hugger-mugger—wound my hot and tight-clasped hands about her—fused her body and soul together with my own—poured into her my spirit, breath and strength. Anyone who touches her now commits adultery and incest! She is mine, and I am hers. And have her I will.…

Elevator pitch

Set in the 1700’s

A man is forced by his Personal Demon (bob) to propose to a virtuous woman in a crude letter. He then panics and tries to hide it but Bob steals the letter and gives it to her- and thanks to her own personal demon she unexpectedly accepts.

Rough outline

A man wants to propose marriage to a woman and has tried several times but can’t seem to get it out.

He is then influenced by his personal demon, bob, to write a crude letter to her.

The woman appears nice, innocent and wholesome etc.

He thinks she will be appalled by his letter and tries to get rid of it. However his demon has other ideas and steals the letter and places where the woman will find it. 

The woman finds it and it first it appears to us that she is shocked but we then see her smile and her own personal demon appears.

We then realize the woman is not as innocent as she appears and she goes to the man to accept his proposal…

He is shocked but is over the moon.

All 4 are happy as the demons continue to encourage their charges together.

list of ideas:

Ideas:

• Lilith controls/encourages Bob to do good things.

• Bob goes against the devil and tries to save Lilith

• Bob rises up against the devil

• Lilith is actually a demon escaped from hell and trying to be good but bob is trying to persuade her back to the dark side

• Bob tries to be good to get into heaven so he can start a war between heaven and hell. 

• Bob tries to overthrow the devil and uses Lilith the devils right hand ‘man’ to do so.

• Bob goes round at night stealing souls souls and delivering nightmares turning people old…. See old hag syndrome/ sleep paralysis.

• Bob is trying to stop a marriage by stealing her soul…Fuseli's demon symbolically seeks to forestall a marriage by sititng upon her chest/ causing paralysis. 

Short poem by Erasmus Darwin, "Night-Mare":

So on his Nightmare through the evening fog

Flits the squab Fiend o’er fen, and lake, and bog; seeks some

 Love-wilder’d maid with sleep oppress’d, Alights, and grinning sits

Upon her breast.

• Bob isn’t very good at his job and fails to get his charge to do something bad. He has also broken a big taboo in allowing her to see him and befriends her. He has to try and keep it hidden from his bosses- higher demons- and he needs his charges help to keep his secret. He is nuisance but the girl has become accustomed to him and can easily thwart his silly plans to convince her to do something bad.