# Endnotes explained — Suspiria de Profundis

> Chapter companion for Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey.

## What happens

The chapter consists of endnotes that provide additional commentary, references, and explanations for various topics mentioned in the main text, including childhood suffering, Obeah magic, the Brocken spectre, and historical and literary allusions.

## Themes in this chapter

### Suffering and Grief

The endnotes discuss a child who suffers slowly and is inspired by the depth of its sufferings, and the story of a little girl anxious for her father's conversion.

### Childhood and Innocence

The chapter reflects on a child who puts off the childish mind due to suffering, and references the story of a schoolboy forbidden to return home.

### The Sublime and the Dreadful

The Brocken spectre is described as a sublime and dreadful apparition, a Titan among apparitions, and the Obeah magic evokes ghostly terrors.

### Divine and Moral Order

The chapter references the conversion of a father, the resurrection of the dead, and the prophetic role of revealing divine truths.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

The narrator reflects on childhood suffering and inspiration, and provides personal commentary throughout the endnotes.

### Coleridge

Coleridge is mentioned in relation to his translation of 'Death of Wallenstein' and his experience with the Brocken spectre.

### Mr. Wordsworth

Wordsworth is referenced for a sketch of the Brocken spectre appearance.

### Jesus Christ

Christ is referenced in the context of resurrection and the story of the young girl's conversion.

## Key lines

> organic disorder, so, therefore, as to die slowly, and aware of its own condition. Because such a child is solemnized, and sometimes, in a partial sense, inspired⁠—inspired by the depth of its sufferings, and by the awfulness of its prospect.

A child suffering from a slow, conscious decline becomes solemn and inspired by the depth of its suffering and the gravity of its future.

_This passage reflects on the profound effect of suffering on a child's mind._

> Such a child, having put off the earthly mind in many things, may naturally have put off the childish mind in all things.

Such a child, having shed earthly concerns, also sheds childishness entirely.

_The narrator describes how suffering can mature a child beyond their years._

> The spectre takes the shape of a human figure, or, if the visiters are more than one, then the spectres multiply; they arrange themselves on the blue ground of the sky, or the dark ground of any clouds that maybe in the right quarter, or perhaps they are strongly relieved against a curtain of rock, at a distance of some miles, and always exhibiting gigantic proportions.

The Brocken spectre appears as a giant human figure or multiple figures, projected against the sky or clouds, and mimics the observer's movements.

_This describes the phenomenon of the Brocken spectre._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/chapters/endnotes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/chapters