The Loss of a Body and Soul

This picture shows the men discussing the death of Rosanna Spearman, and takes up around a fifth of the page. This picture most clearly ties into Parks' essay reagrding the lack of care taken for the physical loss of Rosanna's body. Sergeant Cuff and Betterage stand amidst some other men as they address the reality of Rosanna Spearman's suicide. The men's focus is still directly on the resolution of the mystery at hand, rather than for recovering an innocent woman's lost body. The stone is still treated as far more valuable than Rosanna's entire life. As Parks says, they very quickly move on from her loss and do not seek out her body, claiming it would be futile and never revisiting the issue. Just as the story brushes past Rosanna's death, so does the formatting and layout of the production itself. Rosanna is persecuted for her disability throughout the novel, often being minimized to her shoulder deformity as her only notable quality. The ironic focus on Rosanna's body and appearance as such a cornerstone of her character works in juxtaposition with the lack of interest in recovering her body directly. Rather than using any form of imagery that directly involves Rosanna, the layout and choices work to further erases her value and importance from the story. Rosanna's body is lost and never to be seen again, just as her presense in the story and it's art work is non-existent. The art work of this section systematically remover her from the narrative as nothing more than a piece in the game of this mystery.