I was intrigued by a reference to “Kaspar Hauser” in the “Coffee with Paul Karasik” interview/reading that we had this week, and following Katlyn’s lead with “William Wilson,” explored this a little further.
Kasper Hauser is a famous historical figure from Germany, a feral boy who appeared suddenly on the streets of Nuremberg in 1828, after years of confinement in a darkened cage. Here’s a link to a three-part summary of his story: http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Hauser1.htm
Hauser is referenced in the novel and absolutely had to be one of the inspirations for the tale of Peter. In the interview, Paul Karasik mentioned that the cover of the “New Yorker” that was used in the graphic novel (page 57) was based on an actual cover that he had in his room at the time. Coincidentally, in that same magazine, there was an article on Kasper Hauser, the wild child (that’s a fascinating coincidence).
After mentioning this fact, Karasik states: “Hauser makes another appearance in the book for sharp-eyed readers.” Of course, I had to chase this, and I found his reference on page 87, panel 7. In that panel, you see the names of the apartment building’s occupants, including our Mr. Hauser in italics.
It’s fun to explore all these references, and “City of Glass” provides a ton of them.
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After I'd posted, I found another reference to a historical "wild boy" (page 32.3) - the Wild Boy of Aveyron, who appeared in the late 18th century in France.
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