This is a question about "Other People" from Fragile Things. Who knows what a "lazarene's daughter" is? I have a clue, but I'm not sure... I think it's on page 110...
A Lazarene is an unmarried woman. (well the only reference I found was here http://www.ohfs.org/newsletter/2003_first_quarter.html) So a Lazarene's Daughter would be a girl from an unwed mother. I don't believe that it's an actual torture tool, I think it is more symbolic. More like the idea of being tortured with a girl who might have lived through a lot of pain. It did make mention that the man being tortured had cheated on his wife. It also could be implying that he was being tortured with his own child from his affair.
Of course this is all just speculation. I am no expert on the topic.
^I never thought of that (it makes a little more sense than mine)
I'm not entirely sure if this is valid, but i had to do a book review thing, so i did a little research. I think (thought) the bit about a "lazarene's daughter" refers to the story of Lazarus, who was a beggar living outside the walls of the house of a rich man, who never aids Lazarus. Both men die, Lazarus goes to heaven, the rich man (who has no name in the story, like the main character in "Other People") goes to hell, where he begs for a drop of water from Lazarus. I think that part relates to when the main character wishes for the physical torture, instead of the mental torture (like t begging for water in hell). Its a bit of a stretch, but oh well.
I suspect that the answer is that a Nazarene's Daughter is a picturesque and painful figment of Neil's imagination... and what a wonderful one - it conjures up an image of something that is exquisitely suited to refined torture and thoroughly esoteric. Like eleven on the amplifier volume control.
And I bet even Jacqueline Carey doesn't know what one is. So there!
I've not read the story, so I don't know how relevant this is, but Lazar is an old term for a Leper. So conceivable a Lazarene's Daughter could be the spawn of a leper.
It is a made up device name and an example of Gaiman's exquisitely subtle allusions. Remember, the demon had "no sex" (no penis) by the time the man saw him. And the LD was a device he had been "intimate" with. Apparently, putting your penis into the daughter of a Lazarene can be risky!
On the other hand, a "scavenger's daughter" is a torture device, invented by Leonard Skevington, 16th century Lieutenant of the Tower of London. According to the book Theatre of Hell by Dr. Haha Lung and Christopher B. Prowant (a very disturbing read, by the way), it's "An instrument of torture which compresses the body by forcing the head down between the knees, often forcing blood from the nose and ears. (See Figures 4 and 5.)"
Originally posted by MrRocketScience: It is a made up device name and an example of Gaiman's exquisitely subtle allusions. Remember, the demon had "no sex" (no penis) by the time the man saw him. And the LD was a device he had been "intimate" with. Apparently, putting your penis into the daughter of a Lazarene can be risky!
