The Tolstoy Museum

The museum represents the concept of uncanniness. For example, the architecture of the museum is such that the museum appears to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment. This unnatural structure complements the bizarre atmosphere established throughout the story. Another example of the museum’s role as a symbol of bizarreness is its various plazas that house abstract embodiments of Tolstoy’s characters and body parts on pages 117 and 119. These abstract entities question reality, so they supplement the atmosphere of bizarreness even further.

Tolstoy

Tolstoy is a symbol that represents the need for paternal approval. Barthelme uses descriptive language to explore Tolstoy in this role. For example, he describes Tolstoy’s admonishing gaze as resembling a father’s disapproval toward a son on page 113. Moreover, Tolstoy represents moral authority because of his stature as the most admired figure in the museum.

The Image of Napoleon