by Rumer Godden
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Right behind the doctor’s head.
In that book, according to Wikipedia, Godden “acutely examined the balance between the mystical, spiritual aspects of religion and the practical, human realities of religious life.” Since doctors are associated with shining, and shining being associated with leading a balanced life with a balanced perspective, having this appear right above her head (possibly the objectively smartest person in the film), seems apt.
I’m also reminded of what Kubrick told co-screenwriter Diane Johnson about why he wasn’t going to be adapting one of her books, which is that it’s much easier to adapt a lesser fiction when making a film, and not a masterpiece, so that the director doesn’t have to worry about getting the conversion too right or too wrong. Godden is doubtlessly far better known as the author of Black Narcissus, the film version having won two Academy Awards. Some of the books in this room are the thing the author is known for, but inclusions like this remind me of that.
Also, there’s a 1975 TV version, with Diana Rigg. I happened to catch this on YouTube recently, thanks to my work on Kubrick’s other films (which is not yet available on the site), and noticed it features an uncredited performance by Billy Boyle (skip to 9:19 of the YouTube version for the scene), who played Seamus Feeny in Barry Lyndon, the son of the highwayman, Captain Feeny. Barry meets the Feenys at a roadside tavern on his way to Dublin, and Rigg is meeting this man on her way to join a convent. Barry Lyndon is said to have wrapped production in Feb. ’74, while Brede is tagged with a shooting date of Nov. ’74. So this would be a retroactive reference, if this were somehow the main reason Kubrick included the book. It may be to affirm the similarity between another book in the shot, Young Jethro, which itself bears a certain Barry Lyndon flavour.
Next literary reference: Angell, Pearl & Little God
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EYE SCREAM 