“Only a scholar who has descended step by step into a mausoleum and there finds himself in a crypt, crusted with fungus, slimy with mould, exuding sour smells of decay and antiquity, while half-obliterated marble busts gleam in mid-air and all is dimly seen by the light of the small swinging lamp which he holds, and dips, and turns, glancing now here, now there – only the sensations of such an explorer into the buried...
“Only a scholar who has descended step by step into a mausoleum and there finds himself in a crypt, crusted with fungus, slimy with mould, exuding sour smells of decay and antiquity, while half-obliterated marble busts gleam in mid-air and all is dimly seen by the light of the small swinging lamp which he holds, and dips, and turns, glancing now here, now there – only the sensations of such an explorer into the buried vaults of a ruined city can compare with the riot of emotions that flooded Flush’s nerves as he stood for the first time in an invalids bedroom, in Wimpole Street, and smelt eau-de-Cologne” The length of Woof’s analogy and the extent of her description for something as simple as a perfume indicates that the purpose of the book is not to do with the plight of Victorian women, but to do with exploring the experiences, sensations and thoughts of a dog. These descriptive analogies are common through the book, and so it is likely that this is the case rather than Squier’s argument that Flush in many ways aims to represent the perspective of oppressed women.
