Orpheus, Eurydice, and The Loves of Leopold Singer

Most people know something of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice: When Eurydice died from a venomous snake bite shortly after their wedding, Orpheus was distraught.

He journeyed to the underworld and begged Hades to return Eurydice to life.

When Orpheus played his lyre, the music was so sweet that for the brief duration of the song the sufferings of all in the underworld were eased. As reward, Hades granted Orpheus's request.

With one catch (there's always a catch). Orpheus was forbidden to look at Eurydice until they were both back on the earth's surface. You can probably guess from the picture what happened.

In The Loves of Leopold Singer, Leopold Singer (singer – get it? get it?) is an Orpheus figure. When Leopold's wife is traumatized shortly after their marriage, she sinks into a kind of depression. He'd love nothing better than to save her from her pain, but in a twist on the myth, she has to find her own way through the passage of Tenarus to the bright, sunshiny day.

I've strewn references to the mythology of Orpheus throughout LOLS. It isn't at all necessary to know the myth to enjoy the story, but I hope people who do like the stories will enjoy that aspect of the novel.