The Hawkline Monster 2

"Greer was arrested for auto theft in 1927 and spent four years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary where he developed an interest in the Rosicrucian way of faith" (215).

This paragraph caught my attention because I had never heard of Rosicrucianism before. After I finished the book, I looked it up. Reading a bit about it, I learned that it is a secret society created in medieval Germany which focuses on nature, spiritualism, and the physical universe. It is also compared closely with Lutheranism. One of the pieces I read talked a lot about alchemy and reminded me of the Chemicals in the book. This led me to try and decipher why the author connected Greer with this group of people. The only connection I can draw is Greer's love of Magic Child who seems to represent nature and control of one's self. The medieval secret society aspect of Rosicrucianism also fits in well with the Gothic side of the story.