Kevin's Watch

The possible spoiler has to do with the last page of the story "A Cabin on the Coast." If you haven't read the story, I don't think this post will ruin it for you, but I suppose a disclaimer was necessary



I just finished Wolfe's short story "A Cabin on the Coast" last night and something at the end caught my attention. The main character, Tim, makes a deal with the Fairy King. Essentially Tim agrees to serve the Fairy King for one hundred years. Before the deal is consumated, however, the Fairy King decides to shorten the length of servitude to twenty years. In "The Wizard" Able resides in Skai for twenty years. I know the stories are unrelated (other than the mythical aspects), but I went nuts last night searching online for the significance of twenty years or the number twenty. Is there some religious or literary reference I'm blind to? Is it a coincidence? Does Wolfe simply like twenty??

Any ideas?

Thought about this some more and figure it's probably just another example of Wolfe's use of recurring themes and images in different stories. The number twenty either means something to Wolfe, or it is simply coincidence. Or I don't have anything better to offer in the GW forum. Just looking for an excuse to post something.