Book II, Stanzas 1-9 Summary

Stanza 1: Maldoror, the narrator says, is a kind of censure for the reader and humanity as a whole. By being openly evil, he implicitly condemns every person on earth, for all are at least implicitly evil.

Stanza 2: The narrator tries to continue writing but finds his hand stopped by some supernatural force. Further, lightning bolts are starting to strike the narrator. He supposes it is the work of God, whom the narrator derides and chastises for treating him so harshly. After bandaging up his wounds, he resolves to continue writing and, in fact, does so.

Stanza 3: Maldoror curses God for all of the suffering he causes on Earth. He points out all of the earthquakes, floods, famines, and other horrible events, all obviously in contradiction with a good-natured deity. Moreover, he blames God for not revealing to...