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The Time Traveler's Wife Allusions and Cultural References

When authors give shout outs to other great works, people, and events, it's usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.

Literary and Philosophical References

  • Geoffrey Chaucer (1.1.1)
  • Anne Bradstreet (1.1.122)
  • Immanuel Kant (1.1.122)
  • Roland Barthes (1.1.122)
  • Michel Foucault (1.1.122)
  • Jacques Derrida (1.1.122)
  • Rainer Maria Rilke (1.1.122), (2.4.15)
  • Martin Heidegger (1.1.122), (1.4.185)
  • Aristotle (1.1.122)
  • Bishop Berkeley (1.1.122)
  • Andrew Marvell (1.1.122)
  • Kierkegaard (1.4.185)
  • Dorothy L. Sayers (1.4.225)
  • Raymond Chandler (1.5.215)
  • Michel de Montaigne (1.5.262)
  • Ruth Gordon (1.11.59)
  • Barbara Cartland (1.13.2)
  • John Grisham (1.13.2)
  • Heinrich von Kleist (1.13.2)
  • Hans Christian Andersen (1.14.2)
  • Agatha Christie (2.1.100)
  • Emily Dickinson (2.4.15)
  • Dante Alighieri (2.4.15)
  • John Donne (2.4.15)
  • William Blake (2.4.15)
  • Pablo Neruda (2.4.15)
  • Michael Bishop (2.4.15)
  • Paul Verlaine (2.4.15)
  • Charles Baudelaire (2.4.15)
  • Marcel Proust (2.24.1)
  • J.B. Priestley, Man and Time (Prologue Epigraph)
  • Derek Walcott, Love After Love (Prologue Epigraph)
  • Derek Walcott, Selected Poetry; Caribbean Writers Series
  • Derek Walcott, Collected Poems, 1948-84
  • Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies (Book 1 Epigraph), (2.25.41), (2.25.70)
  • John Donne, Elegies and Songs and Sonnets (1.1.122), (2.29.71-72)
  • Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus (1.1.122)
  • William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch (1.1.122)
  • William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience (1.1.122)
  • A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh (1.1.122)
  • Lewis Carroll, The Annotated Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1.1.122), (1.11.119)
  • Laurence Sterne, Tristam Shandy (1.1.122)
  • Michael Lesy, Wisconsin Death Trip (1.1.122)
  • Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, Hypothermia, Frostbite and Other Cold Injuries (1.1.122)
  • John James Audubon, Birds of America (1.2.57)
  • William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1.4.89)
  • William Shakespeare; quote from As You Like It (2.15.70)
  • The Bible; edition unknown (1.4.194)
  • World Almanac 1968; editors unknown (1.5.5)
  • Herman Melville, Billy Budd (1.5.252)
  • Herman Melville, Moby Dick (1.5.252)
  • William Blake, "The Tyger" (1.6.2)
  • Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe ( B1.6 OR 5?)
  • P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins (1.7.91)
  • J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (1.7.91), (1.8.169)
  • Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (1.7.94)
  • Claude Lévi-Strauss, The Raw and the Cooked (1.8.49)
  • Andrew Marvell, "To His Coy Mistress" (1.9.145)
  • Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time (1.9.150)
  • Carolyn Keene (pseudonym), Nancy Drew (1.9.219)
  • Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone (1.11.1)
  • Carmina Burana; various unknown authors (1.11.1)
  • Charles Dickens, Bleak House (1.11.14)
  • Physicians Desk Reference, various editors (1.12.1)
  • Francis Quarles, My Beloved is Mine (1.12.50)
  • Leon Golub, Art in America (1.12.161)
  • Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1.14.71)
  • Encyclopedia Americana; Unknown edition (2.9.70)
  • Jane Austen, Emma (2.19.10)
  • Jorge Louis Borges, Ficciones (2.25.64)
  • Silvia Plath, "Lady Lazarus" (2.28.3)
  • Brothers Grimm, Little Red Riding Hood (2.28.4)

Art References

  • Sandro Botticelli (1.1.22)
  • J. M. W. Turner (1.3.81)
  • Vincent Van Gogh (1.4.17)
  • Anselm Kiefer (1.10.87)
  • Norman Rockwell (1.13.3)
  • Diego Rivera (2.1.137)
  • Frida Kahlo (2.1.137)
  • Rudolf Koch (2.2.6)
  • Bruce Rogers, Centaur (1.3.59)
  • Bruce Rogers, Book of Kells (1.3.59)
  • Bernardo Martorell, St. George Killing The Dragon (1.4.16)
  • George Seurat, La Grande Jatte (1.4.13)
  • Claude Monet, Haystack (1.4.13)
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Moulin Rouge (1.4.13)
  • Joseph Cornell, Soap Bubble sets (2.14.1)
  • Joseph Cornell, Hotel boxes (2.14.1)

Pop Culture References:

  • Julia Child (1.1.39)
  • Patty Hearst (1.4.132)
  • Johnny Carson (1.4.49)
  • Wim Wenders (1.5.161)
  • Tom Cruise (1.5.207)
  • Lydia Lunch (1.9.383)
  • James Stewart (1.9.208), (1.9.229)
  • Donna Reed (1.9.208), (1.9.229)
  • Jackie Gleason (1.9.265)
  • Charlton Heston (1.12.146)
  • Louise Brooks (2.9.60)
  • Lois Lane (2.23.59)
  • Clark Kent (2.23.57)
  • The Parent Trap (1.4.95)
  • The Dick Van Dyke Show (1.3.2)
  • Mad (magazine) (1.5.5)
  • Rear Window (1.5.193)
  • The New York Times (1.7.37), (1.8.172)
  • It's a Wonderful Life (1.9.179)
  • Reader's Digest (1.13.3.)

Musical References

  • Aretha Franklin (1.1.39)
  • Franz Schubert (1.1.98)
  • Van Halen (1.5.206)
  • The Sex Pistols (1.6.1), (1.9.400), (1.9.426), (2.22.1)
  • Violent Femmes (1.8.225), (1.8.237), (1.8.255)
  • The Velvet Underground
  • Iggy Pop (1.9.408), (2.20.95)
  • Iggy Pop & The Stooges (1.9.411)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven (1.6.2), (1.7.4)
  • Franz Schubert (1.6.5)
  • Kurt Weill (1.6.5)
  • Aretha Franklin (1.8.172)
  • Patti Smith (1.8.80) (1.9.415), (2.22.1)
  • Talking Heads (1.8.80)
  • New York Dolls (1.8.80)
  • Johnny Thunders (1.8.80)
  • Smoking Popes (1.8.85)
  • The Doors (1.9.131)
  • Jimi Hendrix (1.9.131)
  • Béla Bartók (1.9.231)
  • Johann Strauss (1.9.287)
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1.9.287)
  • The Clash (1.9.400), (2.22.1)
  • Blondie (1.9.401-405)
  • The Ramones (1.9.406)
  • Nirvana (1.9.403)
  • Pearl Jam (1.9.409)
  • Tom Petty (1.9.400)
  • New York Dolls (1.9.411)
  • MC5 (1.9.411)
  • Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers B1.9.411)
  • Richard Hell and the Voidoids (1.9.415)
  • Talking Heads (1.9.416)
  • Gang of Four (1.9.426)
  • Buzzcocks (1.9.426), (2.22.1)
  • Dead Kennedys (1.9.426)
  • X (1.9.426)
  • Mekons (1.9.426)
  • The Raincoats (1.9.426)
  • Dead Boys (1.9.426)
  • New Order (1.9.426)
  • The Smiths (1.9.426)
  • Lora Logic (1.9.426)
  • Au Pairs (1.9.426)
  • Big Black (1.9.426)
  • PiL (1.9.426)
  • Pixies (1.9.426), (2.22.1)
  • The Breeders (1.9.426)
  • Sonic Youth (1.9.426)
  • Prince (1.9.430)
  • The Beatles (1.9.437)
  • Depeche Mode (1.9.438)
  • Sting (1.9.438)
  • The Cure (1.9.438), (2.22.1),
  • Charles Mingus (1.12.130)
  • Frank Sinatra (1.13.3)
  • Joni Mitchell (2.1.1.)
  • The Shaggs (2.1.1)
  • John Coltrane (2.9.17)
  • The B-52's (2.16.1)
  • Eagles (2.16.1)
  • The Bangles (2.16.1)
  • Fleetwood Mac (2.16.1)
  • Bee Gees (2.19.1)
  • Supertramp (2.22.1)
  • Matthew Sweet (2.22.1)
  • Phish (2.22.1)
  • The Pogues (2.22.1)
  • Pretenders (2.22.1)
  • Kate Bush (2.22.1)
  • The Cramps (2.22.1)
  • Art of Noise (2.22.1)
  • Echo & The Bunnymen (2.22.1)
  • Television (2.22.1)
  • Dazzling Killmen (2.22.1)
  • The Golden Palominos (2.22.5)
  • Frédéric Chopin (2.25.65)
  • The Kinks (3.2.32)
  • Bob Seger (3.2.37)
  • Talking Heads, "Once In a Lifetime" (1.5.59)
  • Violent Femmes, Gone Daddy Gone (1.8.260)
  • Richard Wagner, Lohengrin (1.10.44)
  • Jorge Arnaiz, Talking Heads; Spanish Edition
  • Giuseppe Verdi, Aida ((1.6.5)
  • Georges Bizet, Carmen (1.6.5)
  • Gustav Mahler, Das Lied von der Erde (1.7.4)
  • Giacomo Puccini, Madame Butterfly (1.9.65)
  • Johann Sebastian Bach, Cello Suite No. 2 (1.9.235)
  • Terry Riley, Salome Dances for Peace (1.9.276)
  • John Corigliano, The Ghost of Versailles (1.12.175)
  • The Beatles, Yellow Submarine (2.1.101)
  • Richard Wagner, Tristan and Isolde (2.20.105)
  • Alban Berg, Lulu (2.22.5)
  • The Jam, That's Entertainment (2.23.3)
  • Elvis Costello, Pills and Soap (2.23.3)
  • Lou Reed, Perfect Day (2.23.3)
  • Gang of Four, I Love a Man in a Uniform (2.23.3)

Historic References

  • Saint Thomas Aquinas (1.4.267)
  • Aristotle (1.4.267)
  • Ivan Pavlov (1.9.126)
  • Saint Matthew (1.9.150)
  • John the Baptist (1.9.278)
  • The Medici (1.14.24)
  • Adam Smith (2.1.120)
  • Karl Marx (2.1.120)
  • Rosa Luxemburg (2.1.120)
  • Alan Greenspan (2.1.120)
  • Leon Trotsky (2.1.136)
  • Pierre Bosquet; Quote: "C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre" (1.5.208)
  • Johannes Gutenberg, The Gutenberg Fragment; Bible fragment (2.26.1)
  • William Caxton, Game and Playe of the Chesse (2.26.1)
  • Nicolas Jenson (printing), Eusebius; Typeface (2.26.1)

Mythical References

  • Circe (2.1.5)
  • Nimbue (2.1.5)
  • Artemis (2.1.5)
  • Athena (2.1.5)
  • Penelope (2.1.5)
  • Odysseus (2.1.6), (3.2.10)
  • Demeter (2.3.4)
  • Euterpe (2.20.111)
  • Eurydice (2.28.3)