Though the first thing that comes to mind whenever I think of this book is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Crack-Up, the second associaion that I think of is, oddly enough, Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining. Admittedly, I don't think that Anna is going to end up attempting to murder her family; nor do I believe her issues to be at all supernatural. However, there are a number of similarities between Anna and Jack Torrance, not least the fact that they share a profession. And, while Jack's journal contains only one very creepy phrase in the film, I think it's significant that the act of journaling is indelibly linked with the issues both characters are facing.


A woman on p. 384 of The Golden Notebook makes reference to the R.S.P.C.A. after she witnesses a man kick a pigeon on the street.
The Royal Society for the Preventino of Cruelty to Animals is a charity that has operated since 1824; it is the oldest animal welfare charity in the world. Queen Victoria granted it "Royal" status in 1840, and since then it has served as a model for animal welfare charities across the world. The society has been charged with a number of misdemeanors over the years of its existence, including the charge that its members have impersonated British police forces.