Vidal Gore — Eighteen Seventy [2288]

Oh, he did get Blaine’s promise to return the letters after he and his lawyers have studied them. I ask you, Schuyler, has there ever been such a beguiling monster as Blaine since the Serpent in the Garden? — Vidal Gore, Eighteen Seventy, 2288

Note

The rhetorical question ‘has there ever been such a beguiling monster as Blaine since the Serpent in the Garden?’ uses biblical allusion effectively to elevate the narrative, imparting both gravity and irony to the discussion of Blaine’s character.