Snake

Reclusive genius who retreated inward to perfect his art.

Glenn Gould famously abandoned public performance at age 31, retreating entirely into the recording studio to pursue his intensely personal, meticulous vision of music. He was profoundly introverted, eccentric in his habits — humming while playing, wearing layers of clothing in summer, conducting all business by telephone — and deeply reclusive, yet possessed a razor-sharp, caustic wit in interviews and writings. Like the snake, his brilliance was undeniable but delivered from a place of solitary, almost obsessive self-containment.