This is about the protagonist, the Artist. In the story he's running from a temptress. She's chasing him through the streets of a golden city. He looks back and he can hear her laughing. But not a woman's laugh but "angry, hungry, gutteral." He's questioning if he should turn around and face her... and pull back the veil. Her evil laughter reminds him of the Fiend another antagonist in the story. I'm guessing that the temptress and the fiend are one and the same. It doesn't really make it clear. The temptress made him feel invincible till he saw that she was a monster.
This is about the protagonist, the Artist. In the story he's running from a temptress. She's chasing him through the streets of a golden city. He looks back and he can hear her laughing. But not a woman's laugh but "angry, hungry, gutteral." He's questioning if he should turn around and face her... and pull back the veil. Her evil laughter reminds him of the Fiend another antagonist in the story. I'm guessing that the temptress and the fiend are one and the same. It doesn't really make it clear. The temptress made him feel invincible till he saw that she was a monster.