THE PARANORMAL CONFRONTS VICTORIAN MATERIALISM
In this Blog I intend to treat Bulwer-Lytton's, "A Strange Story" as if it was something resembling a philosophical thesis; that it was intended to expose what he saw as the inadequacy of the Victorian Doctrine of MATERIALISM. Previous Posts have described the nature of Victorian Materialism so I will not repeat the description here.
Without ploughing through this voluminous novel let us first explore its basic theme and take it from there. Before we do so, I must mention that Bulwer's output and the popularity of his work was immense. Today, he is largely ignored. His novels are considered somewhat long-winded and over embellished. His themes, today do not strike the reader in the same way. But there is a definite reason for all of this. Quite simply, Bulwer's work struck a chord with the Victorians; it was in tune with their Consciousness and their pre-occupations. In short THE VICTORIAN CONSCIOUSNESS WAS DIFFERENT from our own. Bulwer hit it and was successful.
BULWER LYTTON AS A YOUNG MAN
For a start, then, let us get hold of some of his main ideas and how they are laid out in the novel.
Its main character is a PRACTICAL-MINDED physician, Allen Fenwick, a MATERIALIST through and through. To SHIFT HIM from this position he has to be REEDUCATED. He has to learn that there is a SPIRITUAL DIMENSION from which Paranormal Forces flow, whether they be Good or Evil.
The structure of the novel shows this re-education proceeding in three stages:
1. The failure of Fenwick's Materialist approach to Medicine.
2. His exposure to a number of Paranormal experiences.
3. His Philosophical arguments with Dr Faber, whom he admires.
If you have a copy of this novel you will notice that it is laid out in a rather strange way. It has some forty footnotes referring to Scientific and Philosophical Texts connected with our old friends MESMERISM, APPARITIONS, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, and how individuals in the past and those contemporary with Bulwer have interpreted their experience of the world.
Do you see why he did this. It is as if he provided his novel with a Scientific Apparatus to make it credible.
Once more I repeat, this was not simply a novel, it was a statement of Bulwer's belief in the paranormal. When we get onto other Novelists in future Blogs you will notice the same thing.
In addition to "A Strange Story" (1862), other novels such as "Zanoni" (1842), "The Haunters and the Haunted" (1859) and "The Coming Race" (1871) also state Bulwer's conviction that there is a SPIRITUAL DIMENSION.
We can go even further and probe his own background and come to the same conclusion. As early as 1835, when he was thirty two years old he was deeply immersed in the study of, (here it comes!) ALCHEMY, ASTROLOGY, MESMERISM, CLAIRVOYANCE, MAGIC, PHRENOLOGY AND SPIRITUALISM. No wonder these influences spilled over into his novels. It was unavoidable.
In fact, as a young man he met a gypsy girl, who accurately read his past, and then went on to predict his future. Elated by this Bulwer intended to stay on longer amongst the Gypsy band. but this was not to be. For, the young men of the camp, jealous of Bulwer's interest in the girl, forced him to leave.
It was not only palmistry that attracted Bulwer. His interest in PHRENOLOGY and MESMERISM arose from his association with Dr John Elliotson in the late 1830s In fact it was Bulwer who recommended Harriet Martineau (First woman Sociologist and influential writer) to Dr Elliotson as a patient around the same time.
HARRIET MARTINEAU INFLUENTIAL VICTORIAN WRITER, A COMMITTED MESMERIST AND FRIEND OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE.
In fact, one of Queen Victoria's physicians, Dr John Ashburner was also interested in Phrenology. And on one occasion Bulwer accompanied him to a Phrenological Demonstration. In addition, Bulwer's interests stretched to Spiritualism. As such he attended a number of Seances performed by D.D.Hume - see an earlier Post on Hume.
DANIEL DUNGLAS HUME. THE FAMOUS SPIRITUALIST
BULWER LYTTON AND GEORGE ELIOT ATTENDED HIS SEANCES.
HE APPEARS TO BE THE MODEL FOR MARGRAVE IN BULWER-LYTTON'S, "A STRANGE STORY"
I think almost enough has been said to give the flavour of Bulwer-Lytton and the influence of the Victorian Paranormal on his psyche. So I will conclude my discussion of the man with a final observation. After Bulwer's death his grandson studied his Grandfather's correspondence. His Grandson concluded that Bulwer's study of occult material was both serious and judicious.
I contend, therefore, that Bulwer-Lytton engaged in his investigations and in his various writings with a deliberate purpose; TO COMBAT COLD VICTORIAN MATERIALISM.
Now, let us see how he set about it in his novel, "A Strange Story"
OK, let us get hold of it by focussing on Alan Fenwick, the thoroughgoing, empirical materialist. The novel, to some extent purports to be the autobiography of Alan Fenwick. At the start of the story Fenwick takes up residence in a fashionable and wealthy English town, which he calls L..... He states his world view precisely.
My creed was that of stern materialism .... I dismissed as idle all conjecture that could not be put
to practical test ...... no accurate reasoner could arrive at the existence of the soul .... distinct
from mind and body .... the mind was clearly the result of the bodily organisation (I)
MY IMPRESSION OF ALAN FENWICK. THIS IS A PICTURE OF A TYPICAL 19TH CENTURY PHYSICIAN, THEMISTOCOLES GLUCK
However, Fenwick's dogmatic Materialism is lined up for a shaking. This begins with the entry of Lilian Ashleigh into Fenwick's life. She is the exact opposite of Fenwick. She will cause him (along with other things) to reconsider his whole philosophy.
THIS PAINTING BY DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI EXEMPLIFIES MY IMAGE OF LILIAN ASHLEIGH
What sort of a person was Lilian Ashleigh? Lilian' mother describes her as '... fond of musing' sitting alone for hours 'as abstracted as if in a dream.' As a child she would talk of visions concerning 'beautiful lands far away from earth' (X) Mrs Poynz adds to this and describes Lilian as 'a fairy changeling' who 'never seems at home on earth'. (XIII)
But Lilian is even further over than Fenwick.can even imagine. For, she has developed a CLAIRVOYANT ability to 'see the images of things to come' As part of this AMALGAM OF SPIRITUALISM AND MESMERISM, she also saw Fenwick before he arrived in L. She had never met him previously. More than that she heard her dead father telling her that she and Fenwick 'will need one another.' (XVII)
So the Victorian Consciousness, which I have discussed at length in other Posts, certainly saturates this novel. We shall see such manifesting itself more and more as the novel continues.
Bulwer is lining her up, because of her susceptible temperament, to fall under the MESMERIC SPELL of the evil Margrave and the failure of Fenwick's Materialist Medicine to combat this.
Enter now, the evil MESMERIST, Margrave. I will leave you to explore the meaning of this name. Bulwer chose it deliberately. Margrave, a key figure in the novel meets Fenwick at a gathering arranged by a merchant. We are given a description of Margrave's lustrous beauty, his physical form, abundant, vitality and personal magnetism as if a Greek God was being designated.
He speaks as if he was an ancient priest of Delphi bent on the task of discovering the elixer of life. Because the quest is fraught with danger he intends to use the virgin clairvoyant Lilian Ashleigh as an oracle who will guide him step by step through each pitfall.
APOLLO WITH DAPHNE
TYPIFIES MARGRAVE WITH LILIAN ASHLIE: THE GOD AND THE VIRGIN
In time sinister, yet thrilling, aspects of Margrave's personality emerge. Like a predatory, unfeeling animal he chases a squirrel up a tree, catches it, drops to the grass and kills the luckless animal. (XXIV) Later he begins a barbaric song, which thrills Fenwick to the core. Margrave declares 'it is the song by which the serpent charmer charms the serpent' (XXV) In effect he is using this chant to ensnare Lilian Ashleigh and subjugate her to his will.
You might like to see a connection here with the Victorian female Mediums, particularly in their entranced state when contacting the 'Spirits'.
Margrave's pagan wildness surfaces later when he plays the piano at a social gathering. He submits the piano to extreme torture and chants in a wild and noisy uncivilised tongue. So great is the effect that some listeners exclaimed, "It is witchcraft.... Where on earth can that young savage have come from? (XXVI)
Margrave is a strange mixture: an ancient enchanter using Victorian Mesmeric Methods to stir up primitive forces within the individual; one who has the classical attributes associated with the Greek Gods. It is as if Bulwer is trying to convey through this fictional character the age old interest in, and the roots of Magic and the Supernatural.
Fenwick feels uneasy and suspects that 'Margrave with his wild notions, his strange beauty ... might dangerously encourage that turn for the mystic and visionary' in Lilian Ashleigh. (XXX). In fact his suspicions are well founded. For, much later when Margrave has the young virgin in his power he says,
" I deepened over her mind the spells of command - therefore I have drawn her hither as the lodestone draws the steel"
It is imperative that Margrave places Lilian Ashleigh under his spell BEFORE she marries Fenwick. In his quest for the elixir of life he must recruit a PURE VIRGIN to act as a SIBYLLINE ORACLE to guide him through the perils inherent in his quest. Such a guide he considers, is Lilian Ashleigh. Once she marries Fenwick she would be a Virgin no longer and his quest would be over.
Exactly how Margrave does this and the deepening Paranormal Events Bulwer describes to re-educate Fenwick I shall pick up in my next Post.
I hope you have enjoyed this voyage.
Any Comments, thus far?
Picture Credits: Wikipedia Commons
Quotations from, 'A Strange Story' New Knebworth Edition (London 1897)
Without ploughing through this voluminous novel let us first explore its basic theme and take it from there. Before we do so, I must mention that Bulwer's output and the popularity of his work was immense. Today, he is largely ignored. His novels are considered somewhat long-winded and over embellished. His themes, today do not strike the reader in the same way. But there is a definite reason for all of this. Quite simply, Bulwer's work struck a chord with the Victorians; it was in tune with their Consciousness and their pre-occupations. In short THE VICTORIAN CONSCIOUSNESS WAS DIFFERENT from our own. Bulwer hit it and was successful.
BULWER LYTTON AS A YOUNG MAN
For a start, then, let us get hold of some of his main ideas and how they are laid out in the novel.
Its main character is a PRACTICAL-MINDED physician, Allen Fenwick, a MATERIALIST through and through. To SHIFT HIM from this position he has to be REEDUCATED. He has to learn that there is a SPIRITUAL DIMENSION from which Paranormal Forces flow, whether they be Good or Evil.
The structure of the novel shows this re-education proceeding in three stages:
1. The failure of Fenwick's Materialist approach to Medicine.
2. His exposure to a number of Paranormal experiences.
3. His Philosophical arguments with Dr Faber, whom he admires.
If you have a copy of this novel you will notice that it is laid out in a rather strange way. It has some forty footnotes referring to Scientific and Philosophical Texts connected with our old friends MESMERISM, APPARITIONS, HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, and how individuals in the past and those contemporary with Bulwer have interpreted their experience of the world.
Do you see why he did this. It is as if he provided his novel with a Scientific Apparatus to make it credible.
Once more I repeat, this was not simply a novel, it was a statement of Bulwer's belief in the paranormal. When we get onto other Novelists in future Blogs you will notice the same thing.
In addition to "A Strange Story" (1862), other novels such as "Zanoni" (1842), "The Haunters and the Haunted" (1859) and "The Coming Race" (1871) also state Bulwer's conviction that there is a SPIRITUAL DIMENSION.
We can go even further and probe his own background and come to the same conclusion. As early as 1835, when he was thirty two years old he was deeply immersed in the study of, (here it comes!) ALCHEMY, ASTROLOGY, MESMERISM, CLAIRVOYANCE, MAGIC, PHRENOLOGY AND SPIRITUALISM. No wonder these influences spilled over into his novels. It was unavoidable.
In fact, as a young man he met a gypsy girl, who accurately read his past, and then went on to predict his future. Elated by this Bulwer intended to stay on longer amongst the Gypsy band. but this was not to be. For, the young men of the camp, jealous of Bulwer's interest in the girl, forced him to leave.
It was not only palmistry that attracted Bulwer. His interest in PHRENOLOGY and MESMERISM arose from his association with Dr John Elliotson in the late 1830s In fact it was Bulwer who recommended Harriet Martineau (First woman Sociologist and influential writer) to Dr Elliotson as a patient around the same time.
HARRIET MARTINEAU INFLUENTIAL VICTORIAN WRITER, A COMMITTED MESMERIST AND FRIEND OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE.
In fact, one of Queen Victoria's physicians, Dr John Ashburner was also interested in Phrenology. And on one occasion Bulwer accompanied him to a Phrenological Demonstration. In addition, Bulwer's interests stretched to Spiritualism. As such he attended a number of Seances performed by D.D.Hume - see an earlier Post on Hume.
DANIEL DUNGLAS HUME. THE FAMOUS SPIRITUALIST
BULWER LYTTON AND GEORGE ELIOT ATTENDED HIS SEANCES.
HE APPEARS TO BE THE MODEL FOR MARGRAVE IN BULWER-LYTTON'S, "A STRANGE STORY"
I think almost enough has been said to give the flavour of Bulwer-Lytton and the influence of the Victorian Paranormal on his psyche. So I will conclude my discussion of the man with a final observation. After Bulwer's death his grandson studied his Grandfather's correspondence. His Grandson concluded that Bulwer's study of occult material was both serious and judicious.
I contend, therefore, that Bulwer-Lytton engaged in his investigations and in his various writings with a deliberate purpose; TO COMBAT COLD VICTORIAN MATERIALISM.
Now, let us see how he set about it in his novel, "A Strange Story"
OK, let us get hold of it by focussing on Alan Fenwick, the thoroughgoing, empirical materialist. The novel, to some extent purports to be the autobiography of Alan Fenwick. At the start of the story Fenwick takes up residence in a fashionable and wealthy English town, which he calls L..... He states his world view precisely.
My creed was that of stern materialism .... I dismissed as idle all conjecture that could not be put
to practical test ...... no accurate reasoner could arrive at the existence of the soul .... distinct
from mind and body .... the mind was clearly the result of the bodily organisation (I)
We can certainly hear shades of Darwin.
MY IMPRESSION OF ALAN FENWICK. THIS IS A PICTURE OF A TYPICAL 19TH CENTURY PHYSICIAN, THEMISTOCOLES GLUCK
However, Fenwick's dogmatic Materialism is lined up for a shaking. This begins with the entry of Lilian Ashleigh into Fenwick's life. She is the exact opposite of Fenwick. She will cause him (along with other things) to reconsider his whole philosophy.
THIS PAINTING BY DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI EXEMPLIFIES MY IMAGE OF LILIAN ASHLEIGH
What sort of a person was Lilian Ashleigh? Lilian' mother describes her as '... fond of musing' sitting alone for hours 'as abstracted as if in a dream.' As a child she would talk of visions concerning 'beautiful lands far away from earth' (X) Mrs Poynz adds to this and describes Lilian as 'a fairy changeling' who 'never seems at home on earth'. (XIII)
But Lilian is even further over than Fenwick.can even imagine. For, she has developed a CLAIRVOYANT ability to 'see the images of things to come' As part of this AMALGAM OF SPIRITUALISM AND MESMERISM, she also saw Fenwick before he arrived in L. She had never met him previously. More than that she heard her dead father telling her that she and Fenwick 'will need one another.' (XVII)
So the Victorian Consciousness, which I have discussed at length in other Posts, certainly saturates this novel. We shall see such manifesting itself more and more as the novel continues.
Bulwer is lining her up, because of her susceptible temperament, to fall under the MESMERIC SPELL of the evil Margrave and the failure of Fenwick's Materialist Medicine to combat this.
Enter now, the evil MESMERIST, Margrave. I will leave you to explore the meaning of this name. Bulwer chose it deliberately. Margrave, a key figure in the novel meets Fenwick at a gathering arranged by a merchant. We are given a description of Margrave's lustrous beauty, his physical form, abundant, vitality and personal magnetism as if a Greek God was being designated.
He speaks as if he was an ancient priest of Delphi bent on the task of discovering the elixer of life. Because the quest is fraught with danger he intends to use the virgin clairvoyant Lilian Ashleigh as an oracle who will guide him step by step through each pitfall.
 |
APOLLO WITH DAPHNE
TYPIFIES MARGRAVE WITH LILIAN ASHLIE: THE GOD AND THE VIRGIN
In time sinister, yet thrilling, aspects of Margrave's personality emerge. Like a predatory, unfeeling animal he chases a squirrel up a tree, catches it, drops to the grass and kills the luckless animal. (XXIV) Later he begins a barbaric song, which thrills Fenwick to the core. Margrave declares 'it is the song by which the serpent charmer charms the serpent' (XXV) In effect he is using this chant to ensnare Lilian Ashleigh and subjugate her to his will.
You might like to see a connection here with the Victorian female Mediums, particularly in their entranced state when contacting the 'Spirits'.
Margrave's pagan wildness surfaces later when he plays the piano at a social gathering. He submits the piano to extreme torture and chants in a wild and noisy uncivilised tongue. So great is the effect that some listeners exclaimed, "It is witchcraft.... Where on earth can that young savage have come from? (XXVI)
Margrave is a strange mixture: an ancient enchanter using Victorian Mesmeric Methods to stir up primitive forces within the individual; one who has the classical attributes associated with the Greek Gods. It is as if Bulwer is trying to convey through this fictional character the age old interest in, and the roots of Magic and the Supernatural.
Fenwick feels uneasy and suspects that 'Margrave with his wild notions, his strange beauty ... might dangerously encourage that turn for the mystic and visionary' in Lilian Ashleigh. (XXX). In fact his suspicions are well founded. For, much later when Margrave has the young virgin in his power he says,
" I deepened over her mind the spells of command - therefore I have drawn her hither as the lodestone draws the steel"
It is imperative that Margrave places Lilian Ashleigh under his spell BEFORE she marries Fenwick. In his quest for the elixir of life he must recruit a PURE VIRGIN to act as a SIBYLLINE ORACLE to guide him through the perils inherent in his quest. Such a guide he considers, is Lilian Ashleigh. Once she marries Fenwick she would be a Virgin no longer and his quest would be over.
Exactly how Margrave does this and the deepening Paranormal Events Bulwer describes to re-educate Fenwick I shall pick up in my next Post.
I hope you have enjoyed this voyage.
Any Comments, thus far?
Picture Credits: Wikipedia Commons
Quotations from, 'A Strange Story' New Knebworth Edition (London 1897)
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