THE PARANORMAL IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE: THOMAS HARDY 'THE WITHERED ARM' AND 'THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE' PART II

THE PARANORMAL, A MEANS OF ALTERING HUMAN DESTINY

In the last Post I discussed how Darwin and Folklore influenced Hardy's World-view. I suggested that both Darwinism and Folklore saw Humans in the grip of Titanic Forces. In terms of Darwinism survival would be possible by ADAPTING to such pressures. For the Folklorist Destiny could be changed by INVOKING PARANORMAL FORCES.

With this in mind we take up the study of the two novels: 'The Withered Arm' and 'The Return of the Native' We begin with 'The Withered Arm.

The story opens in a dairy, part of a country having but little contact with the wider world.



A DAIRY OF THE PERIOD DEPICTED IN 'THE WITHERED ARM'


In fact, in areas such as this there would be but one County Newspaper. People occasionally borrowed a copy from someone else. News, and of course gossip, was generally circulated by word of mouth  at the local Markets or Fairs.

In this dairy where SUPERSTITION easily dominates the minds of the workers, Rhoda Brook, is isolated from the rest: she is suspected of WITCHCRAFT. Rhoda is described as a thin, dark woman, living with her twelve year old son in 'a lonely spot ... not far from the border of Egdon Heath,' in a cottage made of 'mud walls'.



A MUD COTTAGE SIMILAR TO THE ONE RHODA BROOK LIVED IN WITH HER TWELVE YEAR OLD SON




By contrast with Rhoda, Farmer Lodge's new wife, Gertrude is described in almost angelic, innocent terms: 'almost, indeed, a girl. Her face too was fresh in colour ... soft and evanescent, like the light under a heap of rose petals.' She has 'the shyness natural to a modest woman.' She is 'a lady complete ... her hair is lightish and her face as comely as live dolls.'

Unlike Rhoda's eyes, hers are 'of a bluish turn' and her sensual mouth 'is very nice and red; and when she smiles her teeth show snow white.'  This contrast, BIOLOGICALLY DETERMINED, arouses bitter animosity in Rhoda's soul.

A BEAUTY AT THE TIME HARDY WROTE OF GERTRUDE LODGE.




So driven to jealousy, one night when Gertrude is asleep at home, Rhoda engages in a PARANORMAL RITUAL, to redress the balance, and to alter the fortunes of her rival.

Sitting over the 'turf ashes' Rhoda 'contemplated so intently the new wife' that she produces an exact mental picture of her. Rhoda then retires to bed, and as a result of this long contemplation 'Gertrude Lodge visited the supplanted woman in her dreams.' Hardy suggests that this was more than a dream because he states, 'since her assertion that she really saw, before falling asleep, was not to be believed.' As a result of the RITUAL Gertrude appeared in her 'pale silk dress ..' However, this apparition is no longer innocent, angelic, nor modest, but 'shockingly distorted, and wrinkled as by age.'

She sits upon Rhoda's chest as she lies in bed, almost suffocating her with pressure. 'Her blue eyes peered cruelly' into Rhoda's face, and 'then the figure thrust forward its left hand mockingly,' making the wedding ring 'glitter in Rhoda's eyes.' Rhoda's PARANORMAL RITUAL has called up an 'INCUBUS' which 'still regarding her withdrew to the foot of the bed, only, however, to come forward by degrees, resume her seat, and flash her left hand as before.'

A struggle ensues during which Rhoda 'seized the confronting SPECTRE by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backward to the floor.' So vivid is the whole thing that Rhoda exclaims, 'that was not a dream - she was here!' At which point the INCUBUS vanishes. The following day Rhoda 'still retained the feel of the arm.'

This passage is important for it incorporates what many people of the day believed, the idea of BODILY PROJECTION. It is similar to the Folklore idea that when horses were found reeking with sweat of a morning it was because they had been hag-ridden by witches all night. Furthermore, Gertrude's posture, combined with her physical description and the designation of her as an 'INCUBUS,' implies that Rhoda's PARANORMAL RITUAL has resulted in calling forth something which she has not anticipated: the presence of a WITCH.

This novel, therefore is profound on a number of levels. For a start it probes Gertrude's CHARACTER and shows, perhaps SUBCONSCIOUSLY, that she is egotistical, gloating, and vindictive. The colour of her eyes and her mocking gestures betray this. Yes, Gertrude is quite different from the reader's initial impression of her. It further implies that lurking within certain individuals are PARANORMAL POWERS, and aspects of the personality that one is unaware of. Such POWERS may be RELEASED by the right stimulus. The stimulus in this case is the PROJECTION of Rhoda's bitterness into the lower part of Gertrude's nature.


CALLING UP THE INCUBUS, OR WITCH

The novel seems to contain a strange paradox. At one level of interpretation Gertrude is a VICTIM of Rhoda's jealousy; at another level, she herself is the WITCH. Gertrude by unwittingly displacing Rhoda, and disinheriting Rhoda's son, arouses strong, hostile emotions. The whole thing occurs in a framework of one individual acting consciously or unconsciously upon another. Such results in setting in motion a whole chain of events with malign repercussions. In 1886 Hardy wrote in his memorandum that he firmly believed in such things.

So, once more, we need to keep in mind what I tried to show in my Posts on 'The Victorian Consciousness', that Hardy was NOT simply writing a Novel: he was DECLARING what he believed to be true, cast in the form of fiction.

I must comment on something else: both women seem to be employing the PARANORMAL in a struggle for dominance: Gertrude to maintain the status quo, Rhoda to alter it. We need to think about something else, also. The comment regarding the appearance of the wrinkles, 'as by age' on Gertrude's face. This imagery either intensifies the horror of the scene, giving Gertrude a hag-like appearance befitting a witch, or it is prophetic of Gertrude's future condition as her sufferings increase during the course of the story.

Rhoda's PARANORMAL RITUAL achieves the desired result, but it also has a number of psychological repercussions upon her. As the marks on Gertrude's arm become more prominent, and the limb begins to wither her BIOLOGICAL attractiveness to Farmer Lodge ceases. Their marriage disintegrates in direct proportion as Gertrude's arm grows worse. At first Rhoda's 'sense of having been guilty of an act of malignity increased, affect as she might to ridicule her SUPERSTITION.' We can imagine Rhoda, as she sees the horror of the situation regarding Gertrude, trying to convince herself, unsuccessfully, that she is responsible. She feels that this 'innocent young thing' whose limb bears 'the shape of her own four fingers,' should receive 'her blessing and not her curse.'

Gertrude for her part is unable to ascertain the cause. She tells Rhoda, 'One night when I was sound asleep, I was dreaming I was away in some strange place, a pain suddenly shot into my arm .. and was so keen as to awaken me. ' Strangely, Gertrude does not describe Rhoda's cottage as the scene of her out of the body journey;  nor does she mention any tussle with Rhoda. However, Gertrude 'named the night and the hour of Rhoda's spectral encounter.' These facts cause Rhoda to feel 'like a guilty thing.'

Apparently, any part that Rhoda plays in the drama is MOTIVATED SUBCONSCIOUSLY for she muses: 'O, can it be that I exercise a malignant power over people against my own will?' Perhaps this was the reason why Rhoda 'had been slily called a witch'.

Fighting for the survival of her marriage Gertrude also resorts to the PARANORMAL. She and Rhoda visit Conjurer Trendle.







A NINETEENTH CENTURY CONJURER OR MAGICIAN


Trendle is a Conjurer in the true sense of the word. He is not a person practicing tricks or sleight of hand, but a true MAGICIAN who works with PARANORMAL POWER.

This visit has a strange psychological effect on Rhoda. She experiences 'a horrid fascination at times in becoming instrumental in throwing such possible light on her own character as would reveal her to be something greater in the OCCULT WORLD than she had ever herself expected.'

Here then is the paradox. On the one hand Rhoda feels guilty about the whole episode and the disintegration of Gertrude's marriage as a result of the PARANORMAL drama. On the other hand she seems to derive an egotistical sense of her own importance.

Trendle as we shall see in the next Post begins a PARANORMAL RITUAL. But enough has been said for now. I shall pick up from here in a day or so.

Any Comments?

Picture Credits Wikimedia Commons

Quotations From The New Wessex Edition (London 1977) of 'The Withered Arm' in Wessex Tales

THE PARANORMAL IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE: THOMAS HARDY, 'THE WITHERED ARM' AND 'THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

THE PARANORMAL, A MEANS OF ALTERING HUMAN DESTINY

In 'The Withered Arm' (1888) and 'The Return of the Native' (1878) we find a strange mixture of ideas. Some seem derived from the theory of Darwin, and others from primitive Folklore elements. Hardy uses the PARANORMAL to tie these twin strands together. What does this imply? mainly that Hardy had a complex view of the world, which meant that his views of Humankind were a mixture of Darwinism and the influence of Folklore.

Let me make this clearer. Simply put, each system of thought saw Man in the grip of titanic forces, which CONTROLLED HIS DESTINY. Both notions contain a FATALISTIC element. This notion resounds throughout all of Hardy's work.

Darwin argued that the fittest survive by adapting biologically, and perhaps culturally, to their environment; the adherents of Folklore and superstition held that INDIVIDUAL DESTINIES could be modified by enlisting supernatural powers through PARANORMAL RITUALS.

In the two novels it will be shown how Hardy's World View was articulated by both of the influences I have mentioned.




THOMAS HARDY PONDERING WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT

Let us look at one or two early influences that pin down what I have suggested. Keep close in mind the three points of early contact: Christianity; Darwinism; and Folklore.

Let us begin with Christianity. It is reported that in his early youth Hardy dressed himself in a tablecloth to resemble the local parson, and then climbing upon a chair read out the Morning Service. As a boy he attended the Dorchester 'British School', a non-conformist Institution set up by the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1858, when he was eighteen years old he had long religious discussions with Henry Bastow, A Baptist. He encouraged Hardy to attend Prayer Meetings. Around this time Hardy seriously considered taking up the Christian Ministry. So, we can see that some of these Christian influences went deep.

However, by the mid 1860s his ideas began to shift. Although Hardy still had some regard for the veracity of the Bible, he no longer accepted many of the teachings of the Church. Why was this? At this time Hardy met Horace Mosely Moule, Cambridge Fellow, writer for the Saturday Review, and son of the vicar of Fenington. This man, who later cut his own throat, was primarily responsible for introducing Hardy to the philosophies of the day. He seems instrumental in drawing attention to Darwin's ideas.






CARICATURE OF DARWIN IN VANITY FAIR 1871

Therefore, due to Moule's influence Hardy began to broaden his reading. Two works in particular, amongst numerous others, had a corrosive effect on his view of Orthodox Religion. They were 'Essays and Reviews' and 'The Origin of the Species'. The first of these works, although hardly known today raised a storm in Church circles. It consisted of a series of articles which, written by 'progressive' Ministers of the Church, cast doubt on many accepted doctrines of Christianity. The authors were branded as heretics and labelled as enemies of Christ. The ideas of Darwin are so well known that it is uneccessary to discuss them here.

What was the result of Hardy's reading? Mainly this, that by the 1880s he had definite reservations regarding the relationship of Orthodox Religion to the Natural World. In 1890 he recorded in his notebook that he had been looking for God for five decades, and surely if he existed,Hardy thought, he should after all that time have found Him. So, Hardy came to believe that Natural Processes, rather than the direct creation by God accounted for the arrival of Man. But here is the paradox: in spite of these influences Hardy still retained some regard for the Music of the Church, and for what he believed were its Civilising Influences. Hardy reminds one of G.H.Lewes and his attitude to Spiritualism. Neither could ignore the practices, attack them though they might.

What then was Thomas Hardy's view of FOLKLORE and the other aspects of the PARANORMAL?

In the 'Pall Mall Magazine' in 1901 Hardy said that he would give ten years of his life to see a credible ghost. Furthermore, he insisted that he was a believer, but thus far, despite his willingness to see an apparition, .he had been disappointed. Even so, late in life he did claim to have had an encounter with an apparition outside Stinsford Church. Here, he asserted, a man in eighteenth century dress greeted him and walked into the Church. Hardy immediately followed and found no one.

Although, not convinced by many of the Spiritualist Practices of the day, he seemed to think some phenomena were capable of a scientific explanation, whereas others might be genuine Paranormal phenomena. He believed that he had experienced some sort of TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION  whilst riding on a train to London. At this time he had begun to jot down a few lines of his poem, 'Thoughts of Phena'. The theme of this poem is the sadness experienced by the death of a woman. Out of the Blue, the thought of Hardy's cousin flashed into his mind. He was completely unaware that she was dying. Six days after his experience she passed away.

There are many other PARANORMAL interests that Hardy had, such as Wraiths But enough has been said on this.

Hardy's sensitive temperament as well as his boyhood influences certainly inclined him towards the PARANORMAL. The environment in which Hardy lived had hardly altered from Medieval and Elizabethan Times.





A MEDIEVAL VILLAGE IN DORSET MUCH AS HARDY WOULD HAVE KNOWN IT


In these villages the inhabitants were barely educated, were deeply superstitious, and they had a strong belief in witchcraft. Execution of criminals still took place, and, around the fire at night the same stories of unusual happenings were retold for centuries. It seems that people like  Rhoda Brook and Susan Nonsuch (characters in 'The Withered Arm' and 'The Return of the Native') lived in Dorset in the early part of the nineteenth century. Also, Thomas Hardy's Mother and Grandmother were often plying young Hardy with tales of the supernatural. In fact the author's own cousin, Elizabeth Endorfield, had also fallen under the suspicion of being a witch or sorceress.




CIRCE THE ANCIENT SORCERESS OFFERS ULYSSES A POTION TO BRING HIM UNDER HER SPELL

So, here we have it: plently of material for Hardy to work into his novels. Please keep one thing in mind, as I stated in relation to the other novelists: Hardy was not merely writing two stories; he was DECLARING his own viewpoint and position.

It is far too involved to take up the interpretations of those scholars who see that Hardy, whilst adhering to a Darwinian viewpoint, simply recorded the PARANORMAL and FOLKLORE elements to keep them alive.I take the view that Hardy was using the DOUBLE VOCABULARY of Ancient Folklore and Modern Science to bring out his own view of Man's relationship to Cosmic Forces. Both systems of thought see human destiny affected by forces outside Man's control: whether ADAPTING in the face of such pressures in order to survive, or ENLISTING THE AID OF SUPERNATURAL POWERS, HUMAN DESTINY COULD BE CHANGED.

So, we shall see how in 'The Withered Arm' and 'The Return of the Native' Hardy uses an amalgam of the Paranormal and Modern Science when discussing Human Fate and its possible modification. It must be appreciated that although modern readers might think that the practices and beliefs of some of his characters are bizarre, Hardy did not.
 
Having had 'The Withered Arm' rejected by Longman's Magazine, Hardy despatched it to Blackwoods.  He informed the publishers that the main events in the novel were true because he knew the two women he had characterised. In fact, in conversation in 1894 with Edward Clodd , the Folklorist, Hardy assured him that whatever superstitions or customs appeared in his novels they were not fictionalisations, but genuine accounts.

After that preamble, let us dig into 'The Withered Arm' (1888).

This is a story about two women, Rhoda Brook, and Gertrude Lodge. Gertrude, without realising it, has supplanted Rhoda in the affections and estate of Farmer Lodge. Farmer Lodge is the father of Rhoda's son.

If one was reading the story from a DARWINIAN PERSPECTIVE it would be interpreted as a FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL on the part of the two women with the more sexually attractive of the two, Gertrude, at first coming out on top. From such an interpretation Rhoda's destiny would be fixed: rejection and an ultimate descendancy on the social scale.




HARDY'S SECOND WIFE, FLORENCE, SEEMS THE PICTURE OF DEJECTION. SHE WAS ALSO PUSHED ASIDE WHILST HARDY CONCENTATED ON HIS DEAD WIFE, EMMA.


However, Hardy resorts to the ideas and principles of the PARANORMAL to alter Rhoda's fate. Rhoda uses a PARANORMAL RITUAL, namely a MESMERIC TRANCE to change the course of her destiny. SUPERNATURAL FORCES take over in two stages: Gertrude's beauty is blighted; her death follows. Each of these stages I shall deal with in turn.

In my Next Posting in a day or two I shall open up the two Novels I have mentioned and explore them from the Paranormal perspective.

Until then, dig into the two novels.

Any Comments?

Picture Credits: Wikipedia Commons