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.

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