John Fowles, “The Magus” & The Essence of Mystery
The problem with myth is it’s sometimes elusive and mysterious nature. Within mythology, there will always be a precedent behind every action, a lie to a truth, a good to an evil, a veil to the stunning light of the Gods. Many of these mysteries consume and take control over one Nicholas Urfe, the protagonist of John Fowles novel, “The Magus”. In this brilliantly obscure and twisted novel, Nicholas Urfe encounters many mysterious and sometimes disturbing characters that seem to nevertheless plunge him into the very essence of myth.
Within the novel, one thing I realized was it’s mysterious cast of characters and the double lives many of them seemed to occupy. The Greek God Hades appears to be manifested within the character of Conchis. His trickery and lies surround Nicholas with clouds of insecurity. It is this insecurity that follows Nicholas in the form of a series of unfortunate events propelled by Conchis. Conchis resembles Hades most because of his young and beautiful wife Lily, who will represent Persephone. These two seem to continually manipulate one another, much like the manipulative abduction and eventual marriage of Persephone and Hades. The entire novel seems to be cloaked by doubt and misunderstanding. This lack of an answer, or rather lack of a question that begs an answer, is evident in many Greek myths.
Within this who’s who cast of Greek Gods and Goddess’s lingers a resemblance to mythological initiatory rituals, which are hidden behind misrepresentations of truth and lies. This association with pain and suffering consumes Nicholas’ life. When Nicholas is abruptly notified of his girlfriend Alison’s death, he is overcome with conflicting emotions;
“Inside was a typewritten note and another, airmail, envelope slit open, but I hardly looked at them because two newspaper cuttings were pinned to the top of the note […] The whole thing had happened to me before, the same sensations, the same feeling that it could not be true and was true, or vertiginous shock and superficial calm” (Fowles 396).
This passage reveals Nicholas’ doubt, and questions the validity of this news seems to be fleeting. After realizing the suicide of Alison was merely an act, I immediately recalled the letters he received, and Nicholas’ first brush with death.
Pain and suffering, within myth, can be sometimes referred to as the initiatory rites. It is said in the Eleusinian Mysteries that before one can be accepted into the light of the God must undergo pain and suffering. “Beautiful indeed is the Mystery given us by the blessed gods: death is for mortals no longer an evil, but a blessing.” –The Eleusinian Mysteries 148 (Eliade 300). In The Magus, Nicholas encounters many trials and suffers many painful experiences. Not only physical pain but mental pain as well. Conchis forces Nicholas to watch Joe and Lily have sex while he is handcuffed: “I had a vertiginous moment in which I doubted whether it had happened. An induced hallucination? Had the trial happened? Had anything ever happened? But the savage pain in my arms told me that everything had happened” (Fowles 530). It is here where the mysterious gathering of this trial convenes to reveal themselves to Nicholas, and the intentions of the ‘Godgame’ become unveiled.
Among the creators of this “game” is Conchis, who holds one of thirteen positions on the council that is the source of Nicholas’ suffering. Each individual on the council dawned robes and masks, each representing a figure of Greek mythology: A satyr, stag-devil, the crocodile-devil, the succubus, the bird-woman, the magician, the coffin-sedan, the goat-devil, the jackal-devil, the pierrot-skeleton, the corn-doll, the Aztec, and the witch. At this point in the novel, mystery is thick and each scene is as beautiful as it is twisted. The council introduces themselves as esteemed psychologists from around the world. The head of this “order” explains to Nicholas their intentions:
“We are by no means united in our theories of behavior, in our different schools, but we are united in considering the nature of the experiment is such that it is better that the subject should not, even at its conclusion, be informed of its purpose. Though I’m sure that you will – when you recollect in tranquility – find yourself able to deduce at least part of our causes from our effects’ “ (506).
Within this excerpt is the first realization of a truth, in a form. A light has been shed upon the most mysterious and sadistic nature of this ‘godgame’.
The lack of a conclusion in Fowles novel only furthers the intensity of the ultimate question. This shroud of the unknowable has been removed only to reveal the ellipsis that is mythology. The end of whatever mortal life we have now is nothing but a veil; endlessly awaiting it’s removal. Mrs. de Sietas explains life and death to Nicholas:
“’Am I ever going to be told what you think you’re doing?’
‘You have been told.’
‘Lie upon lie.’
‘Perhaps that’s our way of telling the truth. Maurice once said to me – when I had just asked a question rather like yours – he said, ‘An answer is always some form of death’” (626).
In the end The Magus will remain riddled with elusive metaphors that suggest there is an answer to our pain and suffering. These mysteries situate you between what you believe to be real, and what is truthfully the precedent behind every action.
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