cormac mccarthy's "the road" as apocalyptic grail narrative

20 Pages·2011·1.61 MB·English

CORMAC MCCARTHY'S "THE ROAD" AS APOCALYPTIC GRAIL NARRATIVE
Author(s): LYDIA R. COOPER
Source: Studies in the Novel, Vol. 43, No. 2 (summer 2011), pp. 218-236
Published by: Studies in the Novel, University of North Texas
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41228678 .
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CORMAC MCCARTHY'S THE ROAD AS
APOCALYPTIC GRAIL NARRATIVE
LYDIA COOPER
I believet hatw e are arkso f thec ovenanta nd our truen atureis not
rageo r deceito r terroorr logico r crafto r evens orrowI.t is longing.
- CormacM cCarthyW, halesa nd Men
The Holy Graili s a standardsy mboli n theE nglishl anguagef ora n
objecto f searchf ar-offm, ysteriouosu, to fr each.
- DhiraB . MahoneyT, heG rail:A Casebook
CormacM cCarthy'sT he Road (2006), withi ts ashen,p ost-apocalyptic
landscape,s eemsa strikindge parturfer omt her ealismo f his earliern ovels.
Inspiredin partb y grimi mageso f wandererisn "biohazard"s uitso r wearing
masks and goggles" like ruineda viators"{ The Road 51, 24), manyc ritics
identifyth e unnamedc atastrophteh atp recipitatetsh e novel as a nuclear
holocaust(s ee e.g.,C hristmanM). cCarthyh imselfim aginest hed isastert o be
a meteors trikea,l thoughh e claimst hat" his moneyi s on humansd estroying
each otherb eforea n environmentcaalt astrophsee ts in" (Kushner).Y et few
criticsh avee xploredju sth owu nusualt hef antastiacn df uturistliacn dscapeo f
'
TheR oad is. In an interviewre gardintgh eC oen brotherfs ilmo fh is2 005 novel
No Countrfyo rO ld Men,M cCarthycl aimst hath e preferlsi terarrye alismo ver
more" magical"g enres". [I]t'sh arde nought og etp eoplet ob elievew haty ou're
tryintgo tellt hemw ithoumt akingit impossible,h" e says." You havet o make
it vaguelyp lausible"( Grossman6 3). While The Road does bear McCarthy's
typicaal ttentiotno a ccuracyin all them inutiaoef h isd escriptiontsh, ee xcesses
ofc arnagea nda pocalyptihc orroirn i tsp agesm ays tretcthh el imitso fc redulity.
In fact,o ne criticf indst hew orldo f then ovel so sublimelyd amagedt hati t
musth avea "supernaturcaalu se,"a ndh e thereforceo ncludest hatT heR oad is
Studieisn t heN ovelv, olum4e 3,n umbe2r ( Summe2r0 11).C opyrigh©t 2 011b yt he
UniversiotfyN ortThe xasA. llr ighttso r eproductiionna n yf ormre served.
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MCCARTHY / 219
a retellingof theB ook of Revelation(G rindley1 2). The fantastiecl ementsin
then ovel,h owevera,r en ots upernaturaalll egoryb, utm ythologicaml otifT. he
novel'st itlei n an earlyd raftw as The Grail} a titlei llustrativoef then arrative
arc in whicha dyingf athere mbarkso n a quest to preserveh is son, whom
he imaginesa s a "chalice"( McCarthyT, he Road 64), thes ymbolicv essel of
divineh ealingi n a realmb lightedb y somec atastrophidci sease.T he motifos f
theW asteL and,t hed yingF isherK ing,a ndt hep otentialluyn attainablhee aling
balm in thec up of Christp rovidep articularlayp t metaphortsh roughw hich
TheR oad examinesp ervasivea pocalyptifc earsi n ordert o explorei fa nd how
theh umanp rojectm ayb e preserved.
It mayb e usefulf irstto e stablishc ommong railm otifbs eforein vestigating
theira pplicationi n The Road. The principale arly "Grail" textsf all into
two general categories:c hivalricr omancesa bout King Arthur'sk nights
encounterintgh eg raila nd historieos f theg railf romt het imeo f Christt o its
removalt o BritainT. he firstc ategoryh as been them osti nfluentiainl terms
of those stories'i mpactu pon subsequentl iteratureT.h is categoryi ncludes
Chrétiend e TroyesC' onted el Graal,W olframvo nE schenbach'sP arzival,a nd
theQ uested el SaintG raal (Loomis l).(See Loomis 2-4 and Weston1 2-15.)
The firsttw o of theset extsi n particulahr ave as theq uesth erot heA rthurian
knightP erceval,a s well as them ostc ommona nd consistennt arrativter opes
(Weston1 5). In thiss torylineP,e rcevali s a youngb oyr aisedi n thew ilderness
by his motheraf terh is knight-fathedre'sa thi n battleT. he wild,u ntrainebdo y
one day sees someo fA rthur'ks nightrs idingin thew oods.C aptivatedb y the
sighth, e followst hemt oA rthur'cso urtl,e avingh is motherg rief-strickesnh;e
laterd ies of herg riefD. uringh is journeyP, ercevalf indst wo menf ishingin
a boat.O ne of them eni s theF isherK ing,w ho offerts heb oy hospitalitfyo r
then ightA. t theF isherK ing's castle,P ercevals ees an olderk ingd yingo f a
grievousw ound.P ercevalf ailst o ask the" rightq uestion"( a questionr elating
eithert o whata ils theo lderm an,w ho is usuallyt heF isherK ing's fathero,r
whomt heg rails erves).A ftera feasti n whicht heg raili s introducetdo the
companyP,e rcevalf allsa sleepa ndw henh e awakest hec astlea ndi tsk ingsa re
gone.H e theng oeso n a questt of inda wayt oh ealt heo ld kinga ndh isk ingdom.
Att hee ndo ft het ale,h e once againf indst hek ingsa ndt hec astle.T hist imeh e
asks ther ightq uestiona nd thek inga nd kingdoma re healed (Loomis 29-62;
Weston3 9-45; Campbell2 46-60). The key motifso f thisn arrativet,h en,a re
thew ild boyhoodo f Perceval;t heF isherK ing's appearanceo n a boat or in
somew aya ssociatedw ithw ater;t hep hysicalw oundingo r illnesso f thee lder
FisherK ing; theg rail'sa ppearancea t a feast;a nd thef ailureo f thef irsqt uest
to theF isherK ing's castle( Weston4 6-7; Mahoney7 -8).
The themeso f the grail narrativet hatr esonatet hroughm oderna nd
postmodervne rsionso f thet ale are thed yingk inga nd his kingdomw, hich
is infectedb y the rootc ause of his woundingT. he cause of the wounding
in particulabr ecomesp aramounta,n d the cause is almosti nevitablyli nked
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220 / COOPER
to humanc orruptionT.h e grail,t hen,b ecomesa metaphorf ort hatw hichi s
capable of healinga worldt erriblyin need of spirituaol r moralr enewal.I n
an earlye xampleo f thist rendA, lfred,L ord Tennyson'sId yllso f the King
diagnosest hek ingdom'ss ufferinags a symptomof humans infulnessIn. this
tale,P ercival'ss istera, nun,r eceivesa visiono f theg raila fters he expresses
here arnestd esiref ors omethintgh atw ill providea n antidotet o humanv ice:
"Ah,C hrist,s"h ep rays", thati t [theg rail]w ouldc ome/ A ndh eal thew orldo f
all theirw ickedness!"(l ines 93-4,T ennyson1 21). DhiraB . Mahoneyc laims
thatT . S. Eliot's The WasteL and likewises eizes upon the "symbolso f the
WasteL and and theF isherK ing" as vividd escriptorosf the" culturasl terility
of a modernw orldd evastatedb y theG reatW ar"( 57). Textse mployingg rail
metaphorisn ordert o expressc ontemporaneoucso ncernsw ithv iolencea nd
atrocityh ave,i f anythingp,r oliferateidn literaturaen d popularc ultures ince
Eliot's The WasteL and. JohnM arino,f ore xample,e xaminess everalf ilms
fromt he latterp arto f the twentietche nturyf,r omF rancisF ord Coppola's
ApocalypsNe ow( 19 79) toT erryG illiam'sT heF isherK ing( 19 9 1) , as evidence
of a "transformatioonf" t heg raili ntoa metaphofro rp oliticalc oncernsT. he
graila ndF isherK ingm otifsh, e says,a ret urnedto againa nda gaina s symbols
that" bringm eaningt o a humane xperienceo ftent houghtto be meaningless"
in a worldc haracterizebdy "destructioonn a global scale, widespreads ocial
injusticea, nd loss of faithi n thet raditionaalb solutest hate xplainedr eality"
(115-16). Because theW asteL and motifi s thep rimaryim petusf ors eeking
theg rail,c ontemporareyvo cationso f grailm ythtse ndt o situateg rails ymbols
withina n apocalypticf earo f immanendt isasterr esultingf roma corruption
wroughbty h umanitiyt self.
The salientt hemeo f thesec ontemporarvye rsionso f the grail,i n other
wordsi,s thato fa contesbt etweenf ertilitayn ds terilityth, ef ertilitsyy mbolized
by theg rail,t heo bjectw ithouwt hicht heF isherK ing will die and thew orld
along withh im,a nd the sterilityof a worldr eapingt he consequenceso f a
perceiveds ocial evil. It is thisl ast aspect,t hea ssociationo f theW asteL and
withr elevansto cialc oncernst,h ati lluminatetsh ei mportancoef g railm otifisn
McCarthy'Ts heR oad. The blastedl andscapea t theo peningo ft hisn ovel,w ith
its "wastedc ountrya"n d its stagnanrt iverc hokedw ith" dead reeds,"s eems
hauntedb yE liot's" dead land"w ithi ts" rootst hatc lutch.. . /O ut of thiss tony
rubbish("M cCarthyT,h eR oad 5; Eliot5 , lines2 , 19-20).2J usta s Eliota pplies
theW asteL and and FisherK ing motifst o an apocalypticv ersiono f London
in ordert o addresss ocial and ethicalc oncernss,o also TheR oad's evocations
of thosem otifss uggestt he powero f the grailn arrativaes a metaphorf or
an extendeds tudyo n a worlds eemingly" wounded"a nd "wasted"b eyond
recognitionp,o ssiblyb eyonds alvation.
The mythologicaml otifsu nderpinnintgh e narrativein The Road, of
course,a re not ultimatelyas much of a departurfe romt he more obvious
realismo f McCarthy'esa rliern ovelsa s it mayi nitiallyse em.A s manyc ritics
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MCCARTHY / 221
have noted,d espitet heirh istoricallryo otedc ontextsa nd accuracyo f detail,
McCarthy'esa rliern ovelsa rec haracteristicaldlrye nchedin m ythologicmal otif
and allegoricals ensibilityo,f tenr eflectinign particulara debtt o traditional
Europeant ropest, exts,a nd narrativme odes.R ussellM . Hillier,f ore xample,
demonstratheso wC hildo fG od is a "subversivpe arody"o fP ilgrim's Progress
(58). JayE llis tracest he heritageo f thec hivalricr omancei n All theP retty
Horses and The Crossingf, romt hec hivalricc odes to theh ierarchicaslo cial
orderingof "knightsa"n d "squires,"t o say nothingo f thet hematiocb session
withc onceptss ucha s honora nd revenge( 213). In fact,J ohnC ants uccinctly
claimst hat" [m]ucho f what[ McCarthyh] as writtenis allegoricali n nature"
("Oedipus"5 5). The issue,t hen,i s nott hatg railm otifsf igureso prominently
in TheR oad butr atherw hyM cCarthytu rnst o grailm ythologiyn his (to date)
onlya historicanl ovel.
The apocalypticismof TheR oad seemst o be a responset o an immediate
and visceralf earo f cataclysmicd oom in theU nitedS tatesa ftert het errorist
attackso n 9/11 . DianneC . Luce claimst hatt hen ovel" had itsg enesisi n a very
specificm oment"M: cCarthyim aginedt hea pocalyptisce ttingw hiles tayingin
a hoteli nE l Paso withh isy oungs on,J ohnF rancisM cCarthy",p erhapsn otl ong
afterS eptember11 , 2001" (9). Luce's explicita ssociationo ft hep resentiment-
ladend arknesos f then ovelw itht hee ventso f 9/11i s notf urtheerx ploredb ut
deservese xpositionT. he Road has at its core thed esiret o drivet her eader's
imaginationin to contactw itha n extremev ision of an apocalypse-ravaged
futurAe mericat, heret o discoverw hat- if anything-r emains.T3h e desiret o
reconstructth e worldb y deconstructinitg s eems to reflectt he fundamental
fearu nderlyintgh en ovel,n amelyt, hef eart hath umanb eingsm ayn oti n fact
deservet o survive.
The Road indeed commencesw itha scene in whicht he fatherh as a
nightmarvei siono f humankind'psa rticipatioinn its own destructionIn. this
dreamt, hef athetra kesh iss onb yt heh anda ndg oesi ntoa cave wherea slavering
monster"p ale and nakeda nd translucents"t andsb y a lake. So translucenits
them onsterth att hef atherca n see itsb ones,b owels,h eart,a nd brain,w hich
"puls[es]i n a dullg lassb ell" (3). The emphasisu pont hem onster'ps ossession
of a hearta nd a minds trikeas terrifyinngo te,a s theb eastt urnsf romt hem an
andb oya nd lopes "soundlesslyin tot hed ark"( 4). Contrastewd itht hef ather's
refrainth att heb oy must" carryt he fire"( 234), a metaphorf ort hep ractice
of civilitya nd ethics,t hisd arknesss eems to represenat willfuld ullnesso f
emotiona nd intellectT. heR oad, then,i s a narrativien whicha mana nd boy
battlea gainsta n encroachindga rknestsh att,h en ovels uggestsh, asb eenc reated
by theh umansi t destroysI.n TheS pirito f TerrorismJ,e anB audrillardcl aims
thatt he West's fearo f terrord erivesf roma subconsciousr ecognitionth at
thei ncreasingan d increasingliyn egalitariapno werw ieldedb y theW esth as
createda systemt hath as fosterewd ithinit selft hev ery" conditionfso r.. .brutal
retaliation("9 ). It is ther ecognitioonf W esternso ciety'sc omplicityin itso wn
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222 / COOPER
destructiotnh atr esidesa t ther ooto f irrationaaln d apocalyptifc eare xpressed
in literaturaer, t,a ndp ublicr hetorifco llowingth ee ventso f 9/11 , he says.T he
"countlessd isasterm ovies"o f the contemporareyr a "bear witness"t o this
dread,r epresentinags theyd o a collectivef ascinatiown ithi magest hata ct out
thed estructiviem pulset o "rejecta nys ystem...[ thata] pproachesp erfectioonr
omnipotence("7 ). Baudrillardsu ggestst hati mageso f terroirn literaturaef ter
9/11,w orldsb urninagn d turnintgo ash,a ree videnceo ft heA mericanp ublic's
feart hatt hep ursuiotf p oliticalg, lobala scendencyis in itselfa n acto fv iolence
whoseb acklashw illb e boths taggerinign itsm agnitudaen d inexorablein its
execution.
Even moret hant hef ather'sd reamo f thed ark-seekinbge ast,T he Road
conjuresu p a nightmarwe orldo f firea nd ash thati llustrateBs audrillard's
claim.A ftera ll, as them an's wifep ointso ut,t heirw orldi s notj ust ruined;
it is cinematicalldye stroyed":W e're thew alkingd ead in a horrorf ilm,"s he
says (McCarthyT, he Road 47). Her referencteo Americanp ulp apocalyptic
filmss uggestsa correlationb etweent he futuristiwc orldo f the novel and
thef earso f thec urrendta y.W hateverh as caused thea ctuald evastationt,h e
novela rgues,i t is thei nternaclo rruptioonf people who soughtt oo long for
theiro wn power,w ho placedt heiro wn needsa bove thoseo f otherst, hath as
broughth umanityto its doom. The novel thusp articipatetsh ematicalliyn
thep rojectso f contemporarpyo pularr esponsest o 9/11,e xploringa s it does
attributeosf communagl uilt,t errora,n d what,i f anythingh,u manityca n find
thatm ayp rovidea way out of thed arknessI.n particulart,h eset hemesa re
explicatedt hroughg raill egendm otifs-t heb oy as Percevala nd as theg rail,
thef athears thed yingF isherK ing,a nda perilousjo urneyin whichf indintgh e
rightq uestiona nd profferintgh er ighta nsweri s thek eyt o bringingb ack the
potentiafl orh ealing.
Because earlyd raftso f thisn ovel weret itledT he Grail,i t is clear that
McCarthyp ositionedt he novel as a typeo f grailn arrativfer omt heb ook's
genesis.H oweverw, hilet heb oyi s thes ymbolicg railo f thee arlyd raft'st itle,
narrativpea tternssu ggestt hath e is a Percevalf igurea s well. Borna ftert he
catastrophteh ate ndedh umanc ivilizationt,h eb oy is at least partiallyf eral;
he is unfamiliawr iths uch basic trappingos f humans ocietya s shopping,
sittingat a table,e venw alkingu p stairsF. ore xample,w hent hef athefri ndsa n
abandonede, leganth ouse,t hem ana nd boy go in,f indr emnantosf food,a nd
eata ta table,a decorousr eenactmenoft m oresa ndc ustomslo ngv anishedY. et,
whilet her itualizedd innerr emindtsh ef atheorf h isc hildhoodt,h eb oye xhibits
deep discomforHt.e asks his fathers everalt imesi f theyc an "wait" before
goingi ntot heh ouse( 172); he balksa t goingu pstair(s1 73, 177); andt hef ather
thinkts hatt heb oy,s tandingu ndert hec handelierin thep alatiald iningr oom,
looksl ikea "trollc omei n fromt hen ight"(1 75). Yetd espiteh is primitivleif e,
theb oy is obsessedw ithb eingl ike theh eroeso f his father'ss tories( 35, 65,
116,2 37), drawnl ikeP ercevalt owards hininge xampleso f chivalry.
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MCCARTHY / 223
A keyd ifferencoef, course,i s thatP ercevala bandonsh is motherl,e aving
hert o die of griefi,n ordert o pursuek nighthoodIn. TheR oad, theb oya ndh is
fathehr aveb een abandonedb y theb oy's motherw, hok illsh erselfin anguish,
notb ecauseh ers on has lefth erb utb ecause hers on was borna t all. She tells
herh usbandt hath er" heartw as rippedo ut of [her]t he night[ theb oy] was
born"( 48). The mother'asb jectl acko fp ityf oro r emotionacl onnectionto her
childs uggestst hats heh as beenp oisonedb y thei nternaaln d externadl eatho f
herw orld.T he mother's" coldness"( 49), howeverc, ontrastws itha n earlier
metaphoridce pictiono f thes un as a "grievingm otherw itha lamp" (28). In
thisa rchaicallyg eocentriicm age,t he sun,w hose raysa re blockedf romt he
earthb y thea sh cloud thath as coveredt hep laneta nd precipitatetdh ed eath
of its floraa nd fauna,e ndlessly" circles"t he clouded spherel ike a woman
searchingfo ra childn owl ostt oh er( 28). In thism etaphorisch iftt,h es unp lays
ther oleo f them otherab andonedb y herc hild,w hilet heb oy's humanm other
is an embodimenotf thee gocentrisman d faithlessnestsh ata re swiftlyk illing
thep lanet.
In then ovel,t hes ublunary(i n thep reviousm etaphorm, orep roperlyth e
sub-solarw) orldi s infectedw itha viralp lague.T hatd isease,g ivenv oice by
the mothera nd, lateri n the novel,b y the wanderingan ti-propheEtl,y , is a
catastrophilco ss of faithi n the humane ndeavor( 145). That loss of mental
and emotionacl ommitmentto othersr esultsi n dissociativeb ehaviorr anging
fromt hem other'sr ejectiono f hers on to people devouringth eiro wn infants
(167). Althoughth em other'sd espairo stensiblyd erivesf romt het ragedyth at
has snatchedh erw orlda wayf romh er,h erd escriptioonf h eri nternaclo ndition
epitomizeasn attitudteh atM cCarthyat tributetso thea ctualw orlda s well.T he
motherex plainst o herh usbandt hath er" onlyh ope is fore ternanl othingness
and [she] hope[s] for it with all [her] heart"( 49). The mother'ss uicidal
ideationin TheR oad is phraseda lmoste xactlyt hes amew aya s is thes uicidal
commitmenestp ousedb yt hea cademic,W hite,in McCarthy'ps layT heS unset
Limitedp, ublishedt hes ame yeara s The Road and set in contemporarNye w
YorkC ity:" Now therei s onlyt heh ope of nothingnessW," hites ays." I cling
to thath ope" (141). The boy's motherin The Road and Whitei n The Sunset
Limitedi,n otherw ords,b othe xpressa fatalistibc elieft hath umans uffering,
senselessv iolence,a nd thel oss of meaningo nce foundi n traditionarle ligions
underminaen y abilityf ors urvivalt o have meaningb eyonda prolongingof
pointlessa gony.
Poised countert o the mother'sn ihilisticb eliefi n the pointlessnesos f
humans urvivalo,f c ourse,i s hers on.I n additiont oh isd epictionas a Perceval-
esque wildc hilde namoredo fd reamso fc hivalryt,h eb oyi s himselfth en ovel's
grail.T his symbolicf usingis nota s odd as it mays eem.E arlyg railn arratives
have in commona thematiicn sistenceo n thep urityo f theg railb earera s an
essentialc omponenot f the grail'sa bilityr eturnto humankind(W eston1 5).
Becauset heg railc annota ppeari n substantiaflo rmin t heh umanr ealmw ithout
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224 / COOPER
an appropriatbee arert, heb eareri neffablbye comesp arto f theg rail.A t one
point,t hef atherse es his son standinga head of hima nd thinkst hatt heb oy
is "glowingi n thatw astel ike a tabernacle("M cCarthyT, he Road 230). The
tabernacleo,f course,i s thet entt hath ousedt hep resenceo f God in ancient
Israel. The boy,h erep ictureda s a vessel made translucenbty the gloryo f
thee ssenceo f divinityw ithinh im,i s consistentlays sociatedw ithl ightL. ater,
he is a "tinyp aradiset remblinign the orangel ightf romt he heater"( 126),
an image thato nce again associatest he boy withl ighta nd makes him an
instantiatioonft her ealmo fG od. Whileo n theo ne handt hesem etaphorsse em
onlyt angentialllyin kedt o graili magery(t heyi maginet heb oya s a locationi n
whicht hed eityd wells,a s opposedt o a vesself ora healings ubstancpe roduced
by thed eity),t heg raili s actuallye xplicitlyas sociatedw ithp aradisea nd the
immediatper esenceo fG od in old grailn arrativeAs.c cordingto earlyl egends,
sometimaef terit sj ourneyt o Englande, itherd uringo r afterA rthur'rse ignt, he
chalicei s takent o paradiseb ecauset he" worldw as notw orthyto possesst he
Vessel"( Waite4 85). The graili s now in paradise,i n otherw ords,b ecause of
thec orruptioonf t hew orlda nd thea bsenceo f anym anc apableo f bearingt he
chalicet o sickenedk ingsa nd kingdomsT. he boy,l iket heg rail,t husb ecomes
theo bjectt hatb ringst hee ssenceo f divinityba ckt o a corruptewd orld.
Whilet heb oy is describedin termse vocativeo f theg rail,a s a "house"
ford ivinel ightt, hef atheru nderscoretsh ec onnectiond,e scribingth eb oya s a
graila nd a houses imultaneouslHye. calls theb oya "[g]o ldenc halice,g ood to
housea god" (64). The grailm akess everalo thera ppearanceasl ongt hen ovel's
barrenr oad,a s well.A ccordingt o RogerL oomis,p hysicald escriptionosf the
graili n earlyl egendsa re oddlym utabled ue to the challengeo f translation
and thet ransmissioonf grailn arrativetsh oughd ifferenctu lturesE. ven within
the same narrativet,h e grail may variouslyb e describeda s a "chalice,"a
"ciborium"(t hati s, a "coveredg oblets urmountebdy a cross"),t he "Host"
(thet ransubstantiatbeodd yo fC hristin thef ormo fb read)o n a plattera,n da s a
"stone"w ithm agicalp ropensitie(Ls oomis2 8). In thes cenei n whicht hef ather
calls his son a chalice,t hen arrativien facte vokest hei mageo f a ciborium.
The fatherh as set up camp underneatahn old bridgew itht raint racks.H e
buildsa firen eart heb oy,w hoi s illuminatebdy the" glowo ft hel ightw itht he
shadowo ft heb ridge'su nderstructuroev"e rh im( 63). Specificallyt,h eb oys its
illuminateidn goldenl ightl ikea "chalice"w hile" [o]verhead[i s] thei ronwork
brownw ithr ust,t heh ammeredri vetst, hew oodens leepersa nd crossplanks"
(63). The boy-as-chalicein, otherw ords,is overshadowebdy t hec ross-shaped
silhouettoef ther isingb uttresasn d cross-plankebdr idgeo verh im,a visual
evocationo ft heg old-platedg obletw itha domedl id and a crossa ffixedab ove
thel id. In anothers cene,t hef atherw atchesh is son standingin fallings now
and thinktsh att hes nowi s liket he" lasth osto f Christendom(1"3 ). And when
the fatherm urdersa cannibal,t he boy becomes "mutea s stone" (56)- a
reactionb orni n virtuouhs orrorat botht hec annibal'sa nd his father'vs iolent
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MCCARTHY / 225
acts.E ach oft hesed escriptionesv oket heg rail'sv ariousi terationisn t heC onte
del Graal andt heQ uested el SaintG raal (Loomis2 9), so thatT heR oad is shot
throughw ithg limpseso f thee lusivev essel in thes ame way as are theq uests
of Percevala nd Galahad.
In additiont o beingd escribeda s theg rail,t heb oy is also associatedw ith
his rolea s theg rail-beareAr.s he lies dyingt, hef atherse es his son approach,
carryinag cup of waterw ith" lighta ll abouth im."A fterh e givest hew atert o
his fathert,h eb oy leaves and "thel ightm ove[s] withh im"( 233). The halo
of firelighstu rroundintgh ec up-bearesru ggestst hec omplicatedim ageo f the
boya s theg rail.A ccordingt o legend,t heg raili s thec up Josepho fA rimathea
used to catchd ropso f Christ'sb lood as he hungo n thec ross.T he restorative
substancien t hec up,i n shorti,s blood.Y etw hilet heb oyi s describedas a vessel
ford ivinitym anyt imest hroughoutth e novel,t hosed escriptionesm phasize
them oree phemeraql ualitieso f divinityIn. additiont o beingf illedw ithl ight,
theb oy is also thev ery" wordo f God" and,e lsewheret, he" breatho f God"
(4, 241). The comparativeliyn corporeailm ageso f light,w ord,a nd breatha s
evidenceo f them iraculousr estorativpeo wersr estingin theb oy,i n contrast
to imageso f blood,a re notn ecessarilya contradictioTnh. e Bible does, after
all, claim that" thel ifeo f the fleshi s in theb lood,"t herebyas sociatingt he
mysticacl oncepto f the "life force"o f a creaturew ithi ts blood. However,
because blood is synonymouws ith life, the Bible explains thatd rinking
blood is an act of desecrationu nlesst he drinkerim bibesf roma ritualized
ceremoniaclu p (in theN ew Testamentt,h et ransubstantiatweidn e),s ince" iti s
theb lood [of a ceremoniallysl aughtereidn nocentt]h atm aketha n atonement
fort hes oul" (King JamesV ersionL, ev. 17:11). In otherw ords,t hef actt hat
McCarthy'sn ovel depictst he lifef orce( the "breatho f God") in theb oy in
termso f wordsa nd lights uggestsa n intentionaml ovementa way fromt he
concepto fs anctificatiotnh rougbhl ood,a shiftth ati s perhapse xplicatedb yt he
literabl lood-drinkepros pulatintgh ew astedl andscapeT. hesec annibalh ordes,
associateda s theya re withs pit-roasteidn fantasn d half-eatenh umanv ictims
(167, 93), underminaen yc apacityt hei mageo fb loodh as to be redemptivIef.
theb oyi s thed istillede ssenceo fC hristt,h isC hristis representendo tb yb lood
butb y words.
Because TheR oad depictsa viscerallyr ealisticw astelandt,h ef actt hatt he
grail'sh ealings ubstanceis metaphoricarla therth anp hysicals eemso dd. But
thev eryp hysicalitoyf t hew astelandis itselfa t leastp artiallym etaphoricaIln.
TheS unsetL imitedW, hitec laimst hat" ift hatp ain [ofh umane xistencew] ere
actuallyc ollectivein steado fs implyr eiterativteh ent hes heerw eighto fi tw ould
dragt hew orldf romt hew allso ft heu niversea nd sendi tc rashingan db urning
throughw hatevern ightit mighty etb e capableo f engenderinugn tili t was not
evena sh" (137). TheR oad seemst o takeW hite'sp roclamatioann d transform
it intoa n imageo f a futurien whicha ll thea varicea nd atrocityof whicht he
humanr ace is capablei s beinge xpendedi n a ragen owr eachingit si nevitable
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226 / COOPER
conclusionT. he ash coatingt hew orld,t hen,p rovidesa visual metaphorf or
thec oalesceds ufferinogf t hed yings pecies.H owevert, heh ealingr epresented
by theb oy seemst o turnW hite'sa rgumenotn itsh ead. Lookinga t his son at
one point,t hef athetrh inktsh at" [a]ll thingso fg racea ndb eautys ucht hato ne
holdst hemt oo ne's hearth avea commonp rovenancien pain"( 46). In hisl ove
forh is son,t hef atherco nstructas w orldv iew in whichs ufferinbge comest he
sourceo f beautyr, athert hani ts doom. If the ash metaphoricallrye presents
humans ufferintgh, ent heb oy's antidotteo thatg riefis also bothp hysicala nd
metaphorical.
As a "grail,"t heb oyb earst hea ntidotteo t hatw hicht hea sh symbolizesI.n
theQ uested el SaintG raal,t heg railh ero,G alahad,m usts ave a kingw hoh as
beenw oundedb y a "DolorousS troke,"a blow thatc auses "devastationto the
landa nd a woundt hatc an be healedo nlyb y Galahadi n theQ uest"( Mahoney
5). As manyg railn arrativedso , TheR oad interpolateims ageso f fertilitiyn to
a worldc haracterizebdy infertilitIyn. an earlierd rafto f the manuscriptin,
fact,M cCarthyh as a sketchi n whicht hem an dreamso f his child" covered
in powderedg old,"l aughinga nd runningto warda river.I4n thisi mage,t he
boy seemst o be an incarnatioonf fertilitay ,s cenet hate xplicatest hen ovel's
insistencteh att heb oyb e reada s a lifef orceb, othl iteraal nd metaphoricaIln.
thel iterals ense,t heb oy is his father'lsi fef orces incet hec hild'se xistenceis
inextricabllyin kedt ot hem an'ss urvivalT. he noveli ntroducetsh eb oyt hrough
thef ather'sg aze, and,r athert hand escribingth eb oy's physicala ppearance,
then ovel'sn arratoorb servest hat" thec hildw as [them an's]w arrant("4 ). The
childi s thusi ntroduceidn termso f his rolea s thes ingularju stificatiofno rt he
man'ss urvivaal nd then arrative'asc tion.T he fatherat one pointt ellst heb oy
outright":I f you died I wouldw antt o die too" (9). A relentlessldya rkb ook,
thev ivaciousnesos f theb oy's speechp atternasn d thel uminousin nocenceo f
hism oralc ommitmentins, c ontrastto t hef ather'cso nsistentltyr aumatizeadn d
exhaustedt houghatn d speechp atternss,u ggestst hatt heb oyi s moret hanj ust
thef ather'ws arranth: e is then ovel'sw arranats well.
If theb oyi s bothg raila nd grail-bearevre, ssela nd antidotteo thew orld's
toxicityt,h ent hef atherm ustp layt her oleo f thee lderF isherK ing,w ounded
andi nfectedb yt hatw hichi s destroyintgh el and.B ecause he is dyingo f some
mysterioudsi sease,t hef athers eems an obviousc orrelationto theo ld king,
butt herea re twoa dditionaal spectso f thisa ssociationt hatb eare xamination.
The firsits thef ather'ass sociationw ithw atera, nd thes econdi s thet hemeo f
inheritancaes a keya ttributteo thea bilityt o findp, ossess,o r reapt heh ealing
benefitos f the grail.T he father'sa ffiliatiown ithw aterr unst hroughoutth e
novel.I n tracingt heC eltici nfluenceisn earlyB ritishg raill egends,L oomis
pointso utt hatt hee ldera nd youngerF isherK ingsa re thes ame personi n the
earliestf ormos ft hel egenda ndt hen amei tselfli kelyd erivesf roma conflation
of similarW elsh legendsa bout Bran, the sea-god,w ho turnsi nto a man
"floatingon thew ater"( 57). Whilet heF isherK ingo ftena ppearsi n thes tory
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