Esotericism and Narrative PDF
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EsotericismandNarrative Aries Book Series Texts and Studies in Western Esotericism Editor MarcoPasi EditorialBoard Jean-PierreBrach WouterJ.Hanegraaff AndreasKilcher AdvisoryBoard AllisonCoudert–AntoineFaivre–OlavHammer MonikaNeugebauer-Wölk–MarkSedgwick–JanSnoek GyörgySzőnyi–GarryTrompf volume 24 Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/arbs Esotericism and Narrative TheOccultFictionof CharlesWilliams By ArenRoukema LEIDEN | BOSTON Coverillustration:DeborahRoukema,Emanation,2018(allrightsreserved). TheLibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailableonlineathttp://catalog.loc.gov LCrecordavailableathttp://lccn.loc.gov/2018016516 TypefacefortheLatin,Greek,andCyrillicscripts:“Brill”.Seeanddownload:brill.com/brill‑typeface. ISSN1871-1405 ISBN978-90-04-36903-0(hardback) ISBN978-90-04-36911-5(e-book) Copyright2018byKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands. KoninklijkeBrillNVincorporatestheimprintsBrill,BrillHes&DeGraaf,BrillNijhoff,BrillRodopi, BrillSenseandHoteiPublishing. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,translated,storedinaretrievalsystem, ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise, withoutpriorwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher. AuthorizationtophotocopyitemsforinternalorpersonaluseisgrantedbyKoninklijkeBrillNVprovided thattheappropriatefeesarepaiddirectlytoTheCopyrightClearanceCenter,222RosewoodDrive, Suite910,Danvers,MA01923,USA.Feesaresubjecttochange. Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaperandproducedinasustainablemanner. ForDeborah ∵ “Isyourworkaromance?” “Itisaromance,anditisnotaromance.Itisatruthforthosewhocancompre- hendit,andanextravaganceforthosewhocannot.” Edward Bulwer-Lytton,Zanoni(1842) ∵ Contents Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations xi Introduction:ThroughthePortal 1 WilliamsandtheOccult:SomeDiscursiveComplications 4 EncounteringtheOccultinWilliams’sFiction:ALiterary/Historical Method 18 1 LifeandTimes:ChristianOccultisminModernEngland 28 ALifeinMyth 28 “ButaboutThisRealityofYours…” 36 The“DeadMaster” 42 ArthurEdwardWaite 47 OccultImaginationandtheSecretTradition 54 ConstructingaCordonSanitaire 62 PartI:Occultismvs.Mysticism 62 PartII:Occultismvs.Christianity 68 ChristianOccultism 73 2 TheFellowshipoftheRosyCross:AModernOccultExperience 76 MasonicRosicrucianism 78 ThePathsoftheTreeofLife 85 TheF.R.C.andtheGoldenDawn:TheAdeptusMinorRituals 95 3 FictionandExperience 106 TheUnbearableLightnessofFiction 108 FantasticNarratology:TheLiminalityofEsotericKnowledge 113 TheNovels—IntrusionsoftheSupernatural 119 TheGothicOccult 128 IntheNetworkofOccultFiction 131 TheNovelsofanAdeptusExaltatus 134 “TheEndofDesire”—TheDiscoveryoftheHigherSelf 139 OccultFiction,OccultLife 145 4 Kabbalah:CharlesWilliamsandtheMiddlePillar 151 A.E.WaiteandModernOccultKabbalah 154 BecomingShekinah:CharlesWilliamsandtheMiddlePillar 159 viii contents TheGreaterTrumps 171 KabbalisticErosandRomanticTheology 174 5 TheHigh-Priestess:CharlesWilliamsandModernMagic 182 MagicintheWest 184 The“High-PriestessofHeaven” 187 RitualSemioticsandtheMagicalImagination 192 6 AMagicalLifeinFiction 206 ActiveImagination 208 ActiveWill 211 TheWayofP’o-lu 214 ArtMagic:Sex,Poetry,Consciousness 218 Reanimation:EnchantmentandEmpowerment 226 InterpretiveDrift:TheDevelopmentofaModernChristian Magic 233 7 TheTransmutationofCharlesWilliams:SpiritualandLiterary Alchemy 238 FromMetallurgytoParticlePhysics:ABriefHistoryofAlchemy 240 Influences:Lee,Waite,Atwood 248 RosicrucianAlchemy 252 TheGreatWorkinFiction 256 ALiteraryAlchemist 267 Epilogue:TheCoagulationofBelief 274 Bibliography 287 Index 309 Acknowledgements Likemostprojectsofthiskind,thisbookwouldstillbebutanembryo(ifcon- ceivedatall)withoutthehelpandencouragementof colleagues,friendsand family.IwishtothankWouterHanegraaffandMarcoPasioftheCenterforthe HistoryofHermeticPhilosophyandRelatedCurrents(HHP)attheUniversity of AmsterdamforsupervisingmyinitialresearchintoCharlesWilliams’seso- teric associations, and subsequently encouraging me to expand that smaller projectintoamonograph.IamverygratefultoPeterForshawandUlrikePopp- Baierfortheirhelpwithaspectsoftheinitialresearch,andtoallmycolleagues attheUniversityofAmsterdamforthelonghoursincafesdiscussingmatters culturalandhistoric.ThanksalsotoBruceShelveyandLynnSzaboforhelp- ing me get to Amsterdam in the first place. Accolades for improvements on earlierdraftsgotoRogerLuckhurst,EgilAspremforadviceonthehistoryof magic, Boaz Huss for feedback on Waite and the kabbalah, and Mike Zuber forhelpgrapplingwiththehistoryandphilosophyof alchemy.Allremaining errorsareminealone.ThankyoutoDavidDoddsandSørinaHigginsforhelpful discussionsonanumberofaspectsofWilliamscriticism,andtoBrianHorne forfacilitatingaccesstotheCharlesWilliamsSocietyArchiveatOxford.Many otherfriendsandcolleaguesprovidedbothemotionalandintellectualsupport intheprocessofwriting,editingandpublishingthisbook.Toattempttoname eachonewouldbeanexerciseinfutility(andaccidentalexclusion),butIam particularlythankfultoJimmyElwing,EricaGillingham,FrancisGene-Rowe, RhodriDavies,andAafkeBeukematoeWater. Thisbookalsowouldnothavebeenpossiblewithouttheuniquecollection ofesoterictextsgatheredattheBibliothecaPhilosophicaHermeticainAmster- dam, particularly the library’s collection of both published and unpublished materials from A.E. Waite. I am grateful to the Ritman family for giving me access to their comprehensive collection and particularly thankful to Esther RitmanandCisvanHeertumfortheirenthusiasticassistancewithnavigating thecollection.ThanksalsotoBobGilbertforhisadviceonaspectsofthiscollec- tion.PaulMonodandKateSykes,atMiddleburyCollege’sCentreforMedieval and Renaissance Studies at St Michael’s Hall in Oxford, were equally helpful with access the Charles Williams Society (CWS) Archive. Thanks also to the staffattheKing’sCollegeArchive,theBodleian,andtheBritishLibrary.Imuch appreciatepermissionfromtheCWStoquotematerialfromitscollection,from theCharlesWilliamsestatetodocumentnotesfromWilliams’s“Commonplace Book,”andfromthe JournalofInklingsStudiestoreproduceportionsof“AVeil thatReveals:CharlesWilliamsandtheFellowshipoftheRosyCross”(2015).
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