127
MI MESI S , I LLUSI ON , AND
I LLUMI NATI ON I N DARKNESS VI SI BLE BY WI LLI AM GOLDI NG
YasunoriSUGIMURA
Thecharactersdepictedby William Golding aremoreorless trappedbyextreme"illusions,delusions,confusions"from whichthey haveconsiderabledifficulty extricating themselves. In such predica‑
ments,theylosetheiridentityandbecomeabsorbedwithinfantilefan‑
tasies. Thisregressivesituationconfinesthem､toaworldofmimesis
,
Violenceandnondifferentiation‑ aworlddevoidofbeauty,individuaレ ity,ordifference. Inordertoregaintheworldofbeauty,individuality, ordifference,theyoftenturntovictimization,astrategythatonlymakes thingsworse.
InthisessayonDa71knessVisible,Iwilldiscussthevariouscharac‑
tershurledintosuchaworld,withspecialreferencetoMatthew Win‑
drove,theStanhopetwins,Sim Goodchild,andSebastianPedigree,and attempttoshow how theirpredicamentscanbeattributedtoaninade‑
quacyofthesymbolicfunctioninstalledintheirmind.
I
Thehallucinatoryworldintowhichcharactersfallisonedeprived ofdifferenceandcloselylinkedtoviolence. Oncethere,manyfeelillat ease,andthusaspiretoliveinapeacefulworldrichindifferenceand individuality. Oneofthewaystoachievethisgoalistomakeasacrifice
‑ tounanimouslyattributeanything disagreeablethatpervadesthe
communitytoaspecificpersonorthing,andthenobliterateorostracize thatscapegoat. Thisspecificpersonorthing,i.e.,thesacrificed,isin somewayextraneoustotheunanimous,undifferentiating,mimeticforce.
Theextraneousnessvariesinoutwardappearance,character,behaviour, way ofthinking,etcl. Mostimportant,a community replete with mimeticforceshasakeensenseofdescryingwhatlittledifferencethere existsamong itsmembers.Itisnotsurprising,therefore,thatall membersofthecommunityseem equallylikelytobecomeasacrificial offering.2
Matthew Windrove(Matty)appearsfrom theoutsetofthisnovel asatypicalscapegoat. Halfofhisbodyiscoveredwithhorriblescars leftbyburnssufferedduringthewar.Asifhisidentitybrokeinto fragmentsamidstthespiritualcollapsepeculiartothepostwarperiod, Matty'ssurnameisunstableandreferredtoinatleastthirteendifferent ways (Windrave,Windrow,Windgraff,Windy,Wildwave,Winsome, Woodrave,Wildwort,Wheelwright,Windgrave,Windrap,Windwood,and Windgrove)by thosewhomeethim,although heisformally named Matthew SeptimusWindroveatthehospitalwherehehasundergone surgery aftermiraculously surviving the aforementioned burns. An orphanbynatureandexperiencingatighteningunionwithanurse,a mothersubstitute,heiscutofffrom anyaccesstoafather,andtherefore tohisidentity. HeencountersSebastianPedigree,afathersubstitute andhishomeroom teacheratFoundlingsSchool.Regrettably,however, Pedigreeisanotoriouspederast,retainsthevestigeofinfantilesexual
1ReneGirard,TheScapegoat,tra‑ns.YvonneFreccero(Baltimore:TheJohns HopkinsUP,1989)18‑19.
2TheScapegoat86.
MIMESIS,ILLUSION,ANDILLUMINATIONIN
DARK
mT a S mL E
BYWILLIAMGOLDING 129desire,andlivesapervertedhallucination,andisthusunabletofunction asafather.Hefastensonaboyastheobjectofhisdesireandgoesso farastogiveprivatelessonstoHenderson,thehandsomestpupilinhis class. Naturally,Matty,withhalfhisbodyscarredbykeloid,isabhor‑ redfrom theveryfirstbyPedigree. Mattythendefinestheperverted hallucinationsharedbyPedigreeandHendersonas"evil,"castingacurse uponHenderson. TheresultisthatHendersoncommitssuicide,Pedi一 greeispurgedfrom theteachingprofession,andMattyisabominatedfor lifebyPedigree. Yet,beforelong,Mattyfindshimselfdeprivedofhis identity,liabletobetrappedinhallucinations,asevidencedbyhispersist‑ entandgraduallydeepeningqueriesaboutpersonalidentity:"WhoamI?"
HWhatam I?"and"Whatam Ifor?"
Hislackofidentityisoriginallycausedbyhisinabilitytolook squarelyathisownruinedimage.Whenaninfantfirststaresathis/her ownreflectedimageanddiscovershis/herself,itmarks"themirror stage,''whichisaturningpointinthedevelopmentalstageofaninfant's mentality. "Themirrorstage"("lestadedu miroir")istheperiodin whichaninfantagedfrom sixtoeighteenmonthsputsanendtothe fusionwiththemotherandbecomesabletoidentifytheimagereflected inthemirror.3 Beforethisstage,theinfant,fusedwiththemotherand immersedinaworldofmimesisandnondifferentiation,cannotdistin一 guis九betweentheselfandthemother.
ThissituationiswhatJacquesLacancalls"theimaginary,"the essenceofwhichhedefinesas"adualrelationship,areduplicationinthe mirror,animmediateoppositionbetweenconsciousnessanditsotherin whicheachterm becomesitsoppositeandislostintheplay ofthe
3JacquesLacan,EcritsI(Paris:Seu
i
l,1966)89‑97.reflections."4 Thisworldproducesnotonlyreliefbutalsosuffocation
,
whichmakestheinfantfeeltemptedtomutilateanddestroythemother.5 Mutilatingthemotherisnoneotherthanmutilatingthereflectedimage oftheinfant,Sothattheinfantshattersthemirrororelseevadesit. Matty'sfragmentednamessuggestthisshatteredself‑image,"thefrag‑
mentedbody("co咋smwceleJ").6
Theendof"themirrorstage"coincideswith"theOedipusphase"
("lestadedel'(瓦殉)e"),wherethefatherintervenesbetweentheinfantand themother.Thisinterventioncouldbeunderstoodasasymboliccastra‑
tion. Thefatherbreakstheirunity,disappointingthechild'sdesirefor themother. However,theproblemwith"theOedipusphase"ariseswhen theinfantlapsesintoa"bisexualidentification,"whichmeans,according toMarciaIan,thattheinfant,maleorfemale,Aidentifieswith both parents:"…aboyintheoedipalphasewouldnotonlywishtomakelove tohismotherlikehisfather,butwouldimaglneaSWellbeinghismother inordertobelovedbyhisfather. Wemustassumethatagirlchild would experience an analogously double sexualidentification. She wouldnotonlywishtobepossessedbyherfather,buttobeherfatherin ordertomakelovetohermother."7
SergeiPankeiev,psychoanalyzedbySigmundFreudin"From the HistoryofanInfantileNeurosis,"havingwitnessedhisparents'coitusin hisinfancy,identifieswithhismother,feelsexcitementintheanalzone,
4AnikaLemaire,JacquesLacan,trans.DavidMacey(London:Routledge&
KeganPaul,1982)60.
5MelanieKlein,Love,Guiltand R勿aylationand Other Works1921‑1945 (London:Virago,1991)308‑09.
6Lacan93194.SeealsoJoelDor,Inty10duciionatlaLecturedeLacan(Paris: Denoel,1985)99‑100.
7MarciaIan,Remembering thePhallicMother.･Psychoanalysis,Modemism,
MIMESIS,ILLUSION,ANDILLUMINATIONINDARKNESSTaSmLEBYWILLIAMGOLDING 131
andpassesastool.8 Later,heidentifieswithhisfatherandurinates whenhewatchesanursery一maidkneelingonthefloorandscrubbingit
"Withherbuttocksprojectingandherbackhorizontal."9 Inanycase, sinceSergeimimicshisparents'desire,hisdesireisaduplicateofthe others'andnothisown.
Thisprimalmimeticdesireiscausedbythedifficultytheinfanthas inpassingthroughtheOedipusphase.10 Forifthefathersucceededin separatingtheinfantfrom itsmother(inthecaseofafemaleinfant,this processisusuallynatural),theinfantwouldacquirethepowertosubsti‑ tuteotherobjectsforthedesiredmother. Thechildinthiswaypartici‑ patesintheworldofsymbols. Sincenoneofthespecificsymbolcan fullysatisfythisdesire,whichhasalreadybeensuppressedbythefather, thesymboliceternallyproducesdifferentsignifierstofulfillthedesire.
Hencebeginsasignifying chain,achain ofdifferentiation,llandthe subjectthusparticipatesinadifferentiatedworld. Ontheotherhand,if thefatherusesforcetoweanthechildfrom themother,thedesiretobe unifiedwithherbecomesallthestronger,restoringthesubjecttoan imaginaryrealm wheremimesis,hallucination,andviolencearepreva‑
lent.
TheStanhopetwins,centralcharactersalongwithMattyinthis novel,wereorlglnallydeprivedoftheirmotherbytheirfather'sinfatua‑
andtheFetish(IthacaandLondon:CornellUniv.P,1993)115‑16.
8SigmundFreud,"FromtheHistoryofanInfantileNeurosis,"CaseHistories
∬,trams.JamesStrachey(Harmondsworth:Penguin,1979)318.
9Freud332.
10See,forexample,William A.Johnsen,"Myth,Ritual,andLiteratureafter Girard,"Lite71a7yTheo7y'sFutu71e(S),ed.JosephNatoli(UrbanaandChicago:
UofillinoisP,1989)120‑22.
llLemaire88.
tionwithhismistresses. Normally,agirlwillfirstidentifywithher mother,thengraduallyleaveherandstarttoidentifywiththefather. In duecourse,thisidentificationisalsoleftoffasshegrowsup.12 Yet,in thecaseoftheStanhopetwins,theyleavetheirfatherfrom thestartin spiteoflivingwithhim inthesamehouse,andtheirunconsciouswishto identifywiththeirdeprivedmothertemptsthem intotherealm ofthe imaglnary. Thefactthattheyaretwinssymbolicallysuggestsmimesis. Inthisnovel,mimeticsymbolsareoftenrepresentedbymeansof"dou‑
blings"and"pairings,"suchas"twostreets,""twopubs,""twoshops,"
"two trade unions," "two historicalfoundations," etc.13 Especially Sophy,theyoungerofthetwins,neverhavingstoppedidentifyingwiththe deprivedmother,Showsincestuousdesirestowardherfather.Itisim‑
possibleforSophytoparticipateinthesymbolicwherethesignifying chainofdifferentiationiseternallyproducedtofulfillherdesire,butat mostusesthespecificsymbol,afixedsubstituteforthedeprived. She identifieswithherfather'smistress,mimicsheractions,andfetishizesher transistorradio. Sophy'Sloveaffairisnotbasedonherownpassion towardherpartner,butischaracteristicofthetypeofflirtationcarried outbyherfather'smistresses.
Toni,theeldersister,Withhersubjectivitylostinanabstract idealism,involvesherselfinaninternationalterroristgroup,which,bound byitscommon,mimeticdesire,retainsneitherdifferencenorindividual‑ ity. Toni'saction,likeSophy'S,isbasedonthemimesisoftheothers'
12MelanieKlein192‑93.
13VirginiaTiger,"WilliamGolding'sDarknessVl'sible:OneMega[Myth]Lith ofModernFiction,"Wt'lliam Golding Revisited:A Collection of On'ginal Essays,ed.B.L.Chakoo(NewDelhi:ArnoldPublishers,1989)74.
