Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 4 Number 2, July 2003
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Victoria Nelson, The Secret Life of Puppets. Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-00630-5
Reviewed by
It is very tempting and common, especially at the turn of a new millennium to say ‘we are at the dawn of a new age’, and a very cursory reading of The Secret Life Of Puppets could suggest that this is what the author is trying to argue. The book's subject, we are led to believe from the title, is a history of puppet theatre. The key word in the title, however, is ‘secret’ and the puppets of the title are the descendants of the ancient idols of the gods, worshiped and animated by their priests. Their secret life is of the history of their portrayal in literature, used as a vehicle to track the shifting literary and overriding paradigm of either Platonic or Aristotelian thought. We are as Nelson states in an era of Aristotelian (or episteme) thought, but the thesis of this book is that we are about to shift into an era of Platonic thought (or Gnosis). She says:
“… this worldview is being explicitly revived in the new technologies of cybernetics, with the paradoxical result that the widespread use of Platonic metaphors such as “virtual reality” to describe computer generated images as if they lived in a tangible place has carried us deeply (backward or forward, according to one’s bias) into the western mystical tradition. (21)
Nelson also believes that the images of puppets and other simulacra have metamorphosed into the images of robots, cyborgs and androids that we see in modern science fiction. These, she believes, are modern day golems, and the magus’ that created them have become the demiurgic scientists of film and book, with their long tradition that harks back to Mary Shelly’s much maligned creator. The fact that Nelson must examine works of fantasy and science fiction along side alchemical texts, ancient and modern high literature is what, in my opinion, makes this book stand apart form almost every other book of this kind that I have read. The sources that Nelson draws upon are as diverse as can be imagined. A lengthy analysis of Bruno Shultz (Polish surrealist writer of the 30’s) and H. P. Lovecraft (American pulp horror writer of the same period) both have full chapters dedicated to their work, as to do Umberto Eco, and Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier. Each source is treated with equal respect and detail. As you might imagine this is a considerable breath of fresh air to a fan of fantasy, horror and sci-fi like myself. It is all to common that such genres are derided by critics and media in general. Although it is inevitable that Nelson would examine these sources given her subject matter, the breadth of sources that she quotes shows that she is doing this with good reason rather than out of merely a desire for completeness. It raised a smile to think of people with little experience of such things searching out genre films such as Alex Proyas’ Dark City or the japanise Anime Ghost in the shell (used in chapters 12 and 11 respectivly) on the strength of this book. I remain unsure however of exactly deeply Nelson delves into the genres, as a few of her sources that she quotes are not primary, for example she analyses Ghost in the shell from the Anime (animated film) rather than the Manga (comic book) it was biased on. This is probably the reaction of a genre fan however, and I cannot bring myself to be too harsh with the criticism. The book has many other sources, too many to list here in this review, but as I mentioned above all of them are treated with equality and concisely used. There is very little extraneous detail, but the topics that are covered within each chapter are diverse ways of examining the central theme.
In relation to consciousness, the book deals with mainly the overall consciousness and collective belief system. However there are several sections that contain many references and analysis of fictional and real accounts of altered states of consciousness. One section, in chapter five details and re-evaluates Daniel Paul Schreber’s ‘Memoirs of my mental illness’ in relation to Lovecraft’s tales of madness and horror and how mental illness is viewed differently from the point of view of episteme and gnosis. It also by using the theories and writings of renaissance philosopher/alchemist Giordano Bruno as a centre point, examines the ultimate goal of Platonic thought: to lift the human being to a higher level of knowledge (consciousness?) and put them in contact with the devine.
The book draws towards the conclusion that the world of ideal forms first philosophised by Plato has been transformed in our minds to the virtual reality of cyberspace. The perfection that we sought and told tales of from the realms beyond sight we now seek in the worlds of the web. In closing it also states that it recognises that in truth, Platonic thought and Aristotelian thought should and can rest side by side, even though the proponents of those individual schools often fail to acknowledge this. To her credit, Nelson reminds of this at various points, such as mentioning that Gnostic assumptions of colour and appearance should not perhaps be over indulged in. With these gentle nudges of balance, the book shows it’s true scholarly and philosophical credentials. This is a book that neatly crosses the worlds of academia and popular culture, for people familiar with either it will allow them to discover new fields that they perhaps thought beneath or above them, but for some-one familiar with both it is a fantastic way of seeing both in a new light.