Occult in Dance

Potter; Occult in Powell’s Dance Cult and Occult in Powell's A Dance to The Music of Time John Potter Reproduced with the author’s permission from: Kobe Yamate Women’s Junior College, Japan, Annual Report; Vol. 34; December 1991; pp47-62 Anthony Powell’s twelve volume novel sequence, A In Powell’s novel there are two major cults whose Dance to the Music of Time, completed in 1975, leaders’ doings take a prominent part in the events traces the progress of a large group of mainly described. The first of these is the band led by Dr. upper-middle class English characters through the Trelawney. He is introduced in the major flashback eyes of the narrator, Nicholas Jenkins. Through of the sequence when Jenkins tells of his own the carefully measured and reflective prose of the childhood in chapter one of The Kindly Ones. His narrator we follow the unfolding of events which successor, or alter ego, Scorpio Murtlock, is not cover a period of more than fifty years in the mid- introduced until the last volume, when he dominates twentieth century. The major events and changes much of the action of Hearing Secret Harmonies. in English society throughout this period are necessarily touched upon and illustrated in A third figure, no less important to the novel than Powell’s massive work but the investigation of Trelawney and Murtlock, is that of the human character has been the author’s admitted clairvoyante, Mrs. Erdleigh, whose appearances are primary concern. The presentation of this dotted throughout the novel and who is first met at material in a humorous and amusing way has some length in The Acceptance World. Mrs. served to establish Powell’s reputation as an Erdleigh’s activities include telling fortunes through important novelist in the tradition of English palmistry and by reading playing cards, and social comedy. An element of Powell’s novel presiding over an afternoon of planchette, and other sequence to be examined here is the presentation instances of prophecy. The three characters are of some events connected with cults and the occult also connected with each other in that Mrs. Erdleigh in A Dance to the Music of Time and their is acquainted with Dr. Trelawney, while Murtlock significance within the narrative. apparently believes himself to be a reincarnation of Dr. Trelawney. ONE Mrs. Erdleigh, Dr. Trelawney and Scorpio Murtlock, while not protagonists of the novel as a Monagan (1976), in an article on A Dance to the whole, are nevertheless substantial figures in Music of Time, noted that “[The] occult has always Powell’s work, in addition to lending both sinister had an allure for Powell, but now as he ages the and comic elements, and their respective roles in the mystic and necromantic are treated with a new novel can be illustrated in relation to cult and occult depth of concern.” matters dealt with in A Dance to the Music of Time. Certainly, the final volume of the sequence, Hearing Secret Harmonies, is concerned TWO throughout with a cult which dabbles in mystical affairs, but matters of this kind are also dealt with The clairvoyante, Myra Erdleigh, is introduced to in some detail in earlier volumes, beginning as early the reader in the third volume, The Acceptance as the third volume, The Acceptance World. World, when Jenkins visits his Uncle Giles at the Ufford Hotel in London. Mrs. Erdleigh is described Anthony Powell Resources Pages http://www.anthonypowell.org.uk/ June 1999 Page 1 of 9 Potter; Occult in Powell’s Dance as being “between forty and fifty, perhaps nearer future love affair with Jean Templer, then married fifty ...” and her appearance as follows: to Bob Duport: “Dark red hair piled high on her head in what “This is a much more important lady - seemed to me an outmoded style, and good, medium hair, I should say - and I think you curiously blurred features from which looked have run across her once or twice before, out immense, misty, hazel eyes, made her though not recently. But there seems to be appearance striking. Her movements, too, another man interested, too. He might even were unusual. She seemed to glide rather be a husband. You don’t like him much. He than walk across the carpet, giving the is tallish, I should guess. Fair, possibly red impression almost of a phantom, a being hair. In business. Often goes abroad.” from another world ...” (AW p.12) (AW p.22) Mrs. Erdleigh is not, in fact, a spiritual being but a Approximately one year later, Jenkins embarks human one and her somewhat serene and ‘mystical’ upon the affair with Jean, whose husband is indeed appearance and entry into the rather down at heel tall with ‘sandy’ hair, in business, currently living Ufford Hotel serves to highlight the irony. When abroad, and not much liked by Jenkins. It would she is introduced to Jenkins by Uncle Giles, instead appear then that Mrs. Erdleigh, despite the ironic of greeting him in some conventional way, she treatment of her in the novel, is also capable of replies mysteriously, but with a certain comic making uncannily accurate prophecies. incongruity: “But he belongs to another order.” (AW p.13 ) Mrs. Erdleigh also foretells that she and Jenkins will meet again “in about a year from now” and The first episode of occult related activity begins they do, in fact, meet up again after about this when she subsequently agrees to read the playing period of time when she presides over planchette on cards in order to glean information about the New Year’s day at the Templers’ house. (It is also futures of both Jenkins and Uncle Giles. Not on the day after the commencement of the affair surprisingly (remarks Jenkins drily) it is foretold with Jean). Arriving with Jimmy Stripling, the that there will be a good deal of opposition to Uncle slightly amused tone is maintained when her smooth Giles’ plans and even gossip and calumny entry into the room “almost suggested that Stripling surrounding him: was propelling her in front of him like an automaton on castors”. Jenkins allows himself to be ‘“Don’t forget you have Saturn in the moderately impressed: Twelfth House”, Mrs. Erdleigh remarked in an aside. “Secret enemies”.’ (AW p.19) “By then, as a matter of fact, a month or two must have passed beyond the year that she As far as Jenkins himself is concerned, Mrs. had foretold would precede our next meeting. Erdleigh ‘discovers’ that he is either musical or has All the same, it was a respectable piece of written a book, makes some general comments on prognostication.” (AW p.87) his personality, and warns him that there will be some inconvenience concerning an elderly man and The gathering at the Templers’ house on a gloomy two younger ones connected with him. (St. John Sunday afternoon provides an excellent opportunity Clarke and his secretaries Quiggin and Members?). for comedy as one of the guests is J. G. Quiggin, Jenkins notes to himself that such trivial comment the ‘practising Marxist’, who is opposed to all mixed with a few home truths are “the things spiritual and refuses to join in with the commonplaces of fortunetelling.” planchette experiment which the others begin with Mrs. Erdleigh. Despite Quiggin’s opposition, he is However, one prophecy made by Mrs. Erdleigh, but almost feverishly fascinated by the outcome, not thought significant by Jenkins, is later revealed especially when first Robespierre, then Marx, are to be remarkably true to the turn of events later in apparently summoned, and brief quotations from his life, when she appears to forecast correctly his them are written by the planchette board. Quiggin is disturbed initially at what he claims to be Anthony Powell Resources Pages http://www.anthonypowell.org.uk/ June 1999 Page 2 of 9 Potter; Occult in Powell’s Dance ‘rigging’ and is then angry when the affair is discussed with levity by the others: It is finally left uncertain as to whether it is occult forces or one of the mischievous guests who is ‘Quiggin made a despairing gesture at such responsible for the production of the apposite frivolity of manner. writing. “I can’t believe no-one present knows the quotation, ‘Force is the midwife of every old In addition to fortune telling with cards and her society pregnant with a new one’, he said. interest in planchette, Mrs. Erdleigh also appears in “You will be telling me next you never heard later volumes of the novel, when she makes the words, ‘The Workers have no country’.” prophecies, first concerning Pamela and Odo “I believe Karl Marx has been ‘through’ Stevens, and later when foreseeing trouble for the before,” said Stripling, slowly and with great Widmerpools. Pamela, later to become Mrs. solemnity. “Wasn’t he a revolutionary Widmerpool, is encountered with her lover Odo writer.” Stevens in the volume The Military Philosophers. “He was,” said Quiggin, with heavy irony. The volatile Pamela reacts to Mrs. Erdleigh’s words “He was a revolutionary writer.”’ with petulance when told: (AW p.103) “... your palm makes me think of that Towards the end of the planchette experiment passage in Desbarrolles, the terrible words of Quiggin becomes greatly agitated. He has been which always haunt my mind when I see their looking after the aging novelist St. John Clarke and marks in a hand shown to me ... la has left him for a few hours to attend the Templers’ débauche, l’effronterie, la licence, le weekend party when this message appears through dévergondage, la coquetterie, la vanité, the planchette board: l’esprit léger, l’inconstance, la paresse ..

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