THEOSOPHY AND POPULAR FICTION

Ingvild Sælid Gilhus and Lisbeth Mikaelsson

Theosophy: A Literary Movement

Contemporary involvement in so-called spiritual self-development and occultism is to a large extent, and contrary to what we find in other modern religious currents, a literary phenomenon. It is manifested in a huge, international market of books and magazines, best-selling authors and networks of readers. Key genres include novels, autobiographies, wisdom literature, and manuals. Hybrids, combining fiction and manual, are frequent. A surprisingly large number of works claim to have a spiri- tual source, i.e., they are channeled from some supernatural entity. In this way the act of writing is mystified, and the reader’s imagination becomes peopled with a number of immaterial beings wishing to express them- selves as well as taking a keen interest in the fate of humanity. This type of literary creation is in the tradition of Theosophy, and the same is also true of most of the genres. While Theosophy is not the only parent of today’s flourishing “occult” or “spiritual” literature, the Theosophical impulse has been significant for the literary expression of modern, alternative religiosity. Theosophical lodges have generally been “bookish,” owning their own libraries and with a membership that was tuned in on texts and reading. Attracting people from the upper levels of society, many of whom did not care to become actual members of Theosophical organizations, the wider cultural influence of Theosophy extends far beyond the confines of the membership of the Theosophical Society (TS). An important aspect of this influence is the literary legacy represented by key Theosophical figures. Confronting an overwhelming mass of potentially relevant works, and the presently rather undeveloped stage of research on the intersection between Theosophy and literature, we have felt a need to impose some delimitations on our material. The first pertains to the category of fiction. Granting that elements of fiction exist in historical genres like biography and autobiography, we stick to the common dictionary understanding of fiction as imaginative writing, mainly in the shape of novels and short 454 ingvild sælid gilhus and lisbeth mikaelsson stories, describing invented characters and events. A second delimitation concerns our interpretation of the epithet “Theosophical.” The volume where our chapter appears deals with a number of Theosophical organi- zations and currents subsequent to, but inspired by the TS. Some of these have no doubt inspired fictional works (Anthroposophy, discussed elsewhere in this volume, certainly has). We have here decided to largely restrict ourselves to Theosophy in a more narrow sense, i.e. literary activi- ties carried out by writers who were members of, or were inspired by, the Theosophical Society. A third delimitation concerns chronology. Theosophically oriented fiction has been produced from the late nine- teenth century up to the present. This chapter will concentrate on the early stage of Theosophy: books published roughly 1880–1940, a period which generally displayed a lively interest in supernatural matters. Finally, the international impact of Theosophy testifies to the vitality of the Theosophical impulse in its first decades, and Theosophically inspired fic- tion has appeared in numerous languages. We have, however, confined ourselves to authors whose works have been published in English. The twin aim of this chapter is to give a broad overview of authors and works within our chosen confines, and to demonstrate the palpable influence of Theosophical beliefs on the themes, plots and characters in these works.

Literary Sources of Inspiration to Early Theosophists

Theosophists expressed themselves in fiction and drew inspiration from a variety of literary works. The novel that is most frequently mentioned as a forerunner and inspiration for Theosophical novels is Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s Zanoni (1842). Bulwer-Lytton (1803–1875) was a politician and best-selling novelist. Zanoni features themes such as Rosicrucianism and occultism, an ancient manuscript, esoteric philosophy, initiation, and perennial wisdom. At its centre is Zanoni, an immortal Master who loses his immortality because of human love. Blavatsky approvingly mentions several novels with occult themes, among them Marie Corelli’s The Romance of Two Worlds, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines and She. According to Blavatsky, however, the “key-note for mystic and Theosophical literature was Marion Crawford’s Mr. Isaacs” (Blavatsky 1887). F. Marion Crawford (1854–1909) was a famous author in his time, and Mr Isaacs: A Tale of Modern India (1882) was his first novel. Mr. Isaacs is a Persian, of Zoroastrian roots, and a Muslim. Together with the mysteri- ous Ram Lal he enters on a spiritual path. Ram Lal is “a Brahmin by birth,