Darkness in the Service of Manifest Destiny as Portrayed by Cormac Mccarthy in Blood Meridian
Now when this horrible Lucifer, as a tyrant and raging spoiler of all that is good, shewed himself thus terribly, as if he would kindle and destroy all, and bring all under his jurisdiction, then all the heavenly hosts and armies were against him, and he also against them all; there now the fight began, for all stood most terribly, one party against another.
Jacob Boehme, The Aurora, Or The Morning Rednesse In The Rising Of The Sun
On the surface Cormac McCarthy 's Blood Meridian is an extremely violent narrative based on historical events, which aims at dispelling the stereotypes of heroic frontier mythology. Within it, however, we do not find too many traditional elements that normally constitute the mainstream perception of American Wild West history. Nonetheless, if we decide that Blood Meridian is nothing more than a rebellion against historical stereotype, we are bound to miss the layer that underlies and defines its fundamental idea. This layer is represented by McCarthy 's consistent references to the mythological, theosophical and Hermetic symbols and archetypes. The mythological narrative in the novel echoes the eschatological battle between the good and evil resulting in the regeneration of the Cosmos. While it is very difficult to trace all the aspects and details of the mythological mystery play that saturate the novel, the hinge of the story is represented by a single character, Judge Holden. Despite the fact that formally the judge is not in charge of Glanton 's gang, he sets its goals and directions as well as its ultimate fate. He is a representation of a multifaceted deity that is instrumental in the setting and defining of the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The borderland in the novel, which is effectively the world of death and chaos, has to be cleansed and renewed by destruction in order to be later incorporated into the world of the living, the order and civilization. The mission of the sculphunters is
Jacob Boehme, The Aurora, Or The Morning Rednesse In The Rising Of The Sun
On the surface Cormac McCarthy 's Blood Meridian is an extremely violent narrative based on historical events, which aims at dispelling the stereotypes of heroic frontier mythology. Within it, however, we do not find too many traditional elements that normally constitute the mainstream perception of American Wild West history. Nonetheless, if we decide that Blood Meridian is nothing more than a rebellion against historical stereotype, we are bound to miss the layer that underlies and defines its fundamental idea. This layer is represented by McCarthy 's consistent references to the mythological, theosophical and Hermetic symbols and archetypes. The mythological narrative in the novel echoes the eschatological battle between the good and evil resulting in the regeneration of the Cosmos. While it is very difficult to trace all the aspects and details of the mythological mystery play that saturate the novel, the hinge of the story is represented by a single character, Judge Holden. Despite the fact that formally the judge is not in charge of Glanton 's gang, he sets its goals and directions as well as its ultimate fate. He is a representation of a multifaceted deity that is instrumental in the setting and defining of the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The borderland in the novel, which is effectively the world of death and chaos, has to be cleansed and renewed by destruction in order to be later incorporated into the world of the living, the order and civilization. The mission of the sculphunters is
Cited: Copenhaver, Brian P. (trans.). Hermetica. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Boehme, Jacob. The Aurora. London: Watkins, 1960. "Hermes." (trans. mine) Encyclopaedia Of World Mythology. Vol. 1. Moscow: Russia 's Encyclopaedia, 1994. 292-294. Hoeller, Stephan A. "On The Trail Of The Winged God. Hermes And Hermeticism Throughout The Ages." The Gnosis Archive. First appeared in Gnosis: A Journal Of Western Inner Traditions, Vol. 40, Summer 1996 McCarthy, Cormac. Blood Meridian. New York: Vintage International, 1992. "Odin" (trans. mine). Encyclopaedia Of World Mythology.Vol. 2. Moscow: Russia 's Encyclopaedia, 1994. 241.