The Dark is Rising
August 26th, 2007Demand for fantasy has been high since Harry Potter hit the shelves. I suppose this is why Susan Cooper’s 1973 novel is only now being made into a movie.
The Dark is Rising is one of a sequence of five fantasy novels about an epic battle between good and evil. Throughout human history the Dark and the Light, equivalent in strength, have perpetually fought for dominance. Their struggle impacts and is impacted by High Magic and mankind, both of which start off as morally neutral.
Within this framework, human religion loses importance. As Will tells the rector, speaking carefully because he knows the bald truth will offend the man: Everything that matters is outside Time. and comes from there and can go there…Yesterday is still there, on that level. Tomorrow is there too. You can visit either of them. And all Gods are there, and all the things they have ever stood for…And the opposite, too. (149)
The Light is triumphant in the end, of course, leaving humanity free to make their own way. In the final book, Silver on the Tree, Will and his companions are told: For Drake is no longer in his hammock, children, nor is [King] Arthur somewhere sleeping, and you may not lie idly expecting the second coming of anybody now, because the world is yours and it is up to you. (272)
Susan Cooper shows writing as art. Her word choices and obvious understanding of her subject make for vivid descriptions. Her account of a willful sheep in The Grey King is delightful: Will…could not persuade it back to its fellows even by yelling and pushing and whacking its broad woolly sides. “Baaaa,” said the sheep, in a deep stupid baritone, as if he had not been there, and it wandered off and began chewing at the hedge. (38)
Beyond simply setting her books in rural areas of Great Britain, Cooper manages to communicate a fascination with the early history of that nation, a time so far distant that it is difficult to distinguish between myth and truth. King Arthur and some of his more famous associates are woven into the story in creative and unexpected ways. This element of creativity is important to good writing. Many tales have been told of conflict between good and evil, or of King Arthur. Her themes are not new, but she builds on them in imaginitive ways.
In passing the books deal with a rather interesting current issue. I was startled to read a conversation on immigration in Great Britain that echoed many of the ideas, pro and con, that had surfaced in a recent discussion with a co-worker of mine on illegal immigration to the US: They have no right to be in a country not their own, they take jobs away from the citizens, the citizens don’t want those jobs anyway, they receive healthcare at the taxpayer’s expense, they should solve their problems in their own country, they leave appalling conditions in their own country to search for a better life elsewhere…
In short, while I was uncomfortable with the theological premises of these books, I also found much that resonated with me. Had I any offspring who were fans of fantasy, we would have a discussion on dualism, original sin…and then I would turn ‘em loose.
It is difficult to create a consistent theological framework for a fantasy novel. J. K. Rowling doesn’t bother to try, and so you have a group of witches and wizards celebrating Christmas. (!!) Susan Cooper does try. Her framework works for her books, though even there potential problems arise. My sense is that in the beginning her idea is that neither the Dark nor the Light could ever definitively win, and yet that seems to have happened at the end.
The question of original sin is also problematic. At least one relatively evil character is seen as not belonging to the Dark, but dangerously opening himself up to the Dark through his unrestrained badness. And good characters are clearly placed in positions where doing right first involves an internal struggle. I see these as more indicative of a fallen race rather than a morally neutral race.
It is much harder to conclude that God, the creator, is more powerful than Satan, the created, by observation of our world. I have to accept that because I accept the Bible.
I personally felt the impact of the statement about the second coming and I have to deal with that. Discussing these things is helpful to me, though I suppose the average twelve-year-old wouldn’t notice any of this if nothing was ever said.
I like the idea of coming up with a theological framework for a fantasy novel, though I think it is probably beyond me- inventing a framework for an imaginary world that seems to work as neatly as Christianity does.
It occurrs to me that Tolkien’s framework could also be interesting to talk about. Gandalf seems to hint at a higher power, though it is never named…