Alchemy is the subject of this novel. The description of this mysterious and ancient art is deep, sometimes confusing, and often more than I wanted to process. But the discussion provides a necessary background for the intrigue.
The story is trapped in the two lives of John Smith, a vicar who is the alchemist or the one who attempts the process, and Eileen, the tenant who finds her story years later. Harpur is successful as it provides enough information to keep the reader mesmerized.
Other strong characteristics are the beauty of the language, humor and characters. I remember Victorian novels set in a small English town, like this one. Although it is a later age, the vicar, vicarage, and congregation of the 1950s are reminiscent of an earlier age. Descriptions of people, places, and events are made leisurely with colorful expressions to draw readers into the story and leave them wanting to relax and revel there, surrounded by wonderful sensations. The subtle humor that prevails in the novel provides a push of reality between the reflections of the two characters and their search for the alchemical “secret.” We care about the vicar and the subsequent tenant, Eileen. We become entangled in their progress, as their decisions become clearer and their lives unfold.
However, ambiguity is the real story here. Alchemy’s story is provided, but what I responded to the most was entering a world where nothing is what it seems, where everything is uncertain and confusing. The “marriage of heaven and earth” is related to the union of above and below, as in the universal, “As above, so below.” However, that union, which peaked in an alchemical shift from base metals to gold, is also unclear. As the author explains, the process involves the person who performs the complicated ritual, a ritual that reflects and is affected by the psychological state of that person. The secret of the process, which is the point at which the story unfolds, is never fully revealed, of course, keeping the idea of ambiguity. However, one feels that peace comes both to the vicar, who described the steps he takes in the alchemical process, and to Eileen, who reads the vicar’s papers.
Do we really believe that there are black and white answers to our most important questions about life? Do we hope to unravel the “mystery of life” in life? Are human minds even capable of such understanding? There are no such revelations in this story, but one can allow a journey halfway into that mystery, a journey that must be accompanied by the ability to suspend beliefs long enough to open up to something new while accepting that any revelation alone will confuse the dilemma. further away.
Do we need to know the specific answers we yearn for and seek? We think so, but I felt an inner calm after reading the novel that seemed to indicate that it is okay to live with continued ignorance. As certain data is revealed, much more remains hidden.
What is this marriage of heaven and earth? What is this union of the spiritual and material worlds? We can never know for sure, but successful and spiritual lives strive to acquire the ability to live with the ambiguity inherent in the above and the lower. Most search engines expect answers. Here I am reminded that the journey is the search and not the solutions.