Harry Potter, Perelandra, and Alchemy

I think I’m finally getting the hang of this alchemical framework for literature thing. After reading the newest article at Hogwarts Professor, I was working my way through the closing chapters of C.S. Lewis’ Peralandra when it hit me. Ransom passed through utter darkness for a time, deep below the mountain when fighting the Un-man (Weston possessed by Satan). When he emerged, he found himself on a mountain composed of crystal, almost transparent features. From there, he could see a mountain ahead that was a rose-red color (or colour, since C.S. Lewis is the author). After several weeks of restoration on the crystal mountain, he travels to the red mountian, where he witnesses the marriage of the King and Queen of Perelandra. The whole process is quite transformational for Ransom. Now, why am I saying this?

Well, if you’ve been reading your Granger commentary on Harry Potter (or are familiar with alchemy), you’ll know that the three stages of alchemy are the black, white, and red stages. Let’s look at this briefly in Perelandra and make some parallels to Harry.

Black Stage: In Perelandra, Ransom passes through the utter darkness for several days, during which he battles the Un-man and then feels his way through an undergound mountain. When he emerges to a place lit by fire, he battles once more and destroys the Un-man, defeating forever the threat of Satan on Venus (Perelandra). He suffers several injuries during this “black stage” and comes out entirely spent.

In Order of the Phoenix, Harry goes through some of his greatest struggles (especially inwardly), descends into the underground of the Ministry of Magic, engages in battle with the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord, during which his beloved godfather Sirius Black (note that, Black) dies. Harry emerges from this encounter an absolute mess, as we see from his destruction from Dumbledore’s office and J.K. ROWLING’S USE OF ALL CAPS WHENEVER HARRY IS TALKING!

White Stage: Ransom emerges from the dark mountain tunnels through a stream and an outdoor pool, out of which he climbs (baptism symbol?) and is refreshed for several days or weeks by a grape-like fruit (”the fruit of the vine,” perhaps? A symbol for holy communion?). He notices during his recovery that the mountain is surrounded by a mist.

Half-Blood Prince opens with London in a mist. Harry is no longer the emotional wreck he was in Order of the Phoenix, and spends a good portion of the book with Albus Dumbledore. Note that “Albus” is a reference to the color “white.” In like fashion, just as Sirius Black dies at the end of the black stage, so Albus Dumbledore dies at the end of the white stage. The result is Harry’s new resolve to destroy the Dark Lord.

Red Stage: Ransom passes through to the red mountain upon which he meets the eldil (angels) of the two planets he has visited (Malacandra, or Mars, and Perelandra, or Venus), as well as the King and Queen of Perelandra (like our Adam and Eve), who have finally been reuinited in marriage and are pure and unfallen (unlike our Adam and Eve) because of the work of Ransom.

If Rowling is truly following the alchemical pattern (it would be really hard to deny it at this point), as Granger has noted, we can expect a lot more attention to be paid to Rubeus (”red”) Hagrid in the final installment. Further, if you’ve read Granger’s newest article, you’ll note that there is to be a marriage of “red” (mercury) and “white” (quicksilver) in the red stage. He points to the red-haired Bill Weasley and the cool half-veela Fleur and their upcoming marriage. As I just mentioned, there was the marriage of the King and Queen in the red stage of Perelandra. (The use of the “white coffin” as Ransom’s vehicle of transport is also fascinating in light of Dumbledore’s white coffin at the end of HBP, and “white stone” is another phrase for the Philosopher’s Stone, the end product of the alchemical process).

Much more can be said and speculated about Ransom’s and Harry’s experiences as related to alchemy. For example, the use of the word “gilded” by Lewis twice during Ransom’s travel from the crystal to red mountains (”gold” being the pure result of the alchemical process). Or, for another example, the presence of rose-colored lilies on the red mountain (think “Lily” as Harry’s mother, and both “lily” and “rose” are other words for the Philosopher’s Stone). But the point I’m getting at is that I’m beginning to see more and more the tremendous use of alchemy in great literature. Head over to Hogwarts Professor to learn more than I can tell you, of course. For anyone well-studied in these matters who happens to stumble upon the blog, I’d certainly welcome recommendation for a good starting place to learn more about alchemy and its role in literature.

Tagged as: Alchemy, C.S. Lewis, John Granger, Perelandra, Ransom Trilogy