Alden Farrar English 372 Professor Atwill April 24, 2012 Losing the Self, Surviving the Times

Mystical experience may permanently alter a persons feelings about the need to be consistent and resolve internal contradictions. It may reduce or end the craving to prove oneself superior to others or to obtain other forms of social validation of ones worth, and it may reduce or end the persons quest to obtain feedback and other sources of insight into his or her traits. More broadly, all sorts of self-seeking behaviors (greed, lust, envy) could conceivably be reduced by mystical experiences that reduce or remove selfish motivations. (Baumesiter 17) Present society has no desire to rid itself of these sorts of self-seeking behaviors. The quest to purify the self and be released from the pressure of cravings has been lost to past cultures. The modern American consumerist society seems to only embrace the ideas of greed, lust, and envy. These are the only driving forces in the individuals desire to lose his or herself in this day and age. In The Secret History, Donna Tart subverts the classical idea of genuine loss of self and claims that the only loss of self that is possible in todays world is through hiding ones past and striving to mold identity into a specific, contrived form. Various characters throughout the novel fall victim to fate due to their furtive approach to classical loss of self and

inability to live in the 20th century while others thrive due to their willingness to hide their identities and lose themselves in an image. The character of Henry is the leader of the gang. He came up with the idea to hold a bacchanalia in the first place and is adamantly opposed to living life any way other than in line with strict Greek ideals. Due to his role as leader, this attitude rubs off on the others and is one of the main contributing factors to their desire for an authentic and genuine experience of loss of self and the chaos that ensues because of it. Henry embodies classical morals and rules and looks to embrace ancient practices because he simply does not fit into the modern times. The overwhelming nature of his intellect and education makes him feel as though he is living in the wrong time. Henry sees the bacchanalia as an overall success and is not really very remorseful about the famers death. Barbara Melvin notes that, Because the rite was dedicated to the God, the madness was sanctioned by him, and the celebrants were therefore not held responsible for their actions when possessed with the frenzy of worship (Melvin 59). For this reason Henry takes no blame for the farmers death and rejects the contemporary view that the farmer was justified on being on his land and that they were the ones trespassing and are therefore responsible for his death. Dionysus offered his followers a brief respite from their daily cares and strife in a civilized society, a chance to cleanse themselves of the pent-up frustrations that accompany life and achieve catharsis (Melvin 59). This offering is no longer available in the modern age however and the loss of self that Henry wants so desperately to achieve comes at a huge price, paranoia, secrecy, murder and finally his life. The genuine loss of self he works so feverishly to achieve

is the very thing that leads to his undoing. J.B. Cheaney points out, One night of Dionysian revelry gets them a lifetime of Faustian tragedy working out an inexorable fate for each (Cheaney). Donna Tartt shows that there is no room in society for classical ideals or classically minded people such as Henry. The narrator, Richard Papen, is envious of the lifestyle his friends lead throughout much of the novel. For this reason, Richard hides his modest California upbringing and much of his past from his friends and the entire college. He does not want anyone knowing that he is betraying his past and losing himself in order to try and fit into his ideal image and be accepted in this exclusive group of Greek scholars. Bunny becomes aware of this and tries to expose Richard and prevent him from ridding himself of his true identity. Because of this, Richard allows Bunnys death and even takes part in the plan. By losing himself, Richard gains everything he wants and he could not let Bunny get in the way of that. The contrived form that Richard molds himself into allows him to be included in the group and even go on to be a successful graduate unlike the others. Richard is accepted into the group after the first murder is committed. J.B. Cheaney claims, by becoming part of the desperate measures taken to cover it up, he becomes as guilty as they (Cheaney). Although this may be true, Richard does not suffer the same consequences as the others. This is precisely because Richard does not try to lose himself in the same way as the others. He is an outsider, an observer. By being excluded from the attempt at genuine loss of self, Richard remains firmly in the times and is rewarded for it. Richard is caught between to worlds. He does not commit to the classical fervor that Henry embraces yet he does not feel at home in the modern world either. This is

apparent in the scene where Richard wonders why Henry does not perform the ritual of slaying a pig and pouring the blood over participants after the murder of Bunny like he had done after the bacchanal and Camille responds with: Because I think Henry got the idea that it might upset you (Tartt 338). The reluctance to fully try and live under Greek ideals is what firmly plants Richard in the modern world and is what, in many ways, protects him from the unfortunate fates that the others receive. Barbara Melvin identifies that, Richard merely vacillates, the perpetual outsider, caught between two worlds, at home in neitherthe essential bystander he so aptly describes himself to be (Melvin 60). This characterization is quite accurate because Richards role as a bystander is absolutely essential. If not for this role, Richard could not come out of the situation unscathed and even better off. Fate is an important theme in this novel. The fate of Richard is very telling of Donna Tartts view of the modern world and what is necessary to survive it. By having Richard go on to success after his involvement in such heinous acts, Tartt seems to claim that betraying oneself, instead of simply losing oneself for spiritual reasons and greater understanding as the others do, is necessary and beneficial to success in the modern world. In a phrase, fake it till you make it. The only other character that has knowledge of the situation and escapes from it unharmed is also quite a fake. Julian, the esteemed professor who mentors this rogue group of students, is in many ways responsible for the death of the farmer during the bacchanalia. He is the one who encourages the students to perform the ritual and guides them, particularly Henry, into a life that ignores the modern times and embraces ancient ideals. Julian coaxes them by explaining the need to lose the self:

Because it is dangerous to ignore the existence of the irrational. The more cultivated a person is, the more intelligent, the more repressed, then the more he needs some method of channeling the primitive impulses hes worked so hard to subdue (39). This is all that Henry needs to hear to attempt the ritual. However, Julian who pretends to be such a mentor and father figure and compares himself to the likes of Aristotle and Plato, abandons his pupils at the first sign of trouble. He offers no assistance and flees the college altogether taking his faade and forged persona along with him. Although Donna Tartt may find fault in this character, he escapes from the situation safely and intact precisely because she is well aware of the characteristics that make for survival in our modern world, selfishness, lack of a concrete value system, and a manufactured image that masks ones true nature. Surely none of these are the esteemed Greek ideals the Henry adores and Julian claims to embody. The result of Donna Tartts work in The Secret History is to reinforce the fact that genuine mystical self-loss is not fit for this modern world. It can only exist in a time that upholds true, honorable ideals with persons that seek real honest fulfillment. Mystical experiences that remove selfish motivations could only succeed in making the participants less able to fit in with the corrosive ugly culture that exists today. Tartt is well aware of the disturbing fact that the only beneficial loss of self that is possible today is one that consists of reinventing and hiding ourselves, ignoring our pasts, and working tirelessly to become something otheran image, a mask.

Works Cited Baumeister, Roy F., and Julie J. Exline. "Mystical Self Loss: A Challenge for Psychological Theory." International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 12.1 (2002): 15-20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

Cheaney, J.B. "Blame It on the Snake." World and I Mar. 2003: 40. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

Melvin, Barbara A. "Failures in Classical and Modern Morality: Echoes of Euripides in the Secret History." Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 17.1-2 (1996): 5363. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.

Tartt, Donna. The Secret History. New York: Knopf, 1992. Print.