The Creative Imperative- A Metaphysic in Lawrence Durrells Alex

Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 1975 The Creative Imperative: A Metaphysic in Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet" Stephen Franklin Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in English at Eastern Illinois University Find out more about the program Recommended Citation Franklin, Stephen, "The Creative Imperative: A Metaphysic in Lawrence Durrell's "Alexandria Quartet"" (1975) Masters Theses 3549 https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/3549 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep For more information, please contact tabruns@eiu.edu THE CREAT I VE IMPERATIVE : A METAPHYS I C IN LAWRENCE DURRE LL'S "ALEXANDRIA QUARTET" (TITLE) BY STEPHEN FRANKL I N ,., THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MAS TER OF ARTS I N ENGL I SH IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS 1975 YEAR I HEREBY RECOMMEND THIS THESIS B E ACCEPTED AS THIS PART OF THE GRADUATE DEGRE FULFILLING �IT ED ABOVE PAPER CERTIFICATE #2 TO: Graduate Degree Candidates who have written formal theses SUBJECT: Permission to reproduce theses ' The University Library is re ceiving a num ber of requests from other institutions asking permission to rep r o du ce dissertations for inclusion in their library holdings Although no copyr ig ht laws are involved, we feel that professional courtesy demands that perm ission be obtained from the author before we allow theses to be c opied Please sign one of the following statements: Booth Library of Eastern Illinois University has my permission to lend my thesis to a reputable college or university for th e purpose of copying it for inclusion in that institution's library or research holdings - � Date I respectfully request Booth Library of Eastern Illinois University not allow my thesis be reproduced because ������ Date pdm Author I n a re cent i s sue of Time magaz ine , a cri t i c rath er g l ib ly di s mi s s ed Lawrence Durre l l ' s nove ls as "es s ent i a l ly uns eri ous " To vi ew Durre l l ' s experi ment a l e ffort i n the "Al exandri a Quart et" as "es s ent i al ly uns eri ous , " s eems t o me a myopi c cri t i ca l vi ew , focus ing perh aps on th e exot i c col or , th e ri ch imagi s ti c detai l s , or th e lush , ornate l anguage o f th e tetra l o gy , wh i l e mi s s ing the exp eriment al and vi s i onary nature of th e work And th e "Quart et" t ruly i s vis i onary , att empting t o es t ab l ish noth ing l es s th an a met aphys i c for modern man Our at tempt t o unders tand th is met aphys i c wi l l invo lve three s t eps Firs t , we h ave t o di s c ern any c aus a l influence on Durre l l ' s th inking and at ti tudes I n addi t i on t o th e epi grams and Th i s is easy enough t o pre fat ory not es at th e b eginning o f al l four parts o f th e "Quart et , " h e states unequi voca l ly i n !;;,_Key to Modern Brit i sh Poet ry : As for th e main b i as of my own th ink ing (i f I may , for want of a b et t er word , ca l l it th at) , i t h as devel oped out of a s tudy of anth ropo l ogi s ts like Ty l or , Fraz er , Ri vers , et c : o f psych o l ogi s t s l i k e Jung , Rank , Groddeck and th eir great mas t er , Freud : of s ci ent i s ts like Eddingt on , Wh it eh ead and Eins tein Rememb ering , o f cours e , D H L awrence ' s advice t o trus t th e t a l e and not th e t e l l er , our s e cond s t ep wi l l be t o go t o th e t ext of the "Quartet" and see wh at Durre l l draws from th es e di sparat e th ink ers and h ow h e incorp orat es th ei r fi ndings int o his own part i cu l ar di s cip l ine : th e wri t ing of l i t erature In other words , wh at has Durre l l dis t i l l e d from th e new fi ndings in s ci ence and psych o l ogy , and h ow h as he app l i e d th is t o l i t erature? And fi na l ly , once we know wh o h as influenced Durre l l , and t o wh at ext ent h e h as drawn on th ei r findings , we can advance our own provi s i ona l hyp othes es : th at Durre l l has witnes s ed an evo l ving movement away from th e me chani s t i c univers e of Newt oni an phys i cs t oward th e more dynami c notions of Eins t eini an phys i cs ; and that s imu l t aneous with th i s ch ange i n th e not i on o f th e phys i ca l univers e h as occurred a s imi lar ch ange i n th e not i on o f human p ers ona l i ty - - th e s e l f- - away from th e more mech ani s t i c approach of pre - Freudi an think ers , towards th e dynami c th ought of Jung and b eyond, t o Groddeck, and a vi ew of th e dynami c, creative nature o f th e s e l f; s o th at final ly, Durre l l s ees a coinci dence in th e out er wor l d of th e phys i ca l univers e wor l d o f our s el ves and th e inner His art att empts to emb ody and elucidate the coi nci dence In form and c ont ent, th e "Quart et" is an e ffort to s how th e aggre gate and synthes i zing nature of man ' s cons c i ous nes s , from wh i ch is b orn a sh arpened vi s i on : a vi s i on, it s e ems t o me, whi ch recogni z es th at th e dynami c proces s es of man ' s mind approximat e th e dynami c work ings o f th e phys i c al uni vers e Furth ermore, i t i s this creat i v e activi ty - - th e cons t ant re­ orderin g and cont inual reworking of the mind- - that mus t fina l ly command our trus t and devoti on For i t i s th at creat ive energy wh i ch det ermines th e cont inui ty and purpos e of human experi enc e, and wh i ch is th e pro ces s by wh i ch we re- es t ab l i sh our l i ves I wi 11 ca l l th i s creative act i vi ty th e Creat i ve Imp erative, and s e e it as th e end l es s met amorph os i s of th e human mind as it aspi res t oward me aning Th at s d, by way o f int roducti on, we mi ght again l ook at Durre l l ' s � Key !£_ Modern Bri tish Poetry, a b o ok wh i ch ant edat es th e "Quart et" by s ome fi ve or six years , but wh i ch cont ns mos t o f th e i d e as of th e "Quartet" in germi na l form, and wh i ch i s indis pens ib l e t o an unders t anding of Durre l l ' s art Alth ough th e b ook i s about poetry, we wi l l s ee jus t how c los e ly re l ated are poet ry and fi ct i on in Durrel l ' s mi nd Durre l l t e l ls us th at our h i s t ori cal age i s one in wh i ch "al l the arts and s ci ences are simp ly di fferent di a l ects of th e s ame l anguage, a l l c ont ribut ing t owards an att i tude to l i fe " (Key-1) We know, then , th at our int e rpret ati on o f th e uni vers e , a s far a s Durrel l i s concerned, mus t include al l our modes of th inking, a l l di s ci p l i nes "I h ave a lw ays re garded th es e vari ous fi e l ds of th ou ght as interl ocking an d mutua l ly ferti l i zing, an d h ave never hes i t at ed to b orrow an i dea from one to app ly in anoth er" (Key-xi i), h e c l aims , and we know for Durre l l th e armature of s ci enti fi c th ough t i s neces s ary for any att empt at art S ci ence and art are "mut ua l ly ferti l i zing ; " one provi des a framework for th e o th er In th e 20th Century, wh en men s trive for a comp l et e account of the wor ld in whi ch th ey live , it is only in th e uni ty o f s ci ence and art that there wi l l b e an int e l l igib i l i ty and meas ure to th eir s earch T o ins ure that we n o t mi s s what h e i s att empting, Durre l l s ays in h i s pre fat ory not e t o B a l th a z ar : Modern l i t erature o ffers us no Uni t i es, s o I h ave t urned t o s ci ence and am trying to c omp l ete a four-de ck er nove l wh os e fo rm i s b as ed on the re l at i vi ty propos i ti on Th ree s i des o f space and one o f t ime c ons t i tut e th e s oup-mix recipe of a c ontinuum Th e four nove l s fo l l ow th i s patt e rn The three fi rs t p arts , h owever , are t o b e dep l oyed spati al ly (h ence th e us e o f "s ib l ing" not "seque l") and are not l ink ed in a s eri a l form Th ey int e r l ap , int erweave , in a pure ly s p at i a l re l at i on Time is s t aye d Th e fourth p art a l one wi l l repres ent time and b e a true s eque l Th e s ubject-object relati on is s o i mp ortant t o re l at i vi ty that I h ave tri ed t o turn th e nove l through b oth subje ctive and ob jective modes The thi rd p art , Mount o l i v e , i s a s trai gh t n atura l i s t i c nove l i n wh i ch th e narrat or o f Just ine and Ba lth azar b e comes an object, i e , a ch aract er Th i s i s not Prous tian or J oycean meth o d fo r th ey i l lustrate Bergs oni an "Durati on" in my op ini on, n ot "Space-Time " Th e central top i c o f th e b o ok is an inves ti gat i on o f modern l ove Th es e cons i derat i ons s ound perh aps s omewh at immodes t or even p ompous But i t wou l d b e worth t rying an experiment t o s e e i f we cannot di s cover a morph o l ogi cal form one mi ght appropri ate ly cal l tt c l as s i ca l " for our time Even i f th e res u l t proved t o b e a "s ci en ce-fi ct i on" in th e true s ens e CB-pre fatory not e) H ere, Durre l l h as pres ent e d his p lan t o re conci l e s ci ence and art I quote the entire pas s age b ecaus e th erein l i es th e foundati on for any interpret at i on o f Durre l l ' s work I f w e don ' t at l eas t p arti al ly unders t and the th e ory o f relat i vi ty, for ins t ance, w e wi l l not b e ab l e to under s t and how or why Durre l l approximat es it in h i s nove l Nor cou l d we unders tand th e s i gni fi c ance of Space-Time as opp os ed t o Space and Time Durre l l ' s nove l i s a res u l t o f sweeping and pro found ch anges i n b e l i e fs and va lue s rea li zed ih th e 20th Century, and c l ear ly, h e i s int e res t e d in th e s um t otal of a l l th e e fforts man i s making in h i s att empt t o unders tand th e uni vers e Knowing, th en, th at h e b e l i eves al l i de as "cros s ferti l i z e " each oth e r, and are t o b e unders t ood in t e rms o f e ach oth er, our fi rs t s tep i s t o s ee jus t wh at i t i s th at Durre l l got from A lb ert Eins t ei n E i ns t ein fi rs t pub l ished h i s Speci al Th eory o f Re l at i vi ty in as a s t atement o f th e int erdependence o f t ime and sp ace, and o f th e re l ative rather th an abs o lut e ch aract er of moti on, mas s and ve l o ci ty In he expanded i t in th e General Th eory of Rel ativi ty t o inc lude ques t i ons of gravi t at i on I t i s an except i onal ly diffi cul t th eory t o unders tand, ful l o f comp l ex mathemati c a l formul at i ons and techni cal i t i es, and y et, one th at h as revo luti oni zed our concept i on of th e phys i cal univers e Th e th e ory demands a c omp l et e re-evaluat i on of our b as i c notions o f th e way th i ngs are We mus t rea l i z e, fi rs t o f a l l, th at our vi ew o f the uni vers e is s imp ly a rat i ona l cons truct We conc eive of i d e as t o make s ens e and order in the world and t o es t ab li s h a cert n i nt e l l i gibi l i ty to our l ives Certain th ings s eem t o h appen, s o we p os i t reas ons for th eir o ccurrence and s ooner or l ater thes e reas ons c ome t o be s e en as neces s i ti es But the th eory of re l at i vity has sh own, as Bertrand Rus s e l l has pointed out, that w e mus t get rid o f ideas and noti ons wh i ch may seem us e fu l in everyday li fe, but whi ch are noneth e l es s inaccurat e Th e th eory of re l ati vi ty, h e s ays, demands noth ing l es s th an a change i n our imaginative pi cture o f th e world An exhaus t i ve s tudy o f re l ativi ty would h ave to dea l wi th que s t i ons of th e ve l o city of l i ght, mot i ons o f b odi es in s pace, and questi ons o f spat i al dis t an ce and time int e rva l s , wh i ch are, o f cours e, inte gral t o th e theory, but wh i ch are beyond the s cope o f th i s parti cu l ar ess ay For our purp oses we need on ly cons ider thre e o f th e s everal ideas advanced by th e th eory o f re l at i vi ty : n ame ly, th at time is rel ative ; th at space and t i me are interdep endent and not dis tinct from each other ; and l as t ly, that there c an be n o di s t inct i on b etween s ubject and object, th at i s t o s ay, subj e ct and obje ct cons t i tut e a wh o le, s o th at one cannot ob s erve th e c ours e o f nature wi th out necess ari ly di s turb in g i t Th es e are th e aspects of re l at ivity th at i nt e re s t Durre l l, and as s uch, th e asp e ct s we sh oul d concern ours e lves wi th i n a s tudy o f th e "Quarte t " Time, pri or t o E i ns t ei n, was unde rs t o od t o t o b e real, exi s t i n g apart from human cons ci ousnes s Newt oni an phys i cs p os i t ed t ime as abs o lute, s omething th at actual ly pas s ed from a point, to a point As such, t ime was independent of human b eings ; we l i ved in t i me and pas s ed from one point in time to another, but it remain ed ext erna l t o us Re l ativi ty h as shown us th at time does not re al ly exi s t ap art from human consci ousne s s ; in fact, t ime i s dependent upon human cons ci ous nes s Time i s s imp ly a princip l e o f order th at th e human mi nd imp os es on the flux and process of l i ving So, we obs erve a proces s occurring fbr ex amp l e, ageing from bi rth to death and we in fer from th at pro ces s th e movement of t ime time is not moving But We note proces s and ch ange o c curring, and h ence, mis t ak en ly concei ve of th e movement of t ime What w e are re al ly doin g , however , i s not i cing th e int erv a l b etwe en s t at es of being, and th en as s umin g th at we are p as s ing through time from one point t o ano ther We s o, c l ear ly, b e c aus e in perceiving ch ange we nece s s ari ly think of b e fore and after ; b ut th e re a l nature of t ime i s ab s o lut e ly i ndepen dent o f proces s es th at o ccur R,M Maclve r succinct ly s t ates th e n ature of t ime in h i s b ook Th e Ch a l lenge o f th e P as s in g Y ears : � Encount er � T ime : We know time on ly as th at univers a l cont inuum i n or a l ong or th rough w'hi ch ch an ge and durat i on, b eginnin gs and endings, and not l e as t the happ eni ngs of our own lives, occur Th i s univers a l cont i nuum, the unimaginab l e princip l e or dimens i on w e c a l l time , i s punctuated, recogni zed, fi l l e d and meas ured by th e proces s es that t ake p l ace in i t As we s e e, time i s mere ly a datum, a b as i s for un ders t anding and orderin g proces s es th at o ccur , b ut wh i ch i s , i ts e l f, b ey ond a l l proce s s es Durre l l, we recogni z e , i s c l ear ly resp ons ive t o thi s th eory o f t ime , and i s intent th at his nove l remain t rue t o i t Th e very s t ruc ture of th e work i s th e b es t evi dence o f Durre l l ' s ac cept ance o f th i s nature o f t ime We don ' t s ee , as we wou l d i n a more conventi on a l novel , a s conc ern wi th ch rono l ogi cal t ime, th at is, t ime wh i ch i s di re ct i onal , moving s t e adi ly from p as t event s through the p res ent Th e fi rs t three p arts of th e tetral ogy, we reca l l , "int e r l ap, i nt erweave in a pure ly s pat i al re l ati on" ( B-.pre fatory note ) wh i ch time i s "s t aye d " l ine ar I ns t e ad, we s ee : Th ey are no t "s eque l s , " but "s ib l ings , " i n Th e narrative movement of th e three i s not Th e narrative momentum forward is count er-s prun g by re ferences b ackw ards in time, givin g th e impres sion of a b ook whi ch is not t rave l ling from a t o b but s t anding ab ove time and t urning s l ow l y o n it s own axis t o compreh end th e wh o l e pat t e rn Things d o no t a l l l ead forward t o other things : s ome l e ad b ackwards t o things which h ave p as s ed A marriage o f p as t and pres ent with th e flying mul ti ­ p licity o f th e future racing t owards one (J- 24) I n the "Quarte t," time is a function o f the human r e ferent Dar l ey, th e narrator o f Jus tine and B a lth az ar, does no t t e l l his s t ory in line ar fashion, " from a to b," but s ays, rather: Wh at I mos t nee d to is t o record experien ces, not in th e order in which th ey took p l ace for th at is his t ory but in th e o rder in which th ey firs t b ecame signifi c ant for me (J-1 0) Cons equentia l events and chrono l ogical order are c l ear ly inadequat e t o re fle c t time As Car l Bode h as p ointed out, th e rea l significance of th e order o f events is det ermin ed by which one firs t b e c ome s s i gnificant t o the ch aract er from whos e p oint o f view Durre l l is writing Time is not a s eries o f moments from p as t to pres ent t o future, but is ins t ead the Pres ent in which th e human mind op erat es Durre l l ' s att empt is to s et up a s t ructure for th e nove l which re f l e ct s th e workings o f th e mind No matter wh os e p oint o f view Durre l l is writing from, time exis ts in th e pres ent moment and moves b ack and forth among p as t, future and p resent, ob livi ous to the workings of chronologica l time Now, k eeping this in mind, w e rea lize th at Newtonian "time" is inaccurate Time is a human concep tion, and as such is not independent of us , nor independent of s p ace, for if time is dep endent up on a human referent it fo l l ows th at it is dependent upon wh ere that human re ferent exis ts in s pace Re l ativity h as sh own, furth er, that the unive rs e is curved, not s tret chin g on and on as N ewt onian physics s ugges t ed, but existing in a circu l ar manner, coi ling and recoi l ing tn up on its e l f in a continual 18 moth er, fath er and chi l d W e know, o f c ours e, o f th e Oedipal Comp l ex and th e us e Freud made of i t We kn ow, furth er, of th e re l at i onship b etwe en Mount o l i ve and his moth er: Hi s moth er was s i t t i ng by th e fire, jus t as h e had l as t l e ft h er, with a book open upon h er kne es, s mi l ing I t h ad b e c ome a convent i on b etween th em t o di s regard h i s dis app earances and returns : t o beh ave as i f h e h ad s imp ly abs ent ed hims e l f for a few moments from th i s comp ani onab le room wh ere sh e spent h er li fe, readin g or p ainting or kni t ti ng b e fore th e gre at firep lace Sh e was s mi ling,,now wi th th e s ame s mi l e des i gned to cement s pace and time, and t o anneal th e l one lines s whi ch b es et h er whi le h e was away "Y our fath er wi l l b e p l e as ed, " sh e s d later, in a new voi ce, sharper for b eing ful l of an unrea l i z ed jea l ousy - - t i demarks of a p as s i on wh i ch h ad long s ince re funded its e l f into an unwi l l ing acqui es cence " I put al l your mai l in his s tudy for y ou " "Hi s" s tudy -�th e s tudy wh i ch h i s father h ad never s een, never i nh ab i ted Th e de fecti on of h i s fath er s t ood a lways b etween th em as th e i r c l os es t b ond, s e ldom di s cus s ed yet s omehow a lways th ere the invi s ib l e w eight ·Of h i s privat e exi s t ence, apart from th em b oth, i n ano th er corner of th e worl d: h appy or unh appy, wh o can s ay? He h ad not s een h i s fath er s ince h i s dep arture from I n di a on h i s e l eventh b i rth day ; he h ad b ecome l i k e s omeone condemned in ab s t ent i a for a crime wh i ch could not b e formu l ated (M- - 2) • • • And we know, too, th at Mounto live t ak es for a l over a moth er fi gure, Lei l a, th e moth er o f Narou z and Nes s i m I n addi ti on, we h ave oth er examp les whi ch refl ect Freud ' s b e l i e f th at everything cou l d b e traced to th e s exua l preo ccup ati ons o r experi en ces of ch i l dh ood Freud s ays: Th e psych oanalys es o f i ndivi dua ls h ave t augh t us th at th ei r e arl i es t impres s i ons, recei ved at a t ime wh en th ey w ere hard ly ab le t o ta lk, mani fes t th emse;lves l ate r in an obsessive fash i on ; 10 • Knowin g th at Durre l l has re ad Freud, we cannot h e lp but s e e th e connection b etween Freud ' s words and Narou z ' s t errifying exp eri ence with hi s fath er: Th e y ounger s on wat ched as i f mes meri z ed (On ce, i n ear ly chi l dh ood, he h ad s e en s omething l i k e it but no t qui t e as s t ern, not quite as withdrawn as this : yet s omething like it Th at was wh en his fath er w as des cribing th e death of the evi factor Mahmoud, wh en he s d grim ly, "S o th ey came and t i e d him to a tre e Et � lui ! coup l l es ChOSeS and stuffed them intQ hi s mouth• II As a Chi l d i t WaS enough 19 jus t t o repe at the words and reca l l th e expres s i on on h i s father ' s face t o make Narou z fe e l on th e point o f faint in g Now thi s i nci dent came b ack t o him with redoub l ed t e rror as he saw th e i nvalid c on­ fronting hims e l f in a moon l i t image, s l ow ly rai s ing th e pis to l t o p oint i t, not at h i s t emp l e, but at the mi rror, as h e repeat ed i n a h oars e croaking voi ce, "And now i f sh e should fall in l ove, you kn ow wh at you mus t do") (M- 26 - 7) Durre l l ' s us e o f th e parenth eti ca l expres s i on h ere ni cely sugges ts and emb odi es the ve ry point Freud h as made : an ear ly impres s i on, repres s ed or i gnored, wi l l, at a s ound, a s ight, a ges ture, b e reca l l e d Furthermore, Freud s ays : Th e exp eri ences are as a rul e enti rely forgot t en and remain inac ces s ib le t o memory Th ey b e l ong to th e p eri od o f i nfant i l e amnes i a wh i ch i s often int errupted by i s o l at ed fragment ary m emo ri es, the s o- ca l l e d "s creen-memori es " 1 He a ls o says : An ana lys i s mus t go back t o th e p at i ent ' s e ar ly ch i ldhood, b ec aus e i t w as th en, wh i l e th e E go was weak, tha t th e deci sive repres s i ons oc curred Wi th thes e s t atements in mi nd, we think of Arnaut i ' s ob s es s ive concern t o unders t and and b re ak Jus tine ' s "ch eck " " I n th e very h e art of p as s i on," h e wri t es , addi ng in p arenth es es, " (p as s i on wh i ch t o her s e emed the mos t faci l e o f gi fts) there was a che ck s ome great impediment of fee ling wh i ch I b ec ame aware o f on ly after many months I t ros e up b etween us l i k e a shadow and I re cogni z ed, or th ought I di d, th e true enemy of th e h appiness wh i ch we l onge d to sh are and from wh i ch we fe lt ours e lves s omeh ow exc luded What was i t? "Sh e t o ld me one ni ght as we l ay i n th at ug ly great b ead in a rent ed room a gaunt re ctangu l ar room o f a vague ly French - Levanti ne shape and fl avour : a s tucco cei ling covered wi th de compos ing ch erub s and p os i es o f vine - l e aves Sh e t o l d me and l e ft me raging with a j ea l ousy I s t rugg l e d to hi de - -but a je a l ousy of an ent i rely nove l s ort I t s obje ct was a man wh o th ough s ti l l a l i ve, no longer exi s ted It i s perh ap s wh at th e Freudians wou l d cal l a s creen -memory o f incident s in h er earli est youth She h ad ( and th ere was no mi staking th e force o f th i s confes s i on for i t was accompani ed by floods o f te ars, and I h ave n ever s een h er w eep like th at b e fore or s ince) : sh e h ad b ee n rap e d by one o f her re l at i ons One cannot hel p s mi ling at th e commonp l acenes s o f the th ought I t was impos s ib l e t o judge at wh at 20 age Neverthe less - - and here I thought I had penetrated t o the h e art of The Che ck : from thi s time forward she cou l d ob t n no s at is facti on in l ove un l e s s she ment a l ly re- cre at ed thes e incidents and re- enacted them (J- 64) Thes e are on ly a few o f the more not i c ab l e examp l es of Freud ' s i n fluence o n Durre l l , but th ey c learly show t h e intere s t Durre l l h as i n th e psycho l ogi s t and h i s vi ews Cert ain ly , we can di s c ern Durre l l ' s aware- nes s th at th e s elf mus t no l onger b e considered in the t e rms of P oe's l et t er No l onger could th e s e l f b e s o c lear ly de fined and del ineate d Yet , as certain ly as Durre l l b e l i eves in the dynami c nature of Freud ' s th eori es in re l at i on to pre- Freudi an th inkers , and for a l l his accep t ance of thos e th eori es; he nonethe l es s remains uneas y Freud , for a l l his ori ginality and ins i ght , remained fundamenta l ly mech ani s ti c According t o Durre l l : Freud ' s di s c overi es face forwards into th e twenti eth century , but his inte l l ectua l predispos i t i ons faced b ackwards t owards Darwin Th e psyche b e came a s ort o f impu l s e - and- i nh ib i t i on machine - - for Freud was a mechani s t at heart - - and as psycho -ana lys i s proceeded to branch out , and overflow into vari ous other departments o f spec­ u l ati on like anthropo logy , aes th et i cs , re l i gi on , s ome o f th e younger men b e gan t o b e come uneasy about i t Freud , you s ee , cou l d not for a moment drop his s tri ct inherence to caus at i on He was l ook ing for primary c aus es It was Jung , one of h i s pupi l s , wh o deve l oped a new attitude t o th e s ci ence , wh i ch we mi ght describ e as vi t a l i s ti c in out look Jung s ub s t i tuted the i de a o f creative b a l ance for th e idea of fi rs t caus e He deve l op e d h i s own terms of re fe rence , and redefined his objecti ves For him treatment became , not a pure caus e and e ffect op eration , but a spi ri tu a l reintegrati on (Key - 2-6 3) S o th e name of Jun g comes up and we s ee another influence on Durrel l We a l so s e e a distinct and imp ort ant s imi l ari ty in th e progres s i on o f s ci ent i fi c and non- s ci enti fi c thought E in s t ein ' s reacti on to N ewtoni an phys i cs was much th e s ame as Jun g ' s resp ons e t o Freud ' s th eori es : b oth, men re ac ted to over ly ri gid and re s tri ctive out l ooks Eins tein rep laced the mech ani s t i c vi ew o f matter , and ab s o lute space and time , with Spac e-Time and re l ativi ty ; Jung rep l aced Freud ' s p rima l c aus e , and the noti on o f 21 caus e and effe ct , with , i n Durrel l ' s words , "spi ri tua l reint egrati on and creative s ynthes i s " (Key - 3&7 3) Th is i s not t o sugges t that eith e r Newt oni an phys i cs or Freudi an psychoana lys i s is out dat ed or unus ed C l e ar ly Nor woul d I go s o far as to sugges t an ab s o lute th is i s not the case or di re c t ana l ogy i e , Newton was t o Eins tein , as Freud was t o Jung-�but I am sugge s t i ng that th ere has b een a de fin i t e evo lving para l l e l movement of wh i ch Durre l l is aware And our next s tep mus t th ere fore b e t o dis cus s Jung ' s influence evi denced in th e "Quart et " Like Freud , Jun g a ls o p l aced great emph as i s on th e unc ons ci ous pro ces s es of the mind But wh ereas Freud b e l i eved th at b eh avi our could b e unders tood b y referring t o repres s ed chi ldhood exp eri ences , Jung fe l t that , i n additi on to indivi dua l repres s i ons , the comp lexity o f human mo­ t i vat i on could accurat e ly be exp lained in t erms of a co l l ective uncons ci ous wh i ch is th e property of a l l peop l e I t i s through the s tudy o f man ' s mytho l o gy and rac i a l ori gi n , Jung fe lt , that w e can unde rs t and ours e lves b etter Durre l l ' s fi cti ona l mi l i eu c l ear ly refl ects Jung ' s emph as i s on myth and raci a l ori gin We know Al exandria as a ci ty of "fi ve races , fi ve l anguages , a z en creeds" (J-4) It is a city wh ere we h e ar " fragments of every l anguage Arm eni an , Greek , Amhari c , Moroccan Arab i c" (J -49) We s ee "Jews from As i a mi nor , P ontus , Georgi a : mo thers b orn in Greek sett lements on the B l ack S e a ; communi ties cut down like the b ranches of t rees , l acking a p arent b ody , dreami ng o f Eden" (J-49) Al ex andria i s a ci ty ful of Greeks , Turks, Eng l ish , French , Egyp t i an Copts and Mos lems , P a l es ti ni an Jews an d Arab s , and oth ers , count les s and mul t i fari ous We s e e the great cros s - current and unde rt ow of my th and re l i gi on in B a lth a z ar ' s Cab a l , and in Dar l ey ' s cont inua l re ferences 22 t o the Ph aros , th e Mus es , Aph rodi t e, and oth ers We s ee , furthermore, emph as is on rac i a l ori gin in th e e l der, inval i d Hosnani ' s impas s i oned reci t a l o f Copt i c h i s t ory , and in Narouz ' s re l i gi ous ch auvinism; in th e many quotat i ons from P aracelsus ; and i n the re l i gi ous and mys t i c exp erienc es o f th e A l exandri an Arab p e as ants And final ly, we s ee that gre at co l l ective uncons ci ous in th e vers e of the o ld poet, C P C avafy , wh os e pres ence i s everywhere fe lt and recorded through out th e "Quart et " I de a l voi ces and much b e l oved Of th os e wh o died, of th os e wh o are Now l ost for us like the very dead ; S ometi mes wi thin a dre am th ey speak Or in th e ti ck ing b rai n a th ought revives th em (J- 24) In th es e words we s e e th e expres s i on of th e uncons ci ous interpretati on of li fe ; an int erpret at i on engendered deep in th e mind, b e l onging not exc lus ive ly to th at mi nd, but to remote ances t ors , s peak ing from th e dead t o the unb orn I n addi t i on , we rememb er Ne s s im ' s dreams : dreams in whi ch "th e fulcrum of his vi s i on was dis turbed and other s cenes grave ly intervened, dis re gardin g gruenc e and peri od , dis re garding h i s t ori c t ime and common prob ab i l ity" (J-1 59) I t i s import ant t o rememb er, t oo, jus t how Durre l l des cribes th os e dreams : At th i s time h e h ad a lready begun t o experi ence that great cycle of h i s tori cal dreams wh i ch now replaced the dre ams of h i s childhood in his mind , and into wh i ch th e Ci ty now threw i t s e lf as if at l as t i t h ad found a resp ons ive s ubje ct through whi ch t o expre s s th e co l l ect ive des i res, th e co l l e ctive wishes, wh i ch informed its culture He wou ld wak e to s ee the t owers and mi narets printed on th e exhaus ted, dus t-p owdered s ky , and s ee as i f �mont age on them th e giant foot­ prints of the hi s t ori c a l memory wh i ch li es b ehind th e reco l l ections of indivi dua l pers ona l i ty , i ts mentor and guide : indeed its i nvent or, s ince man i s on ly an ext ens i on of th e s p i ri t of p l ace (J- 57- 8) Th es e are not s imp ly an indivi dual ' s dre ams Th ey are that too, of cours e, but more imp ortant ly they are dr eams th at stem from th e deep Wei l-spring of th e race : dre ams reflecting our p arti cipati on in th e world , trans cending 23 indivi dual pers onal i ty and s ugges t i ng unive rs ali ty We s ee, th en, a new at titude t owards man has tak en us another s t ep "creat i ve synthes i s " Jung ' s depth psy ch o l o gy From F reud's "me chanis m," we have come t o Jung ' s And wh at we can discern i s a p ro ces s very much l i k e an H ege l i an di a le cti c in Durre l l ' s the oret i ca l and t e chnica l approach to wri ting, as w e l l as in th e int erna l dev e l opment of th e "Quart et " E ach attemp t to formu l ate an i dea ab out the univers e (a th es i s ) is contradi cte d b y anoth er formu l ati on o r i dea (an anti thes i s ) and th e confl i ct can on ly b e res o l ved by a prop os i t i on wh i ch incorporates th e parti a l truth of b oth o f th em (th e synth es i s) In the interna l deve l opment of the "Quartet," we s ee th e cont inua l s t riving of the ch aract ers t o comb ine th e vari ous "th es es" and "anti th eses" of re l at i ve ob s ervat i on int o h i gher "s ynth es es " Th ei r actions b ecome a s earch for meanin g In th e t ask of writ ing we s e e Durre l l at tempting th e s ame thing in h i s s ynth es i zing of vari ous th inker s ' vi ewpoints In a continuing evo lut i on, we are moving t owards a h igher, more ac curat e synth es i s of i deas Wi th th i s in mind, let us cons i der Georg Groddeck, and h i s in fluence on Durre l l Durre l l s ays o f Groddeck : He i s , I th ink, a s ui t ab l e subje ct o f study for us b ecaus e h e i s th e fi rs t analys t t o try to g o b ey ond th e ego in h i s concept i on o f human p ers ona l i ty In Groddeck we reach th e boundari es of th e e go and are a l l owed t o pe er into th e mys t i c a l regi ons wh i ch lie b ey ond, wh i l e h i s work i l lus trates jus t h ow far th e p endulum has swung from th e me chani s t vi ew t o th e vi t a l i s t We mi ght des crib e h im a s th e comp l et e vi t a l i s t (Key-73) Durre l l i s cert ain ly aware of th e advancing s t ages of man's th ought ab out hims e l f belief And.agai n, we are moving with h im t o exp l ore this new rea lm o f Durre l l s e es in Groddeck's th ought th at pers ona l i ty t o s ome d e gr e e i s formed b y th e "It " none th e l e s s p art o f us Th is "It" i s a mys t eri ous force, b ut one W'h i ch i s In Groddeck ' s own words : 24 Th e s um to tal o f an indi vi dual human b e ing, phys i c a l, ment al and s p i ri tual, th e organi sm wi th a l l i t s forces, th e microcosmos, th e uni ve rs e wh ich i s a man, I conceiv e o f as s e l f unkn own and forever unknowab l e, and I c a l l thi s ' Th e It ' , as the mos t indefinite t erm avai l ab le wi thout e i th er emot i onal or inte l l ectual as s oci at i ons The It -hyp ot es i s I regard, not as a truth, - -for wh at d o any of us know ab out abs o lut e Truth? - -b ut as a us e fu l tool in work and l i fe ; i t h as s t ood th e t e s t o f years o f medi c a l work and exp eriment and s o far noth ing h as h appened wh ich wou l d l e ad m e t o ab andon i t or even modi fy it in any es s enti a l degre e I as s ume that man i s animat e d by th e It wh ich di rects wh at he does and wh at he goes th rough, and th at the as s erti on ' I l i ve ' on ly exp res s es a s mal l and superfici a l p art o f the t otal experi ence ' I am lived by th e It ' (Key- 74) Man i s a functi on o f th e "It " the e go is mi s l e ading Groddeck b e l i eved th at Freud ' s no ti on of We de lude ours e lves by att ributing a p e rs ona l i ty t o th e e go Wh en w e occupy ours e lves in any w ay ei th er with ours e lves or wi th our fe l l ow -man, we th ink of th e ego as the es s ent i al thing We know, for i ns t ance, th at no man ' s ego h as anything t o with th e fact th at he p os s esses a human form, th at he is a human b eing Y et as s oon as we perceive in th e distance a b ein g wh o i s walking on two l e gs we immedi ate ly as s ume th at th i s b ei n g is an e go, that he c an b e made res p ons ib le for wh at h e i s and wh at h e does, and inde ed if we did not th i s everythi ng th at is human wou l d di s appear from th e wor l d Sti l l we know qui t e cer;tain ly that th e humani ty o f th is b ei n g was never wi l le d by his e go What h as b reathing t o w i th th e wi l l? We h ave to b egin as s oon as w e l eave the womb, we cannot ch o os e but breath e No one h as c ommand ove r the p ower to s l e ep It wi l l come or it wi l l not No one c an regu l ate the b eating of h i s h e art (Key- 74- 5) • Groddeck fee ls we mus t get ri d of our mi s t aken notion of th e ego as th e s o le det erminer o f our lives and acti ons to Groddeck ' s ideas Durre ll i s evi dent ly resp ons ive He s ays : Th e "It, th en, ant edates a l l our i nt e l l e ctual app aratus , our conceptua l mechani s m" (Key- 79) influences us as humans Th e "It" is a p ower wh i ch Durre l l s i gni ficant ly ca l ls the "It" "a Way, n o t a Thing" (K ey - 79), and goes o n in an ec l ectic, synth es i zing way t o describ e th e "It" in th e words of Shri Khri shna Prem Th e p ower of the ey e t o see depends en t irely on p ower o f th e vision inherent in th at Li ght which s ees through th e eye b ut wh i ch th e eye 25 does no t s ee ; whi ch he ars th rough t h e ear , but wh i ch th e ear does not h e ar ; whi ch thinks through th e mi nd but wh i ch th e mi nd does not think It i s th e uns een Seer , th e unh eard He arer, th e unth ought Thi nk e r Oth er th an It th ere i s no s e er , h earer , think er (Key - 3) Wh en Durre l l s ays , "thes e words of Sh ri Khris hna Prem s e em t o b e as app li cab le t o Wes t ern met aphys i cs t oday as t o E as tern" (Key - 3) , we are aware of jus t h ow much Durre l l , hims e l f , emb odies th at synth es i z ing proces s o f wh i ch he wri tes He i s wh at he wri t es ab out , and th e "Al exandri a Quartet" i s wh at it s ays Th e "It , " th en , is th e forever exi s t i ng ; b eyond th e impu l s es of the e go , b eyond even , th e great rac e - memory of human-kind , i t i s s ometh ing wh i ch it s e l f exi s ts , without form , without co l or , w i th out di s tincti on And yet , i t exi s t s as p art o f th e order and coh eren ce we mi gh t purpri s e i f w e are "attenti ve enough , loving enough, or p at i ent enough" (J- 20 0) It i s anoth er link wi th th e wor ld , a mani fes t at i on abs o lut e and unas s l ab l e , th at s ei zes and t akes p os s es s i on o f man , wh ereas h e n eve r ent i re ly pos s es s i t T o no les s a de gree th an we l i ve , does i t live us ours as humans , and we are i t I n sh ort , i t is Durre l l shows th e work ings of th e " It" in Jus t ine : In thi s cho i c e t o o , I s ee s ometh ing fo rtuitous , b o rn of impu lses wh i ch I am forced t o re gard as outs ide th e range o f my own nature (J- 8) Vo l i t i ona l thrus t and inspi rat i on are ours as humans , but Durre l l sugges ts that there is more : th e s p i ri t o f our p lace in Sp ace -Time : We are the chi ldren of our l ands cap e ; i t d i c t ates b ehavi our and even thought in th e me as ure t o wh i ch we are resp ons i ve t o i t (J- 29) Or : I s ee a l l o f us not as men and women any lon ger, ident i ties swo llen wi th th e i r acts of f orget fulnes s , fo l li es , and de cei t s - -but as beings uncons ci ous ly made part of p l ac e ( B - 2 ) 26 Our journey with Durre l l t owards a gre ater and gre ater int e gration of i de as s eems to me to be ni ce ly hint e d at i n Dar l ey ' s quot ati ons In th em , we are forced t o s e e the gradua l b lurring o f th e di s tincti on b e tween modes o f th ought , and hence , admi t t o a newer rea lity s i mp l e i dent i t ies , b eings known a s men or women No longer are we Nor are w e even b eings wh os e pers ona l ities are forme d s i mp ly by our " forget fulne s s " or "deceit s , " as Freud woul d have sugge s t e d We are i dent i ti es in p art formed by internal i�pu ls es , of cours e , but we s ee a ls o th at wh at we are is determined t o no l e s s a de gre e by forces outs i de our individual natures A:5 "chi ldren o f our l ands cape , " and "b eings unc ons ci ous ly made part of p l ace , " we unders t and and b ear wi tnes s by our very exi s tenc � , to the communi on betwe en heretofore di sparat e modes of th ough t Durre l l c l ear ly te l ls us : We are prob ab ly i n the mi ds t of react i on s t i l l , y y t i t s eems c l ear th at th e resp e ct for th e Noumenal w or l d as agai ns t the Ph enomena l i s receiving every day a fresh imp etus Cosmo l ogy , in an a t t emp t t o remain inc lus ive o f the s o-ca l l e d ' known fact s o f s ci ence ' , finds i ts e l f a l l but joining h ands wi th th os e wh o favour a deep ly mys t i cal vi ew of the wor ld I t i s as i f th e arts and s ci ences w ere c onve rgi n g s t eadi ly up on a n ew at titude to l i fe as yet out o f s i gh t b ut at at ti tude wh i ch mi gh t have th e s anction o f the rea l i s t i c physici s t no l e s s th at th e mys ti c , and th e re l i gi ous formis t wh o c l aims that the Ch ri s t i an atti tude h as i ts p l ace a ls o as an impetus t owards th e P erenni al Ph i l os ophy (Key- 70) Jus t as s i gni fi cant for our s tudy as th e aforement i oned words of Durre l l i s anoth er s mal l quotati on Durre l l s ays , quot ing D H Lawrence : Th e decades o f th e p res ent century h ave b een chi e fly remark ab l e for th e breach es made i n the us ua l ly accepted fronti ers b etw e en the phys i ca l and met aphys i c a l rea lms Phi l os oph ers now exp l n psych o l o gi cal ph en omena i n phys i c a l te rms ; phys i c i s ts give met aphys i ca l int erpre ­ t ati ons o f natural ph enomena Th e future h i s t ori an of mo dern l i t e rature wi l l fi nd it di ffi cu l t to s ep arate s ci ence and ph ilos ophy int o di s t inct ch apt ers (Key-69) Durre l l , as a wri t er of modern fi cti on , knows what Lawren ce is t a lk i n g ab out and b e li eves i t We rememb e r th e wri t er-phi los oph er , Purs ewarden , 27 describing events a s co l l ectin g "h ere and th ere lik e quant a , lik e re al life" (B- 241) Or we rememb e r the narrat or of Mount o live des cribin g Nes sim ' s psych o l ogical s t at e in th e precis e t e rminology nece s s ary in a Space-Time , re l ativis t i c univers e : N es s im , t o o , s o l ong s e l f-de luded by th e s ame dre ams o f a per£ect fini t e acti on , free and h eed l e s s as th e impu ls e of a direct ed wi l l , now found hims e l f , like his friend , a prey t o th e gravitational forces which l i e inherent in th e t ime-sp ring o f our act s , making th em s pread , ramify and dist ort th ems e l ves ; making th em spread as a s t ain wi l l sp re ad up on a wh ite cei ling Indeed , now th e mast ers were b e gi nning to find th at th ey were , aft er al l , the s ervants of th e very forces which th ey h ad s et in p l ay , and th at nature is inherent l y un governab l e Th ey were s oon to b e drawn a l on g ways not o f th eir ch oos i n g , trapped in a magnetic fi e ld , as it were , by th e s ame forces which unwi nd th e tides at th e moon ' s bidding , or prop e l th e g l i tterin g forces of s a lmon up a crowded river- - actions curvin g and swe l ling int o futurity b eyond the p ow ers of mort a l s to h arnes s or divert (M- 2-1 3) And w e rememb e r Balth a z ar Though not t e chnica l ly a phys icis t , h e is a doct or and a s tudent o f th e Cabb a l a , and as s uch , th e one ch aracter most int eres ted in th e study o f th e ext e rnal and int ernal wor lds Dar l ey s ays of him : He s p ok e , I rememb er , o f th e fons signatus , o f th e psych e and o f i ts ab i lity t o perceive an inh e rent order i n the univers e which unde r l ay th e app arent form l es sne s s and arbitrarines s o f ph enomena Dis cip lines of mind could enab l e p e op l e to p enetrat e b ehind th e vei l of re a l ity and to dis cover h armoni es in space and time which corresp onded t o th e i nner structure o f the i r own psych e s (J - - 86) We must not forget , either , th at "th e s tudy o f th e Cabb a l a was b oth a science and a re ligion" (J-86) S o Durre l l is moving in a definite direction To think of him as at tempt ing a new metaphys i c i s not unre as onab l e in l i gh t of the caus a l in fluences o n h i m which w e h ave di scerned , as w e l l as th e evi dence within th e "Quartet" its e l f At the ri sk of overs t ating a p oint , h owever , we c an s ee even furth er evidence After noting that th e gap b etween science , art , and re ligi on is narrowing , Durre l te l l s us unequivo cal ly : "We are moving 28 t owards a new met aphys i c- - at any rat e new for us " (Key - 5) Alth ough th is st atement app ears i n � Key to Modern Bri t i sh Poet ry, and refers , s t ri ct ly speak i n g , to Briti sh p oet ry o f the 20th Century, we can , in vi ew of th e abundant evi dence showing th at th e criti cally expres s ed ideas of the "Key" are th e s ame as th e fi cti ona l ly expre s s ed ones of the "Quart et," suggest with certainty that Durre l l i s inde ed moving t owards a new met aphys i c in h i s tetra l ogy Th at metaphys i c i s the Creative Imp e rati ve whi ch we unde rs t and i s the human agon o f s e l f-dis covery and awarenes s It i s the force greater th an individual man- - compri s ed o f individual d i s p os i ti ons , race memory and spi rit of p l ace - -but a force wh i ch can find e;xpres s i on on ly through man : a continual , on- goin g , spontaneous cre ati on , un limi t ed and unb ounded It mi ght b e ca l l ed, in a re l ativi sti c univers e wh ere a l l t ime i s pe rp etua l ly pres ent, th e "eternal" spi ri t o f que s t ; for in a world wh ere th ere c an b e n o ab s o lute obs ervation p ost, i n a wor ld wh ere b eh avi our mus t b e s e en as th e res u lt o f mult ip l e and amb i guous caus ation, wh ere pers ona lities are a ch aot i c jumb le o f confli cting i mpuls es , th i s force i s the s in g l e uni fying as p e ct, th e commona l i ty among a l l memb ers of humanity It i s th e quest to know, t o underst and, th e infi nite facet s of th e s e l f and the world We mus t rememb e r, again, B a lth a zar te l ling Darl ey o f th e fons s i gnatus of th e psych e and its ab i lity t o perceive an inherent order in th e uni vers e wh i ch under l ay th e apparent formles snes s and arb i trarines s o f ph enomena (J - 86) Di s cip lines o f mind , w e re c a l l, coul d enable peop l e t o penet rate b eh ind the vei l o f rea lity and t o di s cove r h armoni es in s p ace and time wh i ch corresp onded t o th e inner s t ructures of th ei r own psych es : (J - 86) 29 C l early , Bal thazar is t a lk in g ab out the human gi ft ; and in a world wh ere th ere can b e no ab s o lute "Truth , " there � b e continual , p rovi s i ona l human t ruths Th e human pres ence , as th e sum o f vari ous facu lt i es and capab i l i t i es , perceives acut e ly : th e obj ect o f i ts p ercept i on b eing rea l i ty An d wh at i t p erceives as re a l i ty i s credib l e , th at i s t o s ay , the "truth , " which may b e di fferent from ab s o lute fact Th e nature o f th i s t ruth i s not "t ruth" i n th e s ens e th at ab s o lut e fact i s t rue , but i n that i t s ays s omething ab out rea l i ty th at we can b e l i eve , and which of cours e may not be unt rue Newt oni an phys i cs was "t rue" unt i l Eins t ein ; s p ace and t i me were "t rue" unti th e "truth" o f Space -T i me was reve a l e d S o , the t ruth we are concerne d with is the exp re s s i on of a parti cul ar wi l l t o form Agai n , Darl ey and B a l thazar give us a g l i mps e o f what we are aft er : Th i nking how desp i t e the factual fa ls i ti es o f the manus cript wh i ch I s ent you th e p ortrai t was s omeh ow poet i ca l ly true - -psych ograph i cal ly i f y ou like I n fact th i s very dis covery should en courage rather : th an h amp er you I me an ab out th e mutab i l i ty o f a l l t ruth Each fact can h av e a th ous and moti vat i ons , a l l equa l ly val i d , and each fact a th ous and faces S o many t ruths wh i ch h ave l i tt l e t o wi th fact Y our duty is to hunt th em down At each moment o f time al l mu ltip l i ci ty wai t s at your e lb ow (C-64) Your dutr i s t o hunt th em down I n thes e words we s ee th at th e Creative Imperative i s th e proces s o f di s covery , and the l imi t l e s s me ans o f s e l fexp res s i on An d w e recal l Durre l l ' s words : At each s tage o f deve l opment each man res umes th e wh o l e univers e and makes i t s ui tab l e for h i s own i nner nature : wh i l e each think er , each thought fecundat es th e wh o l e uni vers e an ew (J - 8) I t s eems t o me c l ear , fi na l ly , that i n th e form and cont ent o f his nove l , Durre l l has e l oquent ly p res ent ed a met aphys i c for modern man : a me taphys i c wh ereby we "i ntercalat e real i t i es " ( B - 2 ) , and int egrate a l l mo des o f human th ought i n the Cre ative I mp e rati ve I t i s in th e f l ux and 30 re flux o f human thought th at we s ee Durre l l ' s exp l i cit t e s t ament to man In th e c ontinual as s au l t on th e contingencies of th e wor l d b oth inner and outer man as c ends by dis covering th e fu l lnes s o f his own gift s , t o p araphras e J acob Bronowski ; and w e s e e th at the Creative Impe rative is a dia l e ctic int egra l to human life , affirming a spirit that re fus es mere ly to endure , but s truggl es ins tead to know Sure ly this is wh at Durre l l me ans when h e s ays : " le t us · de fi ne ' man ' as a p oet p erp etua l ly cons pirin g agains t hims e l f" (C-47-48) Or : " I imagine , th ere fore I b e l ong and am free" (J-79) In the in ces s ant renewa l of our minds , in our utt erings , in our very lives , th e Cre ative Imperative exis t s as the me ans by which we appreh end th e wor l d and ours e lves And sure l y , in a rel ativis tic univers e , wh ere man is not to be judged by the know l edge he acquires , but by th e ques tions h e forms , it is th e means by whi ch we draw from ours e lves immort a lity NOTES John Skow, " Inf ernal Triang l e, " r ev iew of Monsieur, by Lawrence Durrel l, Time , J anuary 97 5, p The "A l exandria Quart et" consis t s of Jus t ine ( ) Bal tha zar ( ) Mounto liv e ( 9) C l ea ( 96 0) , her eaf t er ref erred t o p ar enthet i c al ly as J, B , M, and C with the appropriate page number I have used the Pocket Book edition , a d ivision of Simon and Schus t er, Inc , pub l i shed in 61 Lawrence Durre l l, !:_ Key to Mod ern British Poetry (Norman : Univer s ity of Okl ahoma Pre s s, 95 ), p xii Hereaft er referred to as Key with appropriat e p ag e numb er s B ertrand Rus s e ll, The ABC of Re l at ivity (New York : Mentor Books, The New American Library of Wor l d L i t erature , Inc , 95 ), p S R M Mac iv er , The Challenge of the P as sing Years : � Encount er with Time (New York : Trident Pre s s, S imon and Schus t er, ), p carl Bode, "A Guid e to A l exandr ia , " Co l l eg e Englis h, 1, rpt in The Worl d of Lawrenc e Durre l l, ed Harry T Moore (New York : E P Dut ton & Co , Inc , l9 ) , p 7Mac iv er , p c ecily Mackworth, " Lawrence Durre ll and the N ew Romant ic i sm, " 60, rpt in The Wor l d of- Lawrence Durrel l, ed Harry T Moore (New York : E P Dutton & Co , Inc , ), p Lawrenc e Durr el l , int erview in Paris Review , quot ed by Frederick Karl in !:_ Reader' s Guide to The Contempo rary Eng l ish Nove l (London : Thames and Hudson , ) , _ p 43 l O s igmund Freud , Mo s es and Monotheism (New York : Random Hous e , 9), p 167 1 Ib id ' p 93 sigmund Freud, The Que stion of Lay Analys is (New York : W W Morton and Company, 0), p 31 L I S T OF WORKS CONSULTE D B os t on : Li t t l e , B rown and Company , The As cent of Man Bronowski , Jacob 1973 - - Durre l l , Lawrenc e � Key t o Modern Bri t i s h P oetry o f Ok l ah oma Pres s , Jus tine ; rpt B a lth a z ar Mount o l ive C l ea New York : P o cket B o oks , ; rp t 59 ; rpt 1960 ; rpt Norman : Univers i ty New Y ork : P ocket B ooks , 196 New York : P ock et Books , N ew York : P o ck et Books , Freud , S i gmund Mos es and Monothe i s m -Random Hous e , 1939 T rans Kath erine J ones New York : Th e Ques ti on o f Lay Ana lys i s : An I nt roduct i on � Psychoanalys is Trans Nancy Procter- Gregg New York : W W Norton & Company , 50 Kar l , Frederi ck � Reader ' s Gui de � th e Cont emporary Eng l i s h Nove l London : Th ames and Huds on , Mac i ver , R M Th e Ch a l lenge of the P as s i ng Years : � Encount er llj th Time New York : Simon and S chus t er , Moore , Harry T , ed Dutt on , 19 'Ih e Wor l d of Lawrence Durre l l Rus s e l l , Bertrand Th e ABC of Rel ati vi ty Ameri can LibrarY: � Wei ge l , John A Lawren ce Durre l l ; rpt N ew York : E P New York : New New York : E P Dut t on , 66 32 ... admi t them 15 But whi le the gal l ery of his torical his mind the fi gures o f his friends real, wa lked b ackwards and forwards c l as sical Alexandria, inhabitin g an as livin g pers onages... dreams h e l d the foregroun d o f and acquaintances, palpab l e and among them, among the ruins of amazing his t ori cal s pace-time He s aw the Mous eion, for examp le, with its su lky, heavi... dre ams as a kind o f l anguage and not me rely as a jumb l e o f nonsens i ca l i mages Durre l l fee ls, as di d Freud, that the dre am mak e s i ts s t at ement in a di rect and ins t antaneous