Juliana Fink threw the coins six times and held her breath as they fell. She could feel the meaning then, without using the chart, as if it had been inside her all along.
“Sun at the top. Tui at the bottom. Empty at the centre (1)” Read Hawthorne Abendsen, and there was silence as they processed the information.
Instantly, Juliana was transported back, to her life before, to the time when she was married to Frank. How she thought she would have been happy. She remembered the store, and the nervous character who had run it, what was his name … something Childan … Robert? The artefacts inside had taken her back in time, to when America was different, when it was not a communist republic of the Soviet Union. She had heard people whispering about the book even then but she had not been interested. Not until the time was right, and her herald came. Joe. Brooding, sombre Joe. He had entered into her life briefly, and blown her life apart. He was the one who had introduced her to it, “The Grasshopper Lies Sleeping”, and awoken her curiosity. She hadn’t exactly welcomed his ideas – her life, empty as it was, was her own, and she was content with the tediousness of her daily routine – waking up, teaching Judo, cooking dinner, bed. Her later actions, cutting his throat when he had barred the door to prevent her from leaving, was something she would never forget. The memory made her tremble. I can't believe it. I can't stand it. Evil is not a view ... it's an ingredient in us. In the world. Poured over us, filtering into our bodies, minds, hearts, into the pavement itself (2).
What had kept her sane was the I-Ching, a legacy of the short-lived Japanese invasion, its words of wisdom coming directly from the oracle itself. It had spoken to her in her time of need, and pushed her forward, just when she had felt all hope was lost. “It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water” (3)
Those were the exact words it had spoken to her as she had shaken in her car, squinting in the light of the department store window. It was then that she had resolved to continue her journey alone to Hawthorne Abendsen, and his fortress in the ‘high castle’. She recalled the nerves in her stomach as she had brushed her hair and unfolded the blue Italian dress from the box, dressing nervously before crossing the Cheyenne in the taxi, on her way to meet the Abendsen’s.
The writing itself was nothing special, but no-one could deny its spell. Perhaps it was because the idea was so vivid and so blasphemous which was why no-one could stop reading. Juliana certainly couldn’t. Imagine a world out of the grasp of Russia … the book certainly did not paint an age of happiness and roses but its ideas were enough to take hold in the people’s minds and plant questions. What would it have been like, if the war had turned out differently…? Everyone was talking about it, even the Russians. The subject had once come up at a dinner party she was present at, and the responses of her hosts had surprised her. The talk had turned to the book, as so often it did, and Frank had commented loudly, “We have had to suffer, pay the cost. But we did it for a good cause (4). To stop German world inundation.”
“Personally, I do not believe any hysterical talk of ‘world inundation’ by any people. Slavic, Chinese or Japanese.” (5) Olga had replied, her cheeks blushing slightly. Frank was taken aback and the conversation had swiftly changed. It was moments like that, that had shown Juliana the lack of common ground. Witness them, she had thought, drinking from English bone china cups, eating with U.S silver, listening Negro style music. Its all on the surface (6).
The Abendsen family home had surprised Juliana. There was music, and lights, and children’s toys visible. What about the rumours and the stories (7) ? Betty Abendsen had shown her into the study and she had finally met him, Hawthorne. A simply ordinary man, but with less then ordinary ideas.
“Do you know the Oracle?” She had pounced and he had declined. No, he did not know the Book of Changes either. Why did he write the book? His answers depressed her deeply.
“Your book showed us that there is a way out! You’ve done a lot for me; now I can see there’s nothing to be afraid of, nothing to want or hate or avoid, or run from. Or pursue (8)”
“Its just a story” Hawthorne had replied quietly.
Juliana shook her head in disbelief. “Just a story? I drove up here with one of the Gestapo, he was coming here to kill you! The next one who comes here won’t have me to stop him!”
“You say the next one. What happened?” Betty had asked brusquely.
“I killed him. You’re so fatalistic, so resigned to your fate. Do you know that too, the way you knew the world in your book?” (9)
Hawthorne exchanged a long look with his wife, and sighed.
“Fine. Considering what you have done for me, I’ll tell you. Yes. I made thousands of choices, and asked the Oracle. I asked about the historic period. The subject. The characters. The plot. It took years. So yes, you are right. You must consult the Oracle quite a bit yourself, to have known.”
“But why? Why is the Oracle talking to us in this way? Why a novel? And why about the Russians losing the war? Why this particular story?”
Hawthone and Betty were silent.
“I’ll ask it, if you won’t. I need to know.”
And so Juliana Fink had thrown the coins six times and held her breath as they fell:
Sun at the top. Tui at the bottom. Empty at the centre (1)
“Its Chung Fu” Juliana said, “Inner truth.”
“This means … that my book is true, doesn’t it? That Russia lost the war?”
“Yes. And Germany and Japan invaded America.”
“I’m not sure of anything anymore” Juliana whispered.
Abendsen stared into the fireplace, his eyes distant, his thoughts foggy.
“Would you like me to autograph a copy of the book for you?” (10) He mumbled. Juliana stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.
“No … thank you. I should be going. I’m terribly sorry.” She began to make her way to the door.
“Its terribly, terribly disruptive,” Betty replied, “but so is reality” (11)
“The truth can be as terrible as death, just harder to find” Juliana answered and stepped out the front door.
“Thank you. And good night” She said then turned and began retracing her steps along the cobbled path. She could feel the Abendsen’s eyes boring into her back as she walked, their mind’s still grappling with the weight of the Oracle’s revelations. It didn’t matter that the Oracle didn’t reveal a new, happier ending, it was the fact that the option was there – she could see now how life really was. As she made her way down the street, back to the motel, Juliana moved easily, bright and living, as one does who finally understood.
This reality anyway.
*
The following quotes have been taken from Philip K Dicks Man In The High Castle:
1 - p. 246
2 - p. 97
3 - 209
4 - 113
5 - 113
6 - 112
7 - 240
8 - 244
9 - 245
10 - 247
11 – 247
Dick, Philip K. (1962). Man in the high castle. London: United Kingdom. Orion Publishing Group
The Narrative Structure
According to Vogler (1998, as cited on Wikipedia) there is a common narrative structure visible in most stories. We can see they are present in Philip K. Dick’s story, and also in my fanfiction.
The Man in the High Castle sets the scene of an ORDINARY WORLD. In my fanfiction, this world is revealed in Juliana’s flashback, in which the United States has been invaded by the Soviet Union during the Cold War period. The CALL TO ADVENTURE is signalled by Joe, the ‘Italian truck driver’ from Philip K. Dick’s story. Juliana is reluctant at first, as she is settled in her ordinary life as a judo instructor in Colorado, but something is sending along this journey. After she kills Joe (one of her TESTS), she is furthered along her journey by her MENTOR, which in my view, would be the Oracle itself (or the I-Ching). The SUPREME ORDEAL is her penultimate meeting with the writer of the “Grasshopper Lies Heavy”, Hawthorne Abendsen, and his wife Betty (all characters from the original story), and the subsequent . Her REWARD is learning the truth about the nature of reality – the Chung Fu – which is that there are many possible dimensions and versions of history. Leaving the house of the Abendsen’s signals the ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World, and it is her walk back to the motel that signifies the RESURRECTION – she knows who she is now and that there is much more to life then she realised before taking this journey. She has been ‘transformed by the experience’.
I have not used all of Vogler’s character archetypes in my story. However, I have used the HERO, which would be Juliana Fink. She is willing to sacrifice (she kills Joe, to save Hawthorne Abendsen), she is unique (female, strong), she appears as an ‘antihero’ (her presence at the Abendsen’s is not overly appreciated) and also as a ‘loner’ hero (she continues her journey after Joe’s death alone, and leaves the Abendsen’s alone).
The MENTOR would be the I-Ching itself, as it is constantly guiding Juliana. It is inventive (it takes one form as the ‘Grasshopper Lies Heavy’ story), and its appearance in the story is very significant (it proves its own presence and the theory of other realities). The HERALD is Joe, who appears early on in the story and issues the challenge to Juliana to find Hawthorne with him. This part can also be shared by the SHADOW. Joe is one, and the other one I would say is political situation itself. This is because the presence of the Soviet Union in America is also about the suppressing of an idea or a reality, it is “unexpressed” and “unrealised”. It’s very function is to challenge the HERO on all levels and Vogler (1998, as cited on Wikipedia) writes that it may take several forms.
I believe that Hawthorne Abendsen takes on the role of three of Voglers (1998) archetypes. He is the TRICKSTER because he embodies the desire for change (he wrote the book). He is also the SHAPESHIFTER because he keeps the hero guessing (he does not want to own up to the truth of the Oracle’s involvement in the story) and because of this brings doubt in to the story. Finally, he is the HERALD, as it is his story that inspires Juliana to set out on her journey (further pushed by Joe).
REFERENCES
The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 2011, August 4. Retrieved 2 November, 2011 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Writer%27s_Journey:_Mythic_Structure_for_Writer
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