Sunday, January 12, 2014

Hidden Gods?

THINKERS from LeBon to Jung to Lacan have believed mankind is swayed by hidden forces in the subconscious mind. The notion is in line with the pagan myths outlined in Robert Graves’ The White Goddess. The idea is that the pagan gods and mythic figures are unavoidable symbols, appearing in our culture and thoughts of themselves, against our will.

I think of this when assessing my own short novel, The McSweeneys Gang, which began as a cartoon-style pop satire but soon got away from me, new characters and situations materializing of their own volition. In particular, the character of “The Assassin,” appearing in the guise of a beautiful but troubled woman. Is this character a version of Graves’ “White Goddess”? Hmm. I’ll have to reread the ebook to find out. (Available via Kindle or Nook.)

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