The Place Of Magic And The Supernatural In Human Affairs - Essay Example

Essay, World Literature Topic: The place of magic and the supernatural in human affairs Introduction The wise saying goes-- no one can decipher the goings on in the inner world of a woman at a given time. It is impossible to judge her intentions or take her for granted. She may say one thing and its meaning may be exactly the opposite version. Several magical saplings sprout simultaneously in her heart and mind, some harmful, some poisonous and some deadly. Marina Warner in “Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights” writes “[…] the Arabian Nights or Tales of a Thousand and One Nights presents a unique key to the imaginary processes that govern the symbolism of magic, forgiveness and mysterious power in modern culture” (20).The place of magic and the supernatural in human affairs has stood the test of time and it has secured its position and has emerged stronger and continues to play its dominant role in literature and in the world of entertainment. The internet revolution has impacted the entertainment industry in a big way. Warner writes, “ Interest in magic is evidently growing and spreading in popular culture—look at the success of Harry Potter or Dan Brown, and at the speed of ideas about channeling, alien abduction, and false memory syndrome”.(22) Only the pattern of presentation of magic has changed and it continues to enthrall the audience. The art of seductive magic Scheherazade in the “Arabian Nights” is a honey-tongued woman with dishonest tendencies. She is a seductive story-teller and the power that she unleashes to control sultan Shariyar is amazing. Her character is comparable to the horizon. Walk in its direction, it moves away from you; walk away from it, it follows you. She plays the cat and mouse act to keep sultan in her authority. She uses malevolent tactics to seduce and win over the heart of the hapless and devastated sultan by judging his psychology well. The infidelity of his former wife was too much for the sultan to bear, and he was driven mad. He was trying to jettison the demons that set her mind on adultery by marrying a new wife every morning and slaying her the same night. Scheherazade is aware of the intrinsic power of a good tale delivered with the sonorous voice can control sultan who has taken to the beastly tendency of killing. Night after night she invents a new story to regale sultan and if this not the power of her magical skill what it is? To circumvent this, Scheherazade keeps the story incomplete at the most interesting stage thus king’s interest is retained and indemnifying her survival for another day. The process goes on until the king finally spares her life. Her magic produces tangible results; she succeeds in trapping sultan in marrying her and begets three children for him. Magic—is it acceptable to the modern age? The plot of each story is the conglomeration of adventure, excitement, morality and magic and fascinates the world of imagination of an inquisitive individual. Though the stories are crude and magical, their essence is morality. They tell as to what an individual should or should not do. They hold the mirror for the then prevailing culture, they are daubed in magical events, and have great entertaining value as such remain popular even today and have stood the test of time. The best ideas of magic, romance, mystery and deception emerge from the mind of Scheherazade, and it is a life or death situation for her. She has to conquer the whimsical decision maker, the King, for whom the life of a woman is good enough to survive for just one night, after being united in marriage. So she reels out stories one after another, keeps them unfinished, kindles curiosity and magical effect in the mind of the king, and survives to enjoy life for yet another day. Warner writes, “ […] the Arabian Nights of Tales of a Thousand and One Nights presents a unique key to the imaginary processes that govern the symbolism of magic, foreignness and mysterious power in modern culture”.(20)The stories of Voyages of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Aladdin are imbibed with love and lust and interwoven with magic and adventure. Magic and the supernatural flow through the stories of the Arabian Nights Marina Warner writes that the Age of Reason soon developed strong reservations about the genre. “A cycle of stories packed with ancient myths, fairytale romance, fantastic voyages, and comic folklore from all ages, gripped readers during siecle des Lumieres, the Enlightenment, when rationality was prized—the most contradictory possible time, one might think, for a book which is a monument to the torrential energies of the irrational.”(20) In the tales, imagination and magical events arrest the attention of the literary admirers and the everyday life of the kings has been depicted in a manner in which each and every molecule of the reader is surcharged with anxiety and admiration. Magical elements are ingrained in the stories and their impact has been felt in every segment of art and entertainment. Maria Warner writes “Enchanted things in the Nights ignite and speak, move and grow, pulse and radiate, displaying sentience and expressing feelings and developing attachments to their owners”(199)It is no ordinary literature; the gush of magical flow is experienced in every turn of the stories, that special art of storytelling keeps the audience spellbound. The tale-spinning of the queen is never completed, she continues to live on day to day basis like a prisoner on the death row, whose mercy petition is pending before the President, as the cliff-hangers mesmerize sultan, the art of creating stories within the story flourishes. The period of three years is sufficient enough for the transformation to take place within the heart of the king and this is noting short of magic for such a transformation though in the later part of the story she brings forth before him the three children borne by her through him which has the element of surprise, but not magic! The concept of magic has two parts: The element of surprise and the joy it brings forth to the viewer/experiencer of magic. But the factor of joy is not mandatory. The sad and tragic events may also lead to magical effects. In the beginning, such a magical turn given to the story is evident. The sultan discovers that his wife has sexual relationship with one of the kitchen boys, he is devastated and he murders her instantaneously. More magic is in store for him! He learns that his brother’s wife is also doing the same thing and this aspect in the sexual relationships brings him some relief and enables him to get out of depression to a certain degree. The secret life of objects also provides magical effects in the story. Mechanical horses, beds and carpets fly; rings and relics possess strange powers. Warner argues “All these are signs of qualia, the particular properties of consciousness, even though to say that things have qualia is a contradiction in terms. European folklore and witchcraft may include fantasies about enchanted pots and pans and broomsticks, but the Nights does not single out instances as unusual.”(199)Similarly, the magical utilities are “charged” or “ensouled”. (p.208)In the story magic is often an ‘imported’ stuff. The evil magicians are invariably strangers and they are generally from other countries and their belief systems are different and thus magic, it has been shown, has arrived from elsewhere. The author points out that "vows, blessings, curses, apotropaic and expiatory formulae, repeated and performed in the correct way, place language at the center of ritual; these verbal rituals occupy the heart of fairytale." (p.156)Thus many modern writers turn to the Nights for inspiration and the magical elements have been introduced by them into the plot on the lines of the Arabian Nights. Most of the compelling elements in the story have been given the coat of magic to make them highly effective pieces of narration. That they create sustaining interest with the King, who aborts his plan to kill his wife, after being with them overnight, leaves magical effects in the minds of the people. But some of the critics do not agree with the merit of such stories of magic and that highlight supernatural. Warner writes, “ According to a prevalent view, magic processes either belong to a credulous, ignorant, pagan, or medieval past, or such tendencies form part of cultures opposed to Western progress—primitive, retrograde cultures in Africa or Asia: voodoo, Islam”.(21) But technological innovations, materialistic civilization and the internet revolution have swept the carpet from under the feet of such critics. Warner argues, “ Contemporary culture has domesticated, commercialized, and given its consent to manifold expressions of magical thinking, but only designated it as such when it wears foreign dress”.(22) Aggrandizement for wealth is an important aspect of the modern civilization. Magic has engulfed the society in a big way through the literature and the entertainment industry. Conclusion Magic is no more the desert product of the Arabian countries. It is growing in leaps and bounds in the shooting sites and Hollywood studios. Its entertainment capacity is limitless and people demand it. Works Cited Warner, Marina. Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights. Belknap Press; 2012; Print. Read More