Review: Arthur Machen's The Great God Pan

 I thought I'd try something a little different with this post. I'm going to start by listing what people have said about the story. The story hurt Arthur Machen's reputation when it was released in 1894. While Oscar Wilde praised the short story, many reporters and critics claimed it was a detriment to English society. Feminists often point to the supposed misogynistic undertones while others writhe in disgust at the sexual ideas inserted into the characters. Jump ahead to the 1920s and you have Lovecraft practically worshipping the short novel while today's Stephen King calls it one of the, if not the, greatest horror story written in the English language. 

So what is it about?

A man named Clarke agrees to bear witness to an experiment by his friend Dr. Raymond which will allow the patient to see "the Great God Pan." A woman named Mary undergoes a minor brain surgery which leaves her "a hopeless idiot." We jump ahead a few years and Clarke has been categorizing strange events in his collection he calls "Memoirs to Prove the Existence of the Devil." He notes a page about a woman named Helen Vaughan who spends most of her time in the woods. Strange events happen around Helen including frightening a young boy who claims to see "the man in the woods" and causing the disappearnce of Helen's friend Rachel who disappears into the woods.

Several happy, young men are seduced by Helen and die shortly after losing their love for life and their fortunes. Clarke realizes that Helen is the daughter of Mary and its implied that the father is the Great God Pan. Clarke confronts Helen with a noose and Helen dies a strange death where she transforms into the life force between male and female, beast and human, before melting away. The only clue left to what Helen was doing is a white stone that honors the Celtic god Nodens. 

Certainly a strange story, and one that has impacted many writers and readers. Let me break down my thoughts.

Dr. Raymond claims his experiment on Mary is equivilant to men playing with pebbles mistaking them for the foundations of the world. He's implying that mankind is dealing with small parts of reality when there are larger forces to temper. Before the experiment, Clarke catches a whiff of an odor that reminds him of his time in the woods and meadows at his home. Arthur Machen seems to drive this point home of something I'm not sure about. Let me explain, in the first and final chapter of this story, there are these reminesings about being among nature. It's like the calling card for the god Pan. To me it's this mysterious element in the story that I can't seem to find it's meaning. Why does Clarke think about the woods in his hometown? It's a longing, almost animalistic, as if Clarke is reverting into a simpler time. 

After the experiment renders Mary mindless, we time jump a few years to Clarke's facination with the occult. A facination that gripped the author as well. Machen's approach to life, and writing, was the use of this hidden world behind our own, like a veil. A spiritual world that laid the foundations of this world. The second theme Machen uses is the infestation of insanity. Several characters are affected by Helen and die horrible deaths. One of the men seducced by Helen is frightened to death. 

But, and this is a big "but," how did Clarke confront Helen? Helen's strengths lie in her ability to seduce men. And that's the height of her powers. Whatever these men saw that caused them to die must have come from Pan's influence. In the end of the story, Clarke walks up to Helen at her home and confronts her with a noose. How does one convince another to hang themselves? What threat did he bring to her? Despite being born from a demigod force that Machen names as so powerful that we can only see it as a symbol, Helen is very weak. To me, it's either a quick fix for the story, on Machen's part, or it could be a symbol that feminists latch onto. The idea that men are strong and women are weak is a very old trope but one that existed in the 1800s, It's possible that Machen thought in a similar manner as several women in his stories end up in unhappy situations. 

There's a line I like about a third into the story where one of the men says "There must be an explanation, some way out of the terror." That's another theme of Machen: the lack of an explanation. Throughout the story, the "horror" that Helen brings is never descirbed. This lack of form, is almost personified in the end when Helen dies and turns into jelly. It's like Machen is breaking the mold of the story and telling the reader "There is no answer, no solution. Horror is as untouchable as the form Helen takes." And that part scares me a bit. The Great God Pan is listed as one of those "forbidden texts" you hear that no one should read. Machen goes on to describe Helen as a woman who corrupts the souls of the men she touches.. Machen asks if a man can behold such horrors after peering under the curtain and live. He goes farther to say Helen is beyond a name for only human beings have names. What, then, is Helen that she doesn't need a name?

So that's our three pillars of Machen: A lack of an explanation, infectious insanity, and a world behind our own. Machen compares the latter to a Chinese box puzzle where each piece inside is more intricate than the last. The deeper we dig the harder it is to reach, and likely for good reason. In the story, Helen leaves hints behind her actions. One of the men she dates, a painter, draws figures of fawns and goat creatures. It's as if she's infecting their mind, like she's radiating some kind of pure force or evil. After a string of suicides Clarke confronts Helen. The woman remains silent throughout the story. She's never given a chance to speak or defend herself or her actions. I can see why feminists bemoan this story. It feels like Helen is being silenced. 

I'll probably have some more thoughts late but I wanted to get this stuff down while the story was fresh in my mind. For my side, I think it's a great story but one that people shouldn't avoid. I thought there would be more censorship involved based on the reviews from the time. But, I don't find this story any more dangerous than Stephen King's works or H.P. Lovecraft's universe. I don't have to look far to see how this story has affected writers. Lovecraft's own pantheon contain references to Nodesn and Pan. Stephen King has published several short stories such as "N." and "Revival" which pay homage to Machen's work. I was a little disappointed with the story as it wasn't as disturbing as I was lead to believe it to be. Today, there are published works out there that are much worse than what Machen wrote. Maybe it was shocking at the time but today, it's pretty tame. I wish more writers and game designers would take an interest in Machen's work. We need a Machenverse. I'll post my notes later which, ironically, seem to have picked up on the themes that book end the story. I never expected my subconscious to pick up on that.