09 April

Unacknowledged Virtue of The Last Unicorn: 2 The Background of Japanese Subculture and Traits of Monism in The Last Unicorn continued

In the description of the principles of magic, which is the central motif of The Last Unicorn, an integrative grasp that bears no distinction between the subject and the object is told through a unifying theory that does not accept the difference between physical and abstract concepts. In the scene where the wizard Schmendrick, who has finally acquired the command of true magic, confidently demonstrates the profound art for the first time, the image of music is introduced to depict the situation.

He touched Molly as well, said something that was more of a whistle than a word, and the three of them floated up the air like milkweed plumes to the top of the cliff. Molly was not frightened. The magic lifted her as gently as though she were a note of music and it were singing her.


Because magic is a sensitive interaction between the practitioner and the associate’s minds, and because it is the embodiment of the harmony of the spiritual phases of both, Molly, who has no knowledge or understanding of magic, was able to perceive its extraordinary visit through the representation of “music” for a moment. The significance of the magic claimed by this story lies in the fact that synesthetic understanding of that phase is described as it is sensitized to a part of the spirituality of each conscious body in this way. This sense was reflected in Mommy Fortuna’s earlier words. The arrogant witch spoke words full of confidence to her servant Rukh, who was frightened by the threat of the harpy.

“I can turn her into wind if she escapes, or into snow, or into seven notes of music. But I choose to keep her. No other witch in the world holds a harpy captive, and none ever will. I would keep her if I could do it only by feeding her a piece of your liver every day.”


The fact that the witch’s words had a special significance in a different hyper dimension other than nonsense, is confirmed through the descriptions of the use of magic narrated in various scenes. It is reflected in the unicorn’s own words, through the following interesting meta-description, for example.

The witch knows more than she knows she knows.


And also, just as each of the unicorn and the harpy is magic itself, the latent power of magic in aspects completely alien to the perception of humans and the limited phases they conceive, is sometimes mediated by the unconscious and manifested as the utterance of a butterfly telling a prophesy, and it also takes the form of a strange cat revealing itself in the phenomenal world, whimsically murmuring mysterious words like a pagan god involved in both human and divine matters. This fairy tale depicts the magic embodied by transcendent beings such as the harpy and the unicorn revealing the fundamental principle of the universe, which permeates and acts on all thoughts and ideas through various persona transfigurations such as mental images, words and music, expressing its varied meaningfulness. It is the intrinsic principle of the universe that makes it possible to encompass and integrate the concept of “God” presented in divers thought systems. In this way, magic sometimes becomes art, religion, supreme intellectual activity, and often superb entertainment. (note)

note:
This is one of the conclusions that leads to the elucidation of the subject of The Last Unicorn, chosen in the concluding chapter of Fantasy as Antifantasy 2, “Supernatural System Theory and Antifantasy: Space-Time Equivalence Principle and Persona Shifts.”


In Peter and Wendy, which was the pioneer of philosophical fairy tales disguised in innocent playfulness, the deity named Peter was manifested against the backdrop of the mind scape of Neverland as an aspect of the holarchical universe that encompasses all matter and spirit, according to the principal mechanism that simultaneously achieves both disruption of meaning construction and organization of transcendent phase space, exactly equivalent to the system that enables a kiss reveal at the corner of Mrs. Darling’s mouth. (note)

note:
For a discussion of the mystery hidden in the contradictions and inversions contained in the representation of Peter Pan’s psychic existence, please refer to “Kiss and Riddle,” a study of Peter Pan’s riddle of existence, included in my fantasy literature study, Fantasy as Antifantasy, kindai Bungei-sha, (2004).


This spiritual effect is a revelation of the intrinsic force of what is sometimes called the “Primordial Awareness,” which is revealed as the “closed space” that Haruhi Suzumiya unconsciously created in the animated film, The Melancholia of Haruhi Suzumiya. (note)

note:
For an example of the application of the discussion of the influence of the “Primordial Awareness” that functions behind events generation in the universe, see the author’s “The Annihilation of Genre Axes in Madlax : Amorphous Fiction of Dislocated Perspectives and Archetypes / Fictional Reality 2”, Wayo Women’s University Department Bulletin, (2018).


Also, in The Last Unicorn, based on a similar psychic mechanism, there were eternal beings such as the unicorn and the Red Bull, as well as the revelation of the magic realized by the hand of the magician. (note)

note:
The term “psyche” is applied as a concept that targets the collective unconscious that reflects the very structure of the universe as wholeness, in which time and space are inseparably united, while “psychology” refers to the workings of the individual mind. As a suggestive example of the adoption of the word “psyche” in the context of discussing The Last Unicorn, one is able to cite Sue Matheson’s “Psychic Transformation and Regeneration of Language in Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn.” This paper, which boldly discusses the close relationship between the nature of Jungian psychology and the subject of this literary work, has the following translation in which the author has afforded commentary on the subject.
CF. “Translation and Commentary on Sue Matheson’s Study on The Last Unicorn: ‘Psychic Transformation and Regeneration of Language in Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn’”; Bulletin of Wayo Women's University, (2010).


Furthermore, the magic in The Last Unicorn implies an intimate relationship with the source of the primordial Omnium state, free from the constraints of the orientation of the time axis and cause-and-effect relationship. The words of Schmendrick the magician, who spoke of the future of the Hagsgate town, which returned to the barren country after the fall of the tyrant King Haggard, suggest the spiritual relationship between the fundamental essence of the universal holarchy and the perception of human spirit. These are the words of his prophesy that speaks of the truth at the heart of magic, given to the people of the city of Hagsgate, who are sinking into despair at the pitiful end of their false prosperity.

“…You may plant your acres again, and raise up your fallen orchards and vineyards, but they will never flourish as they used to, never -- until you learn to take joy in them, for no reason.”


Naturally, as long as the human mind relies on calculation based on utilitarianism, it cannot obtain spiritual pleasure. The inner satisfaction of the spirit, which should be in tune with the Mantra, can never be grasped by the evaluation based on the provisional standard dependent on other value systems. The heart that believes because it is unreasonable, loves because it is defective, brings joy. And the joy that is obtained in the heart will reversely bring abundant fruit. In a dimension that transcends causal relationships defined by the time axis, mental action constructs information and meaning against the backdrop of the whole universe. In an age of spirituality loss in which both righteousness and profit have become dubious, here is a sincere attitude that unabashedly tries to speak of truth, goodness, and beauty. (note)

note:
This metaphysical idea is also a religious inspiration that can underpin a powerful theory of art. As for the discussion on the sub-creation implication of the act of integrating consciousness, fiction and reality achieved through the making of “mental sketches,” which is the principle of poetry conceived by Kenji Miyazawa, refer to the author’s article “Supernatural System Theory and Antifantasy: Space-Time Equivalence Principle and Persona Shifts”, included in the study of The Last Unicorn, Fantasy as Antifantasy 2: A Study of The Last Unicorn.