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Archive for alchemy

La La’s Styling Rides

by Renée
December 15th, 2010
Updated

We know where La La got this car…

But did you ever wonder where his Mercedes came from? In season 1 he drove a gray coupe.

Of course the easy answer is that the powers that be decided to switch out his car to make for better visuals when Lafayette went to visit Eddie and for the gun toting rides back to Sookie’s place in s2.

However, the easy answer is also the wrong one. The Mercedes didn’t suddenly appear at the end of season 2 even though that’s the first time it was shown in La La’s possession.

He’s had it since the beginning of season 1 when he and Tara went to that party in Shreveport and he caught the eye of  the straightest man there–or so Tara thought.

After they first arrived, La La headed to the back of the house to park his old gray boat, but there is a familiar sight parked in the front. Does anyone know the make or model or his first car?

La La took a tiger by the tail at the party, and the next night he was sporting  his sugar daddy’s chain around his neck, his watch on his wrist, and his cap on his head–a tiger cap. This gangster is Quinn’s doppel.

In addition to demonstrating that men can’t help but shower gifts on La La, the cars illustrate an  alchemical progression. La La started with lead, the material that is broken down in the nigredo stage.  He progressed to the white stage in a Mercedes, and then graduated to the red after he had proven himself with Eric.

We can now look for Quinn to appear in Sookie’s albedo stage, like in the novels, and I’m going to predict that at about the same time, the Mercedes will switch ownership from Tara to Sookie. Tara gifted Sookie with her old car in the novels, but more significantly, that car now symbolizes the albedo stage. Mercedes means mercy, and that is what the albedo stage is all about.

Categories alchemy, cars, Lafayette
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Alchemical Serendipity

by Renée
December 9th, 2010

Last night I was reading this insightful post about the use of alchemy in Aschenputtel. (That’s Cinderella to you and me.) It turns out that one of the alchemical symbols in the fairytale is a tree.

Me, last night: Wha? A tree in Cinderella!

And me, a few moments later: Wha? Alchemy in trees!

How ever did I overlook alchemical trees? :shameface:

They are very common alchemical symbols apparently.

Southern Live Oak, courtesy of J.L. Fritsch

Fast forward to lunch today when I had a few short minutes to dig out the Kindle and pull up DUD. A few weeks ago, I made a new run through the first three quarters of the book, and then got distracted by people who think Bill is an effing romantic hero other things.

The dang thing had forgotten where I left off. It brought up a passage that I had read before. My choice was to reread it or spend most of my few precious minutes searching for the right place. I opted for rereading, and seredipity happened.

I started at the point where Sookie is having one helluva very bad day. She is on the outs with Sam. Jason asks her to help clear him of Dawn and Maudette’s murders with her telepathy, which she is none to happy about. Then Arlene asks her to babysit and freaks when she realizes her precious darlings will be in the presence of a vampire ‘cuz Sookie sure isn’t breaking her standing date with Bill.

What is Sookie’s response? She goes home and digs a hole, which happens to be very cthonic.* Like Persephone, goddess of both the Underworld and spring, that lifeless layer under the top soil is symbolic of both abundance and death.

Here’s what Sookie says:

I marched out the back door. I opened the door to the toolshed, removed the shovel, and stomped to the back of the yard. There was a patch of black there where nothing ever grew, I don’t know why. I sunk the shovel in, pushed it with my foot, came up with a hunk of soil. I kept on going. The pile of dirt grew as the hole deepened. (Yahtzee! This black, earthy, lifelessness is the nigredo stage in the alchemical process.)

“I have excelent arm and shoulder muscles,” I said, resting against the shovel and panting.

Bill was sitting in a lawn chair watching. He didn’t say anything.

I resumed digging.

Finally, I had a really nice hole.

“Were you going to bury anything?” Bill asked, when he could tell I was done. (Just one of many examples of how Bill’s first thoughts always go to killing and death.)

“No.” I looked down at the cavity in the ground. “I’m going to plant a tree.” (Now we’re cooking! Alchemical albedo is characterized by new life and growth.)

“What kind?”

“A live oak,” I said off the top of my head. (Oaks are symbolic of strength and endurance.)

“Where can you get one?”

“At the Garden Center. I”ll go sometime this week.”

“They take a long time to grow.” (In the SSN the albedo phase lasts for six books, by far the longest.)

What difference would that make to you?” I snapped. I put the shovel up in the shed, then leaned against it, suddenly exhausted.

Bill made as if to pick me up.

“I am a grown woman,” I snarled. “I can walk into the house on my own.”

“Have I done something to you?” Bill asked. There was very little loving in his voice, and I was brought up short. I had indulged myself enough. (Since Book Bill’s voice is always cold and dispassionate, what exactly must that have sounded like? I shudder to think.)

“I apologize,” I said. “Again.”

I just couldn’t tell him about Arlene.

“What do yo do when you get mad Bill?”

“I tear up a tree,” he said. “Sometimes I hurt someone.” (Sadistic bastard. Book Bill is hardly the benign figure some pretend he is.)

Digging a hole didn’t seem so bad. It had been sort of constructive. (And that is the difference between Sookie and Bill. He is destructive and she is constuctive. She knows it at some level, but she will not consciously admit it to herself.) But I was still wired–it was just more of a subdued buzz than a high-frequency whine. I cast around restlessly for something to affect.

Bill seemed adept at reading the symptoms. “Make love,” he suggested. “Make love with me.”

“I’m not in the right mood for love.”

“Let me try to persuade you.”

It turned out he could.

At least it wore off the excess energy of anger, but I still had a residue of sadness that sex couldn’t cure. Arlene had hurt my feelings. I stared into space while Bill braided my hair, a pastime that he apparently found soothing.

Every now and then I felt like I was Bill’s doll. (And that’s exactly what Sookie is, his blood doll.)

This passage is in the nigredo phase of a nigredo novel. This stage may be necessary, but just like Bill who is the embodiment of the nigredo, nothing productive or good comes from it. Needless to say, Sookie never planted her live oak. The hole was soon used to bury her beloved cat, Tina.

*Chthonic — from the Greek khthon is one of several words for “earth”; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land (as Gaia or Ge does) or the land as territory. It evokes at once abundance and the grave.

Categories alchemy, Bill, Dead Until Dark, Sooke Stackhouse Novels, Sookie
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Alchemy in the News

by Renée
October 12th, 2010

Newton moonlighted as an alchemist.

Categories alchemy, news
Comments (2)

Advanced Studies for Budding Alchemists

by Renée
September 30th, 2010

Sookie is definitely not the only character going through this process. Everyone is, even if all the symbolism isn’t there and some pieces are missing. For example, Tara’s life seems to devoid of a spiritual component, and she only had a (bad) mentor for one of her cycles.

Some characters get stuck in one phase for an extended period. Others seem to progress fairly quickly through the cycles. Very few of them have a chance of ever reaching a state of spiritual perfection, but they come closer with each completed cycle. I’d love to hear Anna’s take on this, but it feels very Buddhist to me.

If all of the characters are cycling through the alchemical stages, let’s see if we can pinpoint them.

Skarlove got the ball rolling with this insight:

I was just thinking back to the Dallas scene where Godric is stripped of his area by Nan.  Putting that scene into an alchemical context, I think that Isabelle’s gold blouse is an obvious citrinitas reference now, and that it represented her ascension into Godric’s place as sheriff. She fought for him not to give up, but I think once it became clear he would not be swayed, his sense of honor and inherent spirituality was immediately transferred to her.

In that same scene (and subsequently the rooftop scene), I think Sookie’s pink/white gingham dress and white shoes are a rubedo/albedo combo.  Her purity was illustrated first by her pleading with Nan to cut Godric some slack because he saved her from Gabe, and then on the roof they shared the experience of unification of Man with God that you speak of.
I think that in both these scenes, Eric actually embodies the negredo aspect – as far as the dissolution of his bond with Godric goes, and the crumbling of his own inner defense mechanisms.

What do you think of this cycle?

Isabel

Albedo — Her initial white outfit indicates that her time as Godric’s second was well spent. She must have learned a lot from her mentor.

(Stan lived and died in black.)

Rudedo–Dressed in black, Isabel was prepared for the worst when she sacrificed Hugo to Godric, with the words, “Do with him as you wish.” She turned over the most precious thing in her life to God(ric) and was shown mercy. Instead of the negredo phase she was anticipating, Isabel moved on to the rubedo. The red color came from the blood of the bombing victims she tended.

Gold–Dressed for success, Isabel was promoted to sheriff of Area 9 in Texas.

Categories alchemy
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The Three Alchemical Wheels of True Blood

by Renée
September 26th, 2010

Updated 9/28/10

Hold on! What does alchemy have to do with True Blood?

Vampire Alchemy

So why would Alan Ball give True Blood an alchemical structure?

The Alchemy of Dead Until Dark

Charlaine’s Alchemical Magnus Opus

Ok, so if it’s something from the novels, what are these wheels you’re talking about?

The First is the Great Wheel

This is the overarching single alchemical wheel that encompasses the entire series, and it applies to both the show and the novels. The wheel goes from black to white to red. When this cycle is complete the series will be over and Sookie will have reached a state of spiritual perfection. Lead will have been turned into gold, and Sookie will be immortal.

The first three installments of the series start the alchemical process with the negredo or black phase. This is a chaotic time when Bill destroys the old Sookie by breaking her down emotionally and psychologically. This is the reason Bill is so closely associated with death, earth tones, decomposition, and violence. This process ended during the third installment of the series. After nearly killing her and betraying her, he has done his worst.

Next comes the white phase, which is characterized by healing, purification, and spiritualization. In the fourth installment of the series Eric takes over the alchemical process, which is why Dead to the World is such a fan favorite. The albedo stage is the time for order, enlightenment, and personal development. In the albedo stage, without her even knowing it, Eric becomes Sookie’s healer and mentor in addition to becoming her lover. Dead to the World begins with the albedo stage in page after page of cleaning, washing, and light in the darkness imagery. In season 4 there is no doubt that Sookie’s house will finally be cleaned and restored and that Sookie and Eric will have their iconic shower scene. This phase occurs after the holidays when the days are getting longer symbolizing Sookie’s enlightenment. Since True Blood hasn’t made it to the albedo phase yet, I can only speak of the novels from this point. Novels 4-9 follow the albedo pattern; they start with the white phase and end with the black. Sookie recieves a great deal of criticism for her lack of development over the course of these novels. That is because most of the white work takes place beneath the surface and is only revealed in the rubedo stage, which is exactly what we saw with novel number 10, Dead in the Family. Finally, there was a glimpse of a Sookie worthy of being Eric’s mate. This novel broke the albedo pattern by beginning with the rubedo stage and ending with the white, something we can expect to continue to the end of the series.

Second is the Triennial Wheel

Alchemy has been described as wheels within wheels because there is a whole clockwork going on under the surface. In True Blood one of those wheels completes a cycle every two and a half seasons. For lack of a better term, I’ve rounded up and called it the triennial wheel. This is the work that clearly shows where the whole process is leading and that Sookie’s ultimate lesson will one of sacrificial love. It always involves a burned vampire and a sacrifice, and Sookie is always there to witness it.

Cycle 1

Negredo
Season 1 Bill meets the sun in a faux sacrifice. He knew Sookie’s blood would prevent him from dying and conveniently an open grave is nearby for him to regenerate in. Bill’s earth tone wardrobe and the black smoldering ashes that cover him identify this phase.

Albedo
Season 2 Godric meets the sun while Sookie looks on. Godric is ready to die, but his death serves no higher purpose and is not salvific, even though he had hoped that it would the catalyst to bring humans and vampires together. Godric’s white wardrobe and the white hot flames that consume him link him with the albedo stage.

Rubedo
Season 3, as predicted, Lorena catches fire and later allows Sookie to stake her so that Bill might live. Lorena’s death is more noble than Godric’s because she willingly gives up her life for another, in fact, the very vampire who hates her and wishes her dead.

Russell will not let her live if she fails to kill Bill. She knows it’s a case of his life or her life, and she chooses her child over her self. Lorena’s red wardrobe season 2 and the red hot flames that burn her foreshadow that her death will be sacrificial. This is the goal of the alchemical process, but it does not culminate here.

Lorena’s was not a perfect sacrifice because she was far from being spiritually perfected. Consequently the cycle starts over again.

Cycle 2

Negredo
At the end of season 3 Russell meets the sun. Like Bill, he is unwilling and unworthy of a good death, so he smolders and burns to ashes until he is saved from the sun by Sookie. Eric also falls into this category since his willingness to die was based solely on Russell Edgington’s eternal punishment.

Albedo
Season 4 a vampire who is fond of wearing white will meet the sun for selfish reasons. This will most likely be Sophie Anne who gives up on life when she realizes that Sookie’s blood will not make her a daywalker. She will decide to feel the sun on her face one last time. Sookie and Hadley will watch her burn.

Third is the Annual Wheel

This wheel runs through the black, white, and red alchemical stages each season. It shows step by step how Sookie is being transformed from lead to gold.

Phase 1: Negredo

The black work is characterized by depression, powerlessness, chaos, and decomposition, which is a hot violent process. It’s a necessary stage, but nothing good or productive happens during this time. For those familiar with Harry Potter, the negredo stage in that series takes place during the miserable summers Harry spends with the Dursleys at the beginning of each novel. In True Blood its nadir is always preceded by a major conflict with Bill. It also includes some form of  bondage * usually by Eric or one of his doppels. That’s because without the mercy of Christ, all are in enslaved.
Negredo Cycle 1, Season 1
The blacking process starts with Sookie’s encounter with the Rattrays and includes both Maudette and Bill in bondage.

After Gran is killed, Sookie is lost in the darkness. This is the nadir of the negredo phase, and it is preceded by Sookie telling Bill that she wants nothing more to do with him when they return from Fangtasia.

Negredo Cycle 2, Season 2
This cycle starts at the end of season 1 when Ms. Jeanette’s body is found in Andy Bellefleur’s car and Lafayette is kidnapped. He and Royce are held in bondage at Fangtasia.

Sookie’s lowest, most helpless point occurs when the bull-headed beast attacks her in the woods. It is preceded by Bill’s violent anger at her for taking Jessica home to see her family.

Negredo Cycle 3, Season 3
Again this stage starts at the end of the season with Sookie’s distress at Bill’s marriage proposal. It encompasses the first two nights after Bill’s kidnapping when Sookie doesn’t have any leads and can’t find anyone to take his disappearance seriously.

Yvetta and Bill are both in bondage in this period.

Negredo Cycle 4, Season 3
Eric has Russell bound; Bill and Sookie have their biggest falling out to date; and a lost Sookie runs for comfort to her granmother’s grave.

Since the overarching albedo cycle has begun, the albedo phase resets the plot. This is the run Sookie should have made s1 instead of taking the other fork in the path that leads to Bill’s house. Sookie is getting a do over. The albedo phase will be Sookie’s opportunity to do things right with Eric.

Notice how the negredo period gets shorter with each cycle. Season 1 it lasted for 6 complete episodes. Season 2 it was over halfway through episode 3. Season 3 it ended before the first episode, and there will not even be a negredo phase at the beginning of season 4. It already happened at the end of season 3.

Phase 2: Albedo

This  is the stage of personal growth. It  is positive and productive, but it also may be difficult at times to outwardly discern much difference from the negredo. In the Harry Potter novels, the white stage is the school year.

The catalyst for the white stage is the chemical mercury, symbolically it represents the spirit of God. Eric’s sun sign and his personality traits are tied to this chemical because, as the Christ figure, he functions in the series the same way mercury does in the chemical process. In True Blood, the white stage begins and ends with an encounter with Eric. When the albedo phase is complete, Sookie appears in white and a symbolic sacrament is conferred upon her.

Albedo Cycle 1, Season 1
After Gran’s death when Jason is at Fangtasia, Eric texts Bill about arranging another meeting with Sookie. When this fails, he goes to Bill’s house. This is a depiction of God seeking out the lost even before they know to go to him. The albedo stage is complete when Sookie wears white to her second visit to Fangtasia. She is ready to be baptized. This stage lasts from the time Sookie sees the wet ashes from the house fire to Sookie’s second encounter with Eric. (Fire doused with water symbolize the end of the negredo phase.)

Albedo Cycle 2, Season 2
After Maryann attacks Sookie, Eric arranges for her healing through Dr. Ludwig. This meeting begins the white stage, and it is complete when Sookie and Eric come together again in Godric’s house after she has proven herself and earned a new white garment to put on. She is ready for her first communion.

Albedo Cycle 3, Season 3
The white work starts in this cycle when Eric’s emissary, Pam, gives Sookie a lead in her search for Bill. Because Pam reveals that a maker can call his child, Sookie and Jessica are able to locate Bill’s car. Sookie and Eric’s two meetings at Fangtasia bookend the albedo stage in season 3. For saving Bill and nearly killing herself in the process, Sookie earns the white dress she gets when she visits the fairies. The sacrament of anointing of the sick, which is done with healing oil, is conducted when Sookie travels from her hospital bed to the Bon Temps cemetery in a near death experience and drinks the healing water Claudine gives her.

Albedo Cycle 4, Season 4
If True Blood is using the same pattern as the novels, in a departure from previous cylces, season 4 will open with the albedo stage instead of the negredo. The sacrament of confirmation will probably be symbolized by Sookie and Eric making love for the first time.

Note: On two other occasions Sookie has worn white. The first was season 1 when she gave her virginity to Bill in order to reestablish their relationship. This was a faux confirmation. The grace bestowing sacremental one will take place season 4 when Eric and Sookie make love. The second time was in season 2 when Maryann forced Sookie to wear a white bridesmaid gown and lick a bloody egg in a false communion.

Phase 3: Rubedo

After the whitening sage comes the reddening. This stage is about sacrifice and ultimate triumph. It begins with a spiritual death and rebirth. In literature the rebirth is always  marked by a symbol of Christ.  This scene is usually set underground or in a cemetery. In Club Dead, the white Lincoln became a spiritual tomb for Sookie.  In Harry Potter, in the rubedo phase, others sacrifice themselves to save Harry and he subsequently sacrifices himself. In True Blood, the type and quality of the sacrifice depends on who is making it.

Rubedo Cycle 1, Season 1
The rubedo phase begins when Sookie’s white dress is stained red with Long Shadow’s blood. This is Sookie’s baptism by blood.

Sookie experiences a symbolic death and rebirth when she is pulled from an open grave, ironically, by the man who is trying to kill her. (This provides a nice parallel to how Bill functions in the series since it is Bill, Death personified, who causes Sookie’s ultimate salvation.) The necessary Christ symbol is the Virgin Mary statue that René will bludgeon Sam with.

Bill has sacrificed another’s life for Sookie’s by killing Long Shadow at Fangtasia. Back home she emulates Bill and take a life in order to save one. Needless to say, this is a less than ideal sacrifice.

Because Sam sacrifices himself to save Sookie, she is able to repay the favor and save Sam when René knocks him unconscious. Sam is the one who knows how to save Bill, so by saving Sam, Sookie also saved Bill.

Rubedo Cycle 2, Season 2
The reddening stage begins when Steve locks Sookie underground in the church basement, which he claims is his father’s tomb. She is spiritually reborn when Godric saves her and Eric leads her upstairs back to the world of the living. The Christmas nativity decorations provide the Christologic symbolism.

When Luke bombs Godric’s house, once again Sookie’s white dress is stained red, but this time it is with Eric’s blood. He has sacrificed himself to keep Sookie alive. Note how Bill sacrifices others, but Eric sacrifices himself. This is the modus operandi for both vampires throughout the series.

Godric saves Sookie from being raped and killed by Gabe, which allows Sookie to turn around and save Eric on the FOTS alter and bring Godric comfort in his final moments. When Sookie returns to Bon Temps, she replays what she learned about how to distract the religious nutjob intent on destruction to save Sam from Maryann’s attempt to bring forth her horned god using Sam’s heart. He in turn is able to save the whole town.

Sookie experiences the sacrament of the Eucharist when she consumes Eric’s blood. This sacrament was heightened in the novels because Eric asked Sookie to suck the bullets out of his chest in return for saving her life. Eucharist means ‘thanksgiving,’ so by doing as Eric requested, Sookie was in effect thanking him.

Rubedo Cycle 3, Season 3
Sookie’s spiritual death occurs in the basement of Fangtasia and her rebirth is at the hands of Yvetta who frees her. Gone are Yvetta’s chokers that represent her willing enslavement to Eric, The Law.  Now that she realizes she cannot count on him to provide for her financial security, she intends to steal what she can get from the cash registers. She knows that the law will condemn her and counts on  the mercy of the cross to save her.

The red walls of Fangtasia provide the color for this phase. Sookie will give her own blood in this cycle instead of taking Long Shadows or Eric’s.

Sookie applies what she learned in Jackson about saving and healing wounded vampires to Eric.

To be continued next season…


True-Blood

*WaitingForSunday identified bondage as a key aspect of the negredo stage of each annual cycle.
**Screencaps courtesy of Shadow of Reflection and HBO

Categories alchemy
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Death and the Maiden

by Renée
July 5th, 2010

Death and the Maiden by Grien Hans
“Give me your hand, you fair and tender form!
I am a friend; I do not come to punish.
Be of good cheer! I am not savage.
You shall sleep gently in my arms.”
Matthias Claudius
From La Mort Dans l’Art

This theme [of Death and the Maiden] has a multi-faceted past . It is rooted in very old mythological traditions: among the ancient Greeks, the abduction of Persephone (Proserpine among the Romans) by Hades (Pluto), god of Hell, is a clear prefiguration of the clash between Eros and Thanatos. The young goddess gathered flowers in company of carefree nymphs when she saw a pretty narcissus and plucked it. At that moment, the ground opened; Hades came out of the underworld and abducted Persephone.

This old vision will take a new form at the end of the 15th century and become the theme of Death and the maiden, which will culminate in Germany at the Renaissance. In many dances of Death already figured a representation of Death with a fine lady or with a beautiful virgin. The image of a young woman was also found in the three ages and Death. However in both cases, there was no trace of erotism. But with Death and the maiden theme, something new happened. People discovered a dark [bond] between sexuality and death. In this type of iconography, the young lady was not involved in a dance anymore, but in a sensual intercourse, which [would] become always more erotic as time went by.

At the beginning of Dead Unit Dark, Sookie, the twenty-five year old virgin who can’t have a relationship with a man and can’t better herself with an education is frozen in a life that is a monotonous living hell, slinging beers and constantly being bombarded with the unwanted thoughts of all those around her. Sookie could even be described as a zombie, a walking dead freak who consumes the brains, no, the thoughts of the living. True Blood makes the same point about the state of Sookie’s life in the first episode when she advises a young man to get out of town as quickly as possible because the longer he stays, the more stuck, frozen in place, he will become.

On Sookie’s first visit to Fangtasia, Long Shadow tells her that vampires are death, implying that those who come to Fangtasia have a deathwish. While he may or may not be right about Fangtasia’s other patrons, but Sookie does have an unconscious deathwish, which is one of the reasons she is attracted to Bill. Sure, he brings her mental peace, but isn’t that a euphemism for death? The dead get to rest in peace while the mental wheels of the living are constantly churning.

After her grandmother is killed, Sookie goes from leading the life of a zombie to embracing death, graphically depicted in her mad dash through the graveyard that separates the living from the dead and her determination to throw herself into the arms of Death, a.k.a. Bill, the man she had rejected as too dangerous the night before the murder.

If Long Shadow is right that vampires represent death to the humans who are drawn to them, then Bill is Death personified. Bill is the only vampire beside the newborn Jessica shown rising from the grave, not once but twice. Uniquely Bill is associated with decomposition through the decaying condition of  his house, his earth toned wardrobe, and Sophie Anne’s command to Eric to let Bill rot. Bill is also identified as Death allegorically. In Sookie’s Sojourn, I explained how he represented the snake who seduced the Virgin in the Garden of Eden and introduced death into the world.

One prescient reviewer described True Blood early on as a cage match between Thanatos, the Greek name for Death, and Eros. He was alluding to Frued’s theory that the death drive, which compels humans to engage in risky behavior, is counterbalanced with an instinct for life. That battle is playing out with Bill representing Thanatos and Eric, Eros. Sookie is both the prize and the beneficiary because this battle is symbolically part of the alchemy that is going to lead to Sookie’s enlightenment.

Bill’s identification as Death itself ties in with the first part of the alchemical process, which is the black phase. It is characterized by decomposition. Hot, dry, volatile chemicals (not unlike Bill’s temper or a compost heap) are used to break down the base metal into its component parts, so that the impurities can later be discarded, leaving behind only gold.

Bill’s job in this process is to plunge Sookie into a state of darkness, choas, and alienation, which will provide the shock to her system needed to break her down emotionally and psychologically, so that she might be built up again better than new. This is exactly what Tara was reading about in The Shock Doctrine in the first episode, and what Jason was unwittingly talking about  last season when he said that sometimes you have to destroy something in order to save it. Through the course of the series, Sookie will metamorphose from a zombie who embraces Death into someone who can embrace life and love fully thanks to Eric’s influence in the white stage, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. This post is about the danse macabre that Sookie is engaged in with Bill.

Death and the Maiden by Edvard Munch

Actually, Sookie isn’t the only maiden from Bon Temps dancing with Death. Tara’s doing the horizontal mambo with Franklin Mott.

I’ve always said that Tara is Sookie’s prime alter ego, but this season is when Tara’s storyline with Mott parallels Sookie’s relationship with Bill so closely that it’s impossible not to notice the similarities, from their first meeting at Merlotte’s, which includes a violent bonding experience in the parking lot to the spoiler that Mott will attempt to marry Tara. We know that toward the end of s3,  Tara will be running through the woods in a white gown alluding to Sookie’s graveyard sprint to Bill, but Tara will be running away from Franklin and toward life, reversing course and foreshadowing Sookie’s eventual turning away from Bill and toward Eric.

These parallels make Mott another alter ego of Bill’s who will, no doubt, turn out to be a psychotic serial killer who meets a violent end along with René, Amy, Luke, Maryann, and Eggs. What makes Mott unique as one of Bill’s alter egos is that he is the only one to share Bill’s vampiric nature and his identity as Death personified as the god Mot, in Ugaritic, the same language that gave the Hebrews the name ‘El’ for God and the word ‘mot’ for death. It is also the same language that was used in the s1 promo invitiations and ads. It looks like Mott also shares Bill’s sadistic streak as evidenced by his refusal to bite Tara because she wanted him to and his seeming pleasure at tormenting her in upcoming promos.

The universal truth in the danse macabe is that death is inevitable. Even Persephone, the Goddess of Spring accepted her fate as Death’s companion. In a 21st century girl power twist, Bill and Franklin will discover that Sookie and Tara will not willingly rest in peace, no matter how seductive Death is. If their stories play out like their counterparts’ in the Sookie Stackhouse novels, both Tara and Sookie will escape Death’s clutches thanks to Eric, the Christ figure in the allegory who makes life after death possible. Bill and Mott will not simply give up, though. They will always be stalking Sookie and Tara, lurking in the darkness, waiting for another opportunity to seduce the women who danced with Death and lived to tell the tale.

Updated:

In s3 when Bill called Sookie to break up he said, “I am Death.”

 

Categories alchemy, Bill, characterization, Mott, parallelism, Sookie, symbolism, Tara, themes
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Haven’t We Seen This Before?

by Renée
June 18th, 2010

I started noticing a few parallels between the first episode this season and the first episode of last season. The more I looked the more parallels and direct contrasts I found. Some of these may just be coincidences and maybe I’m putting too fine a point on some of them, but I’ve included every possible comparison that occurred to me and a few contrasts. The important thing is that a majority of  these appear to be deliberate.  The parallel story lines and alter egos that I’ve written about in the past are pretty standard in works that have literary alchemy. This is different. Some of the parallels are with alter egos but not all of them.  Some lead to parallel storylines, but not all of them. They do show character development and allow us to compare and contrast characters and situations, but why the need for an episode for episode correspondence? I’m not sure why Alan Ball would structure True Blood this way.

Addendum: I viewed 1.01 with these parallels in mind and found precious few. I’ve added them to the bottom of the list. The one that I think is most interesting concerns lighting. When Sookie sees Bill for the first time in s1, the world darkens, and when Sookie sees Eric for the first time in s3, the world lightens. I believe this relates to the alchemy. Bill represents the black alchemical phase, which started for Sookie 1.01. It is characterized by decomposition, darkness, the earth, and the inability to be effective. Eric represents the white phase that is associated with light, water, washing, spirituality, and productivity. I believe the lighting change as Sookie goes down the stairs at Fangtasia indicates that S3 will begin the this stage.

2.01 and 3.01 Parallels

2.01 Kenya takes statements at the crime scene in Merlotte’s parking lot.
3.01 Kenya takes Sookie’s statement at the crime scene in Maison de Paris’s parking lot.
(Note that Sookie identified it as such. I would have said the crime scene is inside.)

2.01 Bill says Jessica looks like a hooker, and she is flattered.
3.01 Hank says that Jessica is a whore, and she agrees.

2.01 Sookie calls when Bill is dealing with Jessica, his big secret.
3.01 Hoyt calls when Jessica is dealing with Hank, her big secret.

2.01 Sookie cuts herself when packing up Gran’s room.
3.01 Jason cuts himself when cleaning up after his tantrum.

2.01 Ms.Jeanette’s body is found in a car with a hole in her chest.
3.01 Bill is in his car with a hole in his chest.

2.01 Ms. Jeanette gave Lettie Mae a false sense that she had been cured. Lettie Mae falls apart when she discovers Ms. Jeanette is dead.
3.01 Bill gave Sookie a false sense that everything is ok Gran’s death. Sookie falls apart when she discovers Bill is missing.

2.01 Two natured Sam listens from across the bar while Sookie talks on the phone.
3.01 Speculation: Two natured Yvette listens form across the bar while Eric talks with SA and the magister.

2.01 Bill tells Jessica not to look like a hooker.
3.01 Eric dresses Yvetta like one.

2.01 Jason erroneously assumes that vampires are the problem.
3.01 Jason erroneously assumes that the truth is the problem.

2.01 Jason remembers Amy’s death.
3.01 Jason remembers Eggs’s death.

2.01 Sookie calls Bill, and Jessica asks if she can have a phone, too.
3.01 Sookie calls Bill, and Coot throws his phone out the window.

2.01 Police at Merlotte’s take statements about the body in Andy’s car.
(Eggs put her body in Andy’s car to implicate him in her death.)
3.01 Police at Merlotte’s take statements about the body in the parking lot.
(Andy implicates himself in Egg’s killing to clear Jason.)

2.01 Andy tries to clear himself.
3.01 Andy tries to clear Jason.

2.01 Tara wears purple.
3.01 Tara wears purple.

2.01 Maryann comforts Tara, and we know where that ends up.
3.01 Lettie Mae comforts Tara, and she tries to commit suicide.

2.01 Bill admits to Sookie that he ‘did something’ to Jessica.
3.01Speculation: Bill admits to the viewers that he ‘did something’ to Olivia. (See Sunny Nala’s theory about what happened to Olivia)
3.01 Speculation: Bill had to ‘do something’ to get Coot’s gloves so he could escape.

2.01 The police give Tara a hard time about Ms. Jeanette.
3.01 Kenya and Bud gives Sookie a hard time about Bill.

2.01 Tara tries to protect Lettie Mae form falling apart.
3.01 Lettie Mae tries to protect Tara

2.01 Jessica is forbidden from hunting.
3.01 Jessica is dealing with the ramifications from hunting.

2.01 Vampires kidnap and chain Royce by the neck
3.01 Weres kidnap and chain Bill by the neck.

2.01 People are chained to the carousel in the dungeon
3.01 Yvetta is tied to the carousel in the dungeon

2.01 Laffy has to drink nasty water dripping from the carousel to survive.
3.01 Speculation: Bill has to perform fellatio on Coot to survive.

2.01 Sookie gets rid of Jessica so she can confront Bill.
3.01 The magister gets rid of Yvette so he can confront Eric.

2.01 Sookie uses sex with Bill to hide from her problems.
3.01 Sookie can’t use sex to hide from her problems and freaks out.

2.01 Sarah and Steve ‘glamour’ Jason.
Sarah: Why don’t you pray on it and God will give you a sign.
Jason: (eyes glazed) OK I’ll pray on it. God’ll give me a sign.
Steve touches his face, just like Bill touches Olivia’s.
Jason receives UB’s money and sees it as a sign.

3.01 Andy unintentionally ‘glamours’ Jason.
When Jason looks into Andy eyes, he says there are holes, big gaping holes in the story.
Jason repeats holes in their stories.
Jason starts seeing holes in people’s heads.

2.01 Sookie feels guilty for UB’s death.
3.01 Jason feels guilty for Eggs’s death.

2.01 Sam takes money to Maryann. Camera pans the living room.
3.01 Pam takes money to Sookie, and comments on Maryann’s decorating.

2.01vSam flashes back to first meeting Maryann. He stuffs his face with food and a garbage bag with her valuables. Maryann walks in on him and has lascivious thoughts.
3.01 Eric stuffs Yvette. Sookie walks in on him and has lascivious thoughts.

2.01 Day 1 Sookie wears a faded Western shirt.
3.01 Day 1 Sookie wears a faded Western shirt.

2.01 Sookie gets check after UB’s death.
3.01 Sookie gets check after Godric’s death.

2.01 Sam tries to extricate himself from MA’s issues, but she doesn’t want his money.
3.01 Eric tries to extricate himself from SA’s issues, but she wants money.

2.01 On the job Jason and Hoyt reflect about s1. Jason has bottled water.
3.01 On the job Jason and Hoyt reflect about s2. Jason has bottled water.

2.01 Hoyt says his church teaches him how to be a Christian and not hate vampires. Jason says FOTS in bigger than the hate.
3.01 Hoyt says the truth will set you free. Jason says the truth will fuck you up.

2.01 Sookie gives Jason UB’s inheritance.
3.01 Andy takes the blame for murdering Eggs.

2.01 Sam has sex with Maryann and discovers that she’s not human.
3.01 Speculation: Eric has sex with Yvetta and discovers that she’s not human.

2.01 Sam hires Daphne, a shifter with a hidden agenda to deliver him to Maryann
3.01 Speculation: Eric hires Yvetta, a Werewitch with an agenda to deliver him to Hallow.

2.01 Laffy is stuck in the basement with Royce who insists on talking about his homosexual experience.
3.01 Bill is stuck in a car with Weres acting gay.

2.01 Royce gives Laffy the tool he needs to escape, the metal plate in his hip.
3.01 Coot gives Bill the tool he needs to escape, his gloves.

2.01 Jason and Hoyt turn down sex with same girl.
3.01 Jason and Hoyt go home with two girls, and neither have sex.

2.01 Andy shouts an old man on oxygen when he tries to exonerate himself from Ms. Jeanette’s murder.
3.01 Bill scares an old woman on oxygen when he feeds from her to save himself from his kidnappers.

2.01 Sam steals clothes and money and has sex with Maryann.
3.01 Speculation: Bill steals clothes and money and has sex with Coot.

2.01 Laffy will do whatever it takes to survive.
3.01 Bill will do whatever it takes to survive.

2.01 Sam acts overtly subservient to Maryann.
3.01 Sam acts overtly subservient to Bill.

2.01 Sookie confronts Bill and asks if he had anything to do with UB’s death.
3.01 Sookie confronts Eric and asks if he had anything to do with Bill’s disappearance.

2.01 Bill declares his love for Sookie
3.01 Eric admits he wants Sookie.

2.01 Bill stands with his arms wrapped around himself when Sookie confronts him about UB.
3.01 Eric stands with his arms around himself when the magister confronts him about an increase in V sales.

2.01 Bill and Sookie snowball Sookie’s blood.
3.01 Gus and the Were in the front seat snowball Bill’s blood.

2.01 Royce does something moronically stupid when he attacks Eric with silver.
3.01 The Were in the front seat does something moronically stupid when he gets on the roof of the car.

2.01 Terry comforts Arlene when customers bring up Rene.
3.01 Terry comforts Andy about the shooting.

1.01: Bill is in chains at the hands of the Rattrays and is “rescued” by Sookie.*
2.01: Lafayette is in chains in the DOD and Sookie bargains for his release.”*
3.01: Bill is once again in chains this time at the hands of the FU crew. Sookie attempts to find and rescue him. *

1.01: Merlotte’s darkens when Sookie sees Bill for the first time.
3.01: The basement at Fangtasia lightens when Sookie sees Eric for the first time this season.

1.01: Jason watches Maudette have sex with a vampire.
2.01: Sookie has sex with a vampire. Jessica overhears?
3.01: Sookie watches Yvette have sex with a vampire.

1.01: Merlotte’s darkens when Sookie sees Bill for the first time.
3.01: Fangtasia basement lightens when Sookie sees Eric for the first time this season.

1.01 Sookie finds out about Maudette’s death. Jason is indirectly responsible for it.
2.01 Sookie finds out about UB’s death. She is indirectly responsible for it.
3.01 Sookie finds out about Eggs’s death. She is indirectly responsible for it.

Other Parallels

7/22/10
1.07 Sookie returns home after her first night with Bill to find Jason in her house needing V and stealing Gran’s silver and jewelry
3.01 Sookie returns home after searching for Bill to find Jason in her house eating her chicken and cleaning up

*Pennyddreadful

Categories alchemy, altar egos, parallelism, S2, S3
Comments (29)

Charlaine’s Alchemical Magnum Opus

by Renée
May 12th, 2010

Be sure to read Sookieverse Blog’s review of Dead in the Family before proceeding with this post.

The Great Work, alchemy, is the transmutation of base matter into gold. This perfect metal can only be produced when all imperfections in both the metal and in the spirit of the alchemist have been burned away. In addition to gold, the Great Work also renders immortality. Previously I described the three stage process, how authors from Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling have used it, and how Dead Until Dark completed one alchemical cycle. In fact, this is the pattern for each novel.* What I haven’t discussed is the overarching alchemical cycle that encompasses the entire series, turning the entire thirteen books into one magnum opus. With the introduction of Bill into her life, Dead Until Dark begins the negredo phase characterized with putrefaction, decomposition, darkness, and depression. It ends in Club Dallas with Sookie’s metaphorical death (at Bill’s hands) and resurrection (at Eric’s) in the trunk of the white Lincoln.

Many readers have noted the exceptional nature of Dead to the World and Dead in the Family in the series. That is because these two novels mark the transition between alchemical stages. Breaking with the previous alchemical pattern of negredo to albedo to rubedo that the first three novels follow, Dead to the World begins with the albedo or white stage, which encompasses almost the entire novel. In this novel, the Witch War marks the rubedo phase, and then it ends with Sookie in a black funk, indicative of the negredo. Dead to the World resets the pattern for all the subsequent novels; they begin with the white stage and end with the black because they belong to the overarching albedo phase. The novels from  Dead to the World to From Dead to Worse encompass a period of purification and refining. These novels provide the experiences that Sookie needs to grow and develop even though they show little evidence of her personal evolution.

With Dead in the Family, the overarching alchemical cycle comes into focus. It is the transition novel from the white stage to the red rubedo self-sacrificial one. The hallmarks of the red stage include revealing the secret marriage of opposites that occurred in the previous stage and producing the hermaphroditic orphan that fully integrates the natures of both parents, the sun king and the moon queen. The outcome of this stage is spiritual perfection, gold, and immortality.

Harris has switched the attributes of  her alchemical king and queen. Sookie is the sun queen to Eric’s moon king. This is the novel that finally shows evidence of the growth and development in Sookie’s character that occurred in the albedo novels, another characteristic of the red phase. Sookie not only shows the forethought and insight that was lacking in previous novels, but her generosity and sacrificial nature come to the fore. I predict that they will feature even more prominently in future novels and that ultimately the series will end with Sookie giving up her life for Eric.

In the very first novel, Eric saved Sookie from Long Shadow by killing him. The albedo novel, Dead as a Doornail,dealt with the ramifications of Eric’s actions. Hot Rain, Long Shadow’s maker, sent Charles Twining to take the life of someone dear to Eric, namely Sookie. In my view, Long Shadow will indeed cast a long shadow over the entire series and Hot Rain will make a direct attempt on Eric’s life in one of the upcoming rubedo novels, probably the last. The biggest clue to this outcome is the name Hot Rain. In alchemy, the black stage is associated with the hot and dry nature of a compost heap and the albedo with a cold wetness. (Recall the frigid rain at the beginning of Dead to the World.) The rubedo stage is hot and wet, so it seems that Harris chose the moniker ‘Hot Rain’ specifically with the rubedo stage in mind. The one thing we know about Hot Rain is that his desire to avenge Long Shadow’s death has not yet been satisfied.

I’m also looking for Russell, whose name is associated with the color red, to play a significant role in the resolution of series, probably either supporting or opposing the crowning of Eric as King of Louisiana. Russell was in one negredo novel and one albedo one, so he’s due to at least put in an appearance in one of the rubedo novels.

What about the golden child? In the Twilight series, Bella gives birth to Reneesme who is both fully human and fully vampire. She becomes the dual natured hermaphrodite. This solution will not work because Charlaine Harris has definitively said that Sookie and Eric will not have a child and that Sookie will not become a vampire. Where will the dual natured child come from and who will gain immortality?

The answer could be foreshadowed in Dead in the Family in the relationship between the hemophiliac orphan, Alexei, and his maker Appius.  If hunter is orphaned and later mortally wounded, I think Sookie would ask Eric to turn him.  Hunter would become the hermaphroditic orphan uniting Sookie’s telepathy and fae blood with Eric’s vampire qualities. Hunter , the well adjusted vampire fairy prince would become the mirror opposite to the crazed Russian vampire prince.

*True Blood has an alchemical structure, but it is being manifested differently than the one Harris is using in the novels. This post only applies the novels. In regards to True Blood, at this point, I’m still standing by this and this. In any case, I think it likely that Alan Ball will choose to provide an alternate ending for Sookie’s story.
Categories alchemy, Dead in the Family, Dead to the World, Dead Until Dark, Eric, Hunter, parallelism, Sooke Stackhouse Novels, Sookie
Comments (24)

Let’s Play a Game

by Renée
April 21st, 2010

From these 20 clues can you identify the vampire and sidekick I’m thinking of?

1. This vamp holds a powerful political position.

2. She has penchant for wearing white.

3. And gold.

4. She has a human lover.

5.  Her lover is dissatisfied with the limits of their relationship.

6. This vampire wants to take advantage of Sookie’s telepathy.

7. She decides to introduce a man into Sookie’s life.

8. Bill is tasked with delivering Sookie to her.

9. Sookie believes the vampire’s sidekick is in love.

10. He and Sookie become engaged.

11. He deceives Sookie about his true allegiance.

12. Although he tries to take charge, Sookie’s willfulness and independence is more than he can cope with.

13. This female vampire doesn’t know that her man is derailing her plans because he has his own agenda for Sookie.

14. He betrays this vampire because he wants to be what he isn’t.

15. He also betrays Sookie.

16. And the local vampire heirarchy that he is beholden to.

17. His treachery gets him captured and assulted by someone he trusts.

18. Sookie discovers his treachery.

19. This vampire immdiately notices Eric’s interest in Sookie.

20. She confronts Eric physically when he gets out of line.

Bonus Clue: This vampire keeps Eric waiting while someone he cares about is in danger.

The correct answer is….

Isabel and Hugo

Isn’t it curious how closely Isabel and Hugo’s story line mimic the one with  Sophie Anne, Hadley, and Bill? Perhaps these similarities indicate where  Alan Ball is going with Isabel’s character.

Isabel is now sheriff of Dallas. If Ball follows the books, with Stan dead, Isabel is set to become the Queen of Texas. If she decides to employ Barry, as Stan did in the books, she will accomplish what Sophie Anne set out to do through deceit and treachery, gain the loyalty of a telepath.

The up and coming Isabel who deals fairly with humans and openly loves them contrasts sharply with Sophie Anne, the corrupt fading power whose days are numbered. If Eric is the one to overthrows her instead of Philipe de Castro, Godric’s child would then be the King of Louisiana and his protege the Queen of Texas. Since Godric advocated treating humans as equals, Isabel and Eric, as Godric’s disciples, would be ushering in a new era of vampire-human relations in their states. Contrast the potential enlightened leadership of Isabel and Eric with Sophie Anne manipulating and using humans while dealing V and Stan murdering them and wanting an all out war.

Sophie Anne and Isabel’s similarities allow us to view them in a similar light, but once we do, their differences make it clear who would be the better ruler. Isabel’s relationship with Hugo, her interaction with Sookie, the way  she kept Eric waiting when he wanted to move against the Fellowship, and how she physically confronted him in the meeting with the Nan Flannigan illustrate how different she and Sophie Anne really are. Texas vampires would be fortunate to have Isabel for their queen while Louisiana ones can only hope that Eric’s character continues to develop and that he will eventually have the opportunity to replace Sophie Anne.

Categories alchemy, Bill, characterization, Godric, Isabel, parallelism, Sookie, Sophie Anne
Comments (5)

The Red and the Black and the Silver

by Renée
January 5th, 2010

Sookieverse blog is doing some great analysis exploring how Charlaine Harris characterizes Bill and Eric’s love making and the significance of red to Eric.

Both of these issues relate to the alchemy that underlies Sookie’s character development and to the Christian allegory at the core of the series.

Alchemically Bill and Eric symbolize the warring couple, the chemicals sulphur (passionate, explosive, unpredictable, and willful) and mercury (dual natured, accommodating, passive, and wise). The characteristics associated with these metals are reflected in the way Bill and Eric interact with Sookie, even sexually. Since Eric is the vampire who takes Sookie from the white purified state to the red enlightened one, red is always associated with Eric. Alternately Bill is connected with darkness and the colors brown and black that characterize the nigredo stage of death and decomposition.

Allegorically since Eric is the Christ figure in the series, the color red is linked with him because of its association with both passion and blood.

Sookieverse points out that the only real color associated with Bill is the blue of the topaz earring that he gives to Sookie. Like everything else about Bill, this too is deceptive since topaz is not naturally blue. Blue topaz jewelry is actually made from pale yellow or gray topaz that has been irradiated, a fitting symbol of Bill’s fake persona. As the allegorical snake in the Garden of Eden who seduced the virgin, Bill is a master of disguise and an expert at deception.

Categories alchemy, allegory, Bill, characterization, Christianity, Eric, Sooke Stackhouse Novels, symbolism
Comments (10)
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