Part Four: 16 (with Matthew Rothaus Moser)

“I looked up at the Statues on the Walls of the Vestibule. ‘I need water,’ I told them. ‘Bring me a drink of water.’

But they were only Statues and they could not bring me water. They could only look down on me with Calm Nobility”

— Susanna Clarke, Piranesi

Dear Friends,

I can hardly believe we’re more than half way through our summer book club on Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. This week, things begin to fall apart in the House. After discovering that the mysterious visitor to the house (“16”) is a woman, Piranesi’s suspicions that the Other has been hiding things from him are confirmed. Piranesi is torn between a desire to meet the third living human being in his memory, and a fear that she intends to drive him mad. However, after learning that a catastrophic flood will sweep through the House, he sets out to find 16. What he finds instead is something that will upend his simple existence: a name. His own name.

Matthew Rose Sorensen

Joining me to discuss this week’s chapter is another Matthew: Dr Matthew Rothaus Moser (which, incidentally, has the same number of syllables as Matthew Rose Sorensen). Matthew is a professor of theology, a scholar of Dante, and a friend of Speaking with Joy. We discussed A Wrinkle in Time on last summer’s book club, and before that he introduced the podcast to Dante through on conversation on the Soul in Paraphrase. Rather appropriately, we both agreed that there are some nods to Dante in this chapter; 16 has an air of Beatrice to her.

I invite you to listen to our conversation at the link above (or wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts), and then to join in on the discussion posts on instagram, twitter, or Facebook (whichever you prefer). The discussion questions are below, but first a few themes from this week.

Names:

Names are a curious thing. Jung observed that they are both the most public and the most personal fact about us. Any barista, professor, or tax agent may know your name, but to be called by name by a voice that loves you is one of the most intimate human experiences. In Genesis, God invites Adam to name all the animals, and it is only when has done so that he realises he is incomplete, lonely even in Eden. In this chapter, Piranesi puzzles over how to sign his name on the humorously contemptuous letter he sends 16:

My only difficult was that I did not know how to sign the letter. I could not write 

YOUR FRIEND’ as I did when I wrote to the Other or to Laurence (the person who had wanted to see the Statue of an Elderly Fox teaching some squirrels). 16 and I were not friends. I tried putting ‘your enemy’ but this seemed unnecessarily confrontational. I considered ‘the one who will never submit to being driven mad by you’ but that was rather long (and not a little bit pompous). In the end, I simply put:
PIRANESI

This being what the Other calls me.

(But I do not think that it is my name)

Of course, what Piranesi does not know is that 16 knows his name: Matthew Rose Sorensen.

Disenchantment:

Learning his real name causes Matthew great pain. He begins to remember a past, a time before his innocence. The world begins to contract, to turn grey. The statues can no longer comfort him. I nearly cried when I read this chapter again. It is full of grief. The most touching moment is the one which I quote at the beginning of this post: Piranesi seeks the comfort from the statues, and can find none. It is such a contrast from the previous chapter, when he discovers the truth about the Prophet. Then, he found solace in the beauty of the statues. But now, they are silent. They could only look down on him with Calm Nobility.

I think the reason we feel such grief as we read this chapter is that now Piranesi is like us. Now the world does not speak to him. It reminds me of bit from a poem by Sylvia Plath:

... I only know that a rook

Ordering its black feathers can so shine

As to seize my senses, haul

My eyelids up, and grant

A brief respite from fear 

Of total neutrality.

Sylvia Plath, “Black Rook in Rainy Weather”

“Fear of total neutrality.” That is what Matthew Rose Sorensen experiences. He has become disenchanted. Notice that I say he has become disenchanted, and not The House. The House is as ever it was, but a veil has fallen over Piranesi’s perception, and he can no more “re-enchant” the House than escape the flood. Piranesi is sort of person Charles Taylor describes when he writes “there will be people who feel bound to give it up, even though they mourn its loss.

Can the world ever speak to Matthew again?

Loneliness:

For all the sadness of this week’s revelations, we must remember that on some level, they are good. Matthew is clearly not safe, and though knowledge increases his sorrow, it could also protect him. And there’s something else too: Piranesi is made for companionship.We see it in the way he so naturally relates to everything around him. In my conversation with Malcolm Guite, we talked about how Owen Barfield didn’t actually think it would be good for the human race to stay in a place of “original participation” (Piranesi’s outlook). Mankind, according to Barfield, needed to mature, to individuate so that they could commune. This seems to be the case with Piranesi, who so naturally (and clearly) wishes to know and be known by 16. 

So while we grieve his lost innocence, and fear the forces that brought him to this situation, it is possible that this is all a part of his growth. Perhaps, perhaps, there is hope.

But before then: suspense! Next week, we read Piranesi’s journal to find out what happened. But first! Let’s discuss this week’s chapter…

Discussion Questions:

What is the significance of names? Is it significant that 16 is the first person to call Matthew (Piranesi) by his real name? Why did this undo him?

Who should Matthew trust? What criteria should he use to evaluate the trustworthiness of others? Is it good that he is becoming disenchanted?

I can’t wait to hear all your thoughts!

Peace,
joy

P.S. In case you’ve forgotten, or this is your first week, this is how the book club works: We’ll read one chapter each week. I’ll post a podcast with a friend where we discuss the chapter (this week it’s with my brother Joel!). Then I’ll post discussion questions on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, where you can chime in with your ideas, opinions, thoughts and questions. That’s it! That’s all it involves! At least online. I always enjoy the discussions that take place in the comments, but I also strongly encourage you to start a real life bookclub! Really, it’s a lot of fun.