Black Narcissus

The palace in Mopu had always been used by women - it was built as a harem palace and everyone remembers it as such. Tucked in the Indian Hymalayas, near Darjeeling, in a valley under Kangchenjunga, it belongs to the ruler, the General, of one of the princely states that still exist alongside the Indian Raj in the 1930s. After the death of the last princess to live there, the ruler decides to find a better use for the remote palace so offers it to the religious orders. The first tenants, an order of monks, open a school and then give up within a few months. When this novel opens, a different order, one of Anglican nuns, is about to build their new life there - opening a school and clinic for the women and children of the valley.

Sister show more Clodagh, the Irish Anglican nun, is the youngest Sister Superior of the order and is sent to the remote mountain with 4 more nuns - some of them a lot more experienced than she is, some of them really young. It takes them days to even reach the palace - and when they arrive, the buildings still need repairs and new buildings need to be built. The fact that the General tries to help by paying the villagers to come to the clinic and the school does not help much either.

But that is not the main story of the novel - even if that is the center of it. It is a novel of survival - physical but mostly mental. Nothing happens as anyone expects; the nuns who believe that they are prepared for it slowly realize that the mountain has its own rules and no amount of determination can change some of the realities. Alone in the mountain, alongside the superstitious villagers, with the mountain looming over them, everyone needs to reexamine their beliefs - even nuns. Clodagh, who is the main character and whose thoughts we get to see, is so strongly reminded of her native Ireland that she seems to return back in time at times. The other nuns face their own demons and change - while the mountain remains there, unchanged, unreachable. In a way, the novel really asks the question if belief in God is enough to allow you to deal with anything life throws at you - or if there is something bigger, even when you had promised your life to God - and that is explored not just with the nuns but also with the uncle of the current General - who is as unmovable as the mountain itself.

The mountain is really the main character of the novel - despite all the people (and there are a few more colorful characters in addition to the nuns), the mountain overshadows everything they do. Godden's descriptions of it highlight that - they make you feel as if you were there and saw it.

It is a slow novel - while there is quite a lot of action in it, it happens almost without you realizing it - you are too busy watching the birds which keep circling and still cannot reach the top, too busy just looking at the mountains around you. But at the same time the people we meet and their stories are important - because they are changed by the mountain. And as surprising as it can be in a novel like that, sex plays a major role in it - in multiple ways (none of them being vulgar or pornographic in any way). It is a novel about people's thoughts and feelings and a novel about Nature. show less

‘’Look at the eagles,’ he said.
In the gulf eagles were flying, circling round one small spot in the air. Higher and higher they flew, but still they could not reach the head of cloud that hid the mountain in the north; they could not reach its foot. Circling, they flew a fraction higher; it seemed that they would reach it, but always they were beaten down to be lost in the colours of the valley and they always came up to circle dizzily again.
Mr Dean sent his hat spinning round in his finger. ‘I told you it was no place to put a nunnery.’’

Sister Clodagh searches for her sanctuary, a place to build her Heaven on Earth to serve God and escape her demons. Sister Briony wants to offer kindness. Sister Honey endures hardships show more with a bright smile on her face. Sister Philippa is afraid of losing herself. Sister Adela is one point short of resorting to self-flagellation. Sister Ruth lives in an absurd world of her own, populated with imaginary shadows and enemies. The Palace in the Clouds can hardly contain the tension and suppressed instincts of the newcomers who ignore Dean’s warnings and believe they can tame spirits beyond their understanding…

‘’You have to be very strong to live close to God or a mountain, or you’ll turn a little mad.’’

A masterpiece that withstands the test of time, a haunting lament of lost innocence and thwarted aspirations, a fable of being vain enough to presume that you can mould a different world according to your principles no matter whether your intentions are pure as an infant’s heart. In a landscape that shelters and threatens, upon a mountain which gives you the impression that you can touch God’s feet, a company of women bravely defies the odds. But you cannot win unless there is unity and honesty and help from the ones who claim to ‘’be there for you’’. When a member of the odd fellowship loses all connection to reality, when the distrust of the locals grows stronger and stronger, when you deny your own self, what else remains?

“Sometimes it seemed to him that the house had a bad wild life of its own; the impression of its evil lingered, in its name, in its atmosphere...”

I watched the excellent 1947 film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger when I was about 13. It has haunted my mind ever since. The shadows dancing in the lurid halls the nuns attempt to turn into something ‘sacred’, the sound of the bells, the treachery of red lips and stormy skies. The novel and the film (don’t get me started on the abominable TV series…) remain iconic,, symbols of dishonesty, betrayal, sexual repression, madness and a severe lack of communication between the locals and the newcomers. Both parties are lost. Both parties refuse to understand the other, imprisoned in a cell of superstitions and pre-conceived notions about ‘’two contrasting views of the world.’’ Foundations are impossible. The building is bound to collapse…

“I don't expect you to understand me any more than I can understand you; but I respect you and that's the difference between us.”

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less

You have to be very strong to live close to God or a mountain, or you'll turn a little mad.

Similar to Manderlay of Rebecca, the Himalayas here is the unspoken main character of Black Narcissus, looming over its inhabitants with its imposing, majestic presence and inevitably, the well-intentioned nuns discovers just how difficult it is to live so close to God in such a remote expanse.

Godden expertly portrays the primal, psychological effects this sort of pious, naturalistic living has on each devoted and their relationships, how the lack of contact with the outside world results in a drop in expectations of the standards of behaviours, with convincing reveal and exaggeration of existing personalities and desires. Combined with the lush show more imagery of the magnificent surroundings and repressed sexualities, this otherwise unremarkable story of nuns planning a Grand Design episode is elevated to a complex tale of dark desires. show less

Mr. Dean se preparando para o Slutwalk.

Ah, a visão do ocidente... sempre a mesma! Cem anos depois e continua tudo igual, só um pouco pior! E foi puramente acidental o fato de que Narciso Negro e The Last Lingua Franca caírem em minhas mãos na mesma semana, certamente não planejei lê-los ao mesmo tempo, mas ambos se completam lindamente.
Como já havia imaginado através do filme, este livro faz uma grande dobradinha com A Ilha do Huxley na mesma proporção com que faz relação com Os Demônios do mesmo Huxley. Resumindo: o livro da Godden é como se os eventos de Os Demônios se passasem dentro de A Ilha através de uma narrativa mais fluida, uma melhor construção de personagens em relação ao espaço físico/ psíquico, show more delineado com uma prosa mais poética e menos didática. Excepcional, é claro. show less

Published in 1939, Black Narcissus is the story of a group of Anglican nuns who we meet at the beginning of the book in India, travelling to Mopu where they plan to open a hospital and school for the local people.

The Sisters "rode on Bhotiya ponies that were small and thick-set like barbs, and sat swaying in their saddles, their veils tucked under them. They looked very tall in their veils and topees, the animals looked very small, and the grooms laughed out loud and said: 'These are women like the snows, tall and white, over-topping everything'."

The way the Sisters ride their ponies acts as an introduction to their characters. Sister Clodagh, leading the project, sits confidently, "upright and easy". Young Sister Ruth rides awkwardly, show more is nervous and complains. Clodagh has been warned by the wise Reverend Mother to allow her to feel important sometimes and to be "careful of her. Spare her some of your own importance- if you can."

The uneasy dynamic between the two becomes as important part of the book as the vivid scenes of tiredness, frustration and occasional successes as the Sisters establish the Convent of St. Faith. Written in the 1930s, the portrayal of India is, of course, dated but it is free of the extreme prejudices often present in fiction from this era.

Godden's writing carries with it an underlying wisdom and her humour is gentle. She is also psychologically astute and occasionally plays with expectations. For example, agent, Mr Dean is placed into the story like a romantic hero but proves himself to be much less than a hero.

This was my first Rumer Godden but I will definitely reading more and am looking forward to Virago's forthcoming editions. Lovely writing plus something more. show less

Brooding and gothic; this tale of culture and religion clashing in the mountains of India is unique and compelling. The General has gifted his remote palace to the Sisters of Mary after it was mysteriously vacated by monks after only six months. At first the sisters were delighted, it was odd, yes; but beautiful too and filled them all with the anticipation of work and good deeds. They aim to open a hospital and school for the villagers but a lot of the work is out of their reach - they must rely on one of the few English speaking residents, Mr. Dean to help them with the labor. He's unconventional, uncouth, and has "gone native." He sees firsthand the remarkable transformation of the nuns - the chilling and haunting palace may be too show more much for the sisters - but what will it take for them to admit defeat? show less

Written by Rumer Godden, first published in 1939. It is a psychological drama that delves into the lives and struggles of a group of nuns attempting to establish a convent in the remote Himalayan mountains of India.

Weather religious or secular, a group of women living together in basic isolation is bound to bring clashes of personality, loneliness and repressed desire.

One man on the scene, a fox in a henhouse, temps religious values, sexuality and emotional and psychological turmoil. Base instincts take hold leading to disaster and consequences.