[2003] LOSS & PORPHYRY the novels  

9027 - LOSS footnotes

A novel of ideas, at one level the book is about the failure of an individual to be able to handle change, and the effect of this on him; where this public failure is balanced at the personal level by an unusually powerful, mystical, romance. At another level it examines the impact of the establishment, both religious and political, on a naive community. Although most of the material is strictly realistic, much of it also has an allegorical content. To a degree it can also be seen as a comment on the losses of idealism, optimism and 'innocence' in the 1980s; which were significant features of the popular cultures of the 1960's, and which are now starting to make a come-back.

a) Historical Background

Although the events are condensed into just one year, where in reality they would have been spread over many decades, they did take place. The 'beaker people' did bring their culture, which was apparently more militaristic and religious, to merge with, and then submerge, the existing post stone-age cultures in the UK. The description of the life of the community, which is largely based on the research work undertaken at the Butser Ancient Farm, is accurate; as far as current evidence shows. The communities of that period were, indeed, surprisingly rich; for example, it has been estimated that the corn yields of that period were not exceeded again until 1947! The standard of living was high, far higher than existed over the next four thousand years. The inhabitants of the community would have been far more learned and cultured than modern, popular views would allow. This disjunction, with our perceived 'reality' of steady progress over the years, is one of the basic challenges to the reader; which is used, in particular, to confront some of the cherished prejudices of our times. More obviously, as discussed below, it allows the exploration of similar events in modern times to be explored in a neutral setting.

b) Paranormal Background

The shaman was the central figure in early communities; and the patterns of worship described were probably not untypical. His role in predicting the future had been essential to survival of those communities. Even so, the mystical experiences towards the end of the book are the subject of poetic license; though they reflect the religious myths which developed about the same time. On the other hand, the paranormal experiences earlier in the book are based on published research, including in particular that at the Stanford Research Institute, on telepathy and clairvoyance/precognition. On the other hand, they could perhaps be equally well explained as an expression of the drug culture, especially that of the hallucinatory substances taken by many such seers, which has parallels in our own time. Again, the contrast between the spiritual and the material is used to challenge accepted modern values.

c) Religious and Cultural

The evidence suggests that there was, indeed, a very peaceful, idyllic, age before the arrival of organised religion and militarism. My experiences working with today's agrarian communities in the Third World support this view; and theses were also used as background material. This 'Garden of Eden' was an innocent society which did not know sin, or warfare; in which life, including sex, was lived naturally. From this age also came many of the myths that were incorporated in later religions; and references to these are included.

Apart from the introduction of religion and militarism, the main cultural factors bringing change were the new technologies and new means of organisation; and both of these underpinnings of modern society are explored in a context where their acceptance need not be automatic .

d) Impact of Change

The novel also explores, through the simpler changes - in technology and society - experience several millennia ago, the stress being caused now by the more complex changes taking place - with the same degree of inevitability - around us. It questions both the 'rational' management philosophies - especially those incorporated in modern economic and political theory - and the validity of the establishment response, and how otherwise these changes might be controlled.

e) Allegorical Elements

Although the book has, in one sense, to stand on its own merits as a romantic drama and, in another, as an accurate description of the life in those times, it is also - as we have seen above - a novel of ideas in that a number of the events also are used as allegories for our time. The 'current' trends below, which in this context take these allegories, further are the outcome of my (Open University) academic work on the future (initially as the 'Millennium Project' and now as 'The Futures Observatory'):

f) Individual Versus Society Versus Establishment

The novel has been under development for the best part of a decade. When it was first conceived, Thatcherism (in the UK, but with equivalent movements dominating establishment thinking in many other countries) was rampant. Its brutal approach ('there is no such thing as society'), which was already sidelining the gentler inheritance of the 1960s, was the starting point; for the underlying allegory, in effect mourning the loss of that inheritance, is the clear foundation for the book. This theme, indeed, steadily took over the book as I returned to it over the years.

More recently, as the book has finally come together, the position seems to be reversing again; which, indeed, may be why the book can now be completed. Perhaps perversely, in this context, the underlying allegorical content now needs to be read in reverse - we are reaching the better future predicted at the end of the book (which, it is there suggested, will represent a return to the better times at the beginning of the book) - since our latest predictions paint a picture of a much more rewarding, and more compassionate, future!

As an interesting footnote to this aspect, the book was started after an informal meeting with Princess Diana (interestingly, accompanied by James Hewitt, though the significance of that only emerged later!) - at the time I thought coincidentally (though her own experiences can now be seen to parallel many of the events described) - and indeed is only now reaching its culmination as her own death has highlighted many of the themes underpinning the book. In the book, though, the events paralleling those in her life are split between three characters (the two main women and the narrator) rather than being assigned to one person.

g) Spiritual Versus Temporal

Although the book is almost horrific in its description of the impact of materialism on society, it can, again in reverse, be seen to be exploring, allegorically, modern society's growing desire - again highlighted in the response to Princess Diana's death - for values, and services, beyond those which meet purely physical needs (and greed). Further, in the same way (by highlighting the loss), it explores the growing need for shared (altruistic) relationships by increasingly isolated individuals. But, equally, it celebrates freedom of the individual, without destruction of the community - the holy grail of (post) modern sociologists.

h) Feminisation of Society

Finally, one key outcome of our researches is the emergence of women power, especially in the form of the feminisation of society's values, such that the next century is already being called the 'Women's Century'. In the novel this is partly reflected in the idyllic shared life of the village at the beginning of the book, but also by the importance of the growing understanding of feminine values experienced by the narrator.

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