Mysticism and Spiritual Problems in William Golding’s «Darknes Visible»

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of William Golding’s «Darkness Visi-
 ble» (1979) within the context of mysticism as the way of conceiving the world,
 which is based on the idea of supernatural, mysterious foundation of existence
 and connected with the search for the forms of divine identity. The purpose of the
 work is to determine the forms in the representation of mystic traditions and its’
 function in solving main questions set by the author.
 The comprehensive analysis of the novel’s structure shows that its plot has a
 mystic meaning. Due to the quotation namings, numerous allusions in «Darkness
 Visible» resembles books conceived as the prophecies. The role of modern mystic is
 played by Matty, one of Golding’s heroes, who has theophany experience.
 The model of the world, created by Golding, is founded on the mystic sym-
 bols and motifs, that are compiled on the principles of binarity and trinity. It re-
 flects the author’s idea of the spiritual background of existence, supporting unity
 and balance of the world in the situation of entropy. In that way, Golding’s appeal
 to mystic traditions is caused by searching alternative ways to resolve contradic-
 tions that become prominent in the postmodern era.