Spiritualism and Women’s Writing From the Fin de Siécle to the ‘Neo-Victorian “Tatiana Kontou Palgrave macmillan(atat nyt melita we pra opr oh any mend i eed ‘Soyer Seven tes ah ad toe faye ‘engine cae tn by pi mga. ‘Sion Hs © oki See gone dy penn es ent ein pain ‘ies er pcan ekt Ga p ‘eauor tx sara tor tbe i he thr it ‘ron acre nin Capi Own an Pets ha 188 sind 20 = ane a Sees ant rn apccominsoreeagmete Sree egecreann tne monument tmotorene term reget rece cpt coor to be omnes Ben iat St ‘alg rte tenho Sie Feeteetsttertiaresneretna ad and rt in by teary Howe Spee so ane Tomy parents, grandparents and Sam1 Spats and Wome Wing the singer Mignotdesribes an encounter with 2 medium and spat ‘Photographer who is exposed 352 fraud. The case, howeves, Is not 35 | Straightforward a Sst appears 1 Theatres in the Skull: The Society for Psychical Research and Actress Narratives Yet many of those who had! been deceived by Herr M, did not Dive tn his confesion. They took the chershed photographs cut ‘of thos avenderscented bureaux ravers in which they shared an ‘ld glve-box wth, perhaps, a fst culm an envelope oa ate of ‘ast milk teeth and however ard they serutnied the glossy prints, they never sae Mignon ace (his accomplice in the seances buts another face, and hear in thee minds et, the sof, familar vice “demanding the Impossible: ‘Mama! Papal dont ey!” So you could Say the evidence of Herr Ms cime remained, in tse perfectiy innocent. Oh, der desi! And stil Mama sees with the picture under her pillow. sn er sptualist work Thee No Dea (1892), Fence Marryst often floes to medivins and spint manifestations in terms of atte alent. imewhatparadonicaly, ovever hs emphasis on theatrical of pet foumative ability i used to vey the authenticity of various sputtualis Ghenomena, The spit wee’ which are heard trough the medium Tip o Rosina Showers fr example, ae deemed tobe genvine because Uiterwise Miss Showers ought to have made afte in exhibiting fe taent in public have heard the best ventlogulsts in the world, ot ever hear one wh could produce fur voices tthe same time (bart, 1892 p15) In another case, Marryatasets that young {ttn belly dancer materialized by the Arpeccan medium Mss Bery ‘Sone fide spinal entity along Siar lines. Hf Bey was 3 tau ther ae would surly have chosen an alternative carer ~ "such wists ed townds and prouete we ae toh, would have ened hee great sreath om the stage (id, p 228), Marys eferences to the sage and other performative tropes ae lea Informed by her own carer a5 am actress and playwright. Tis fapetence provides her with a rich depository of metaphors, all Sens and techni terms fom which to draw in her descriptions of ihe phontasal "thentia’ ofthe ance. Marya was also a prolife fsa novelist who was well war of the impact her words had fn ides its therefore doubly interesting tat she should choos to Apioy stun! vorabulary avotntet with spectacle ad mer in fo authenticate spintast happenings. Conscossly and uncon sy she erates a ay bebween sei and trth,ghostlnes and iit. Nevertheless, what sea s thatthe truths of sistas strong links with the Vielocan theatre. For many septic, med could at best) be dsminsed as eccentric atses or entertainers 1s (Cater, 1994, p. 139)16 piri and Worn Wg For advocates as Marya shows us, fa medium ould emulate ate alae spit pry hen te wos aay be pong on the ‘age ater tan nthe spt ant ‘ne ofthe min interes of the act for Paychlel Resach (SPR, semis seine, gee and yaw ee Ugaton of spistuaisn. The SPR grows Dut wnat attempts steniatepnt materaliation and the consequent shit in foes 0 thementl spc of medimship (eg tence sat automatic writing ‘Savoyanct tnd spt pocessin cat theron be oo a ell torn the remodeling othe stance -xchewing he strng paca ‘of matealntion fet the inerRaunings of te nae This rat ‘ovement within pts, rom the spt aint tothe meds eo sso concer with change acing ecg sd te wing tf dramatic pars for women a he tun ofthe contr. Exaggeted Somat teptsentatons of emotion and female serconypes gadtally fave ay oa peta of neat, pyeologelly complex sd ca Tenging oes ost important, the developmen of new and naa tse acing techies pra ot not veiape with) the SPR ues to deine natal medumsip within te ever weningfeld of Poyeoogy and scenes precely hs proces hat ings hese to Slings clove eter far ower than appear te ance, “te peel ofthe aces ln the ard (oe ofthe kop proceue that brought medhtp andthe Viola age togete) tas been previously commented pn by ees As Nine Avera hneres goss te acoA ate ell epee Spec {rey emanations, doppelangeapeitins of the natural sel. Actos {nd ghosts both appear anata impostons of athe beng (Auerbach, 1990, p. 18). itis precisely this rift between ‘authentic beit faite "unnatue,phantaoalpoctons ta the ne acing thea {ed to both Bdge and ere, the whe binging the tea. {ces dove tothat of te mit, Moreover the eonship ete ctor and ghost doubles ao even and somewhat praoxia ihade more tangie na spas content As Alex Owen point uh {he oct Interest in more aye and prychologal phenomena $ongide the developing avalsbty of ema fol ght Rave pl an atve pat in the receaon of phys mediumship andthe it mombers of young scrsus = nomen tat ight have ‘eum in previ decades for excerent, so¢a advan Sees om the mundane (Owen, 189,73). "me developmen in the concept of medlnship and spit sminicton canbe rnd a ntl of intsor(beomscou) hates he Sa 7 exterior pl) influences ~ a network that coberes into a Kind of| theatre within the shal. Interestingly tems used in Payhlcal Research {ich ss "telepathy and ‘elaethesr” (both coined by Federe Myers) Ean be deployed ina theatrical context inorder o better understand {he proces of identification between the audience andthe actress on the stage (are, Gumey and Myets, 1882, pp, #90-B00)* Telepathy {whi terally translates fom ie Greek rots eling ata distance’) Sha teaethesa (meaning ‘perception ata distance) offer an alterna {he framework through which to define the expeience of theatsca "Cinpathy” and could even be vied to desrbe the success enjoyed bythe thee seminal actresses ofthe period ~ tlen Terry, Eleonora use and Sarah Bernhardt, Their personal hiswries and thence performances were apotheosized In the press and in the memories BFtcit audiences and sill ave a hold on us today, although the Slory of ecotdings means that we may never beable o fully appre- ‘Gite he emotional power oftheir work? Acting and mediurtship fe embedded in a wide range of ‘narratives’ fom diverse areas of findeaiele culture, negotiating the mereual aus of identity and the inner ft ‘The sPR Propelled by the vision of Wiliam Bare, 2 profesor of Physics, the Sm was offically formed in London on 20 Feary 1882° Henry Sigwick was cleted president, Freese Myers and Edmund Gumey wets confirmed a honorary seceals. The SPR was committed to the Investigation ofthat large body of debaeabe [sk] phenomena desig- fed by sch tems ar memerc, psychical andspntuaistc’ (Gaui, 1968, 138). twas an amalgam of scent and oecult’Interests, an Crpmizition which promised to create a nev dixipline from is com Stent parts and attracted varied! membership? The primary objec thes ofthe Society ae sted below 1. An examination of the nature and extent of any Influence which © ay be exerted by one mind upon anothe, pat fom any generally fecogised mode of pereption “Te suc of hypnotism, and the forms of soled mesmeri tance, ts aloe isenabty to pan; eavayance and other aed Phenomena Rett revision of Reichenbach’ esearches wit certain onganise Hons calle sensitive and an ingly Ino wheter such organisations18 Spam ad Wome Wiking possess any power of perception beyond highly exalted sensibility of| the recognised sensory organs. 4. Aref investigation of any eeports, resting on strong testimony, regarding appritions at the moment of death, or otherwite, of reparing disturbances in houses reputed to be haunted, ‘5. A Inquiry Into the various psychical phenomena commony called Spiritulsc; with an atempt to cover their causes and general we 6. The collection and colation of existing materia beating on the his tory of thes subjects ‘Objet ofthe Society in SPR 1, 1882-2, pp. 3-5) Since the early part of the 1870s, the group that would become the ‘ental axl ofthe Society = Including edere Myer, amund Gunes, Henry Sidgwick, Anhur and Eleanor Balfour (who Tater marred Spc - were involved In examining phenomena which, spat fom Inypmosis, fell outside the conces of matetialist science, Myers 1 introduction to Homan Pasonality and Sal of Bally Desth (Gublished posthumously i. 1903), comments that is "small ou of {Cambridge fends Oye, 190, 1p. 7) was nok mp ying to we metaphysis to explain these srange occurrences or science tame them. Rather, the alm was to we various kinds of experimentation and observation, ‘the same methods of deliberate, alpasonat, exact Ingiry whieh have bait up our actual Rawle ofthe weld which ‘an touch and see to eam abut thee gins ad authentic Did). Paychicl Research aot only formes clove link with scence by wing 8 similar empires template but asoatempted to explore an define & Plethora of occult ar otherwordly phenomena though developments fn physics, chewy and poyetogy Aa Roger Lacktuat ase ‘patt ofthe fascination of psychical research has been in coming to Understand how it capttaied on the sures of slentie materialism, ploiting uncertainty and tanston In knowledges and institutions ob ‘altura authority Luckhust, 2002, p. 2), Olver Lodge, for example ameminent physiest who would serra the Societys president, exer mented in thoughtsransetence in 1884 and in wees telegraph in 1894 ~ preceding in many ways the hypotheses of Marconi Hertaan waves (ode, 1884, pp. 189-200,” simian the ery par of 1875) ‘lam Crookes experiments with pectroscopes had led hn to iave tigte physical mediumship snd shaped hs later interest in telepathy (ucktutst, 2002, pp. 24-82). The invisible” train that science beginning to tackle (ays radio waves, sub-pticles and so on) had ‘Thee te Sl 19 formed, atleast metaphorical sere of inks with the Sock’ objec tives Many ofthe SPR esearders were therefore attempting to tum these metaphorical links into ler, breakthrough connections. ‘However sychical Research ls often perceived asa bind of anal _gete reponse to alent eatenalsm and rising agnosticism, As Aine Thurschwel state, the ‘ivng desire fehind many Tychical eearchers] was to find sclemiie proof of survival alter death, and thus lly the Claims of ninteenth-eentry postvst science with the ‘her claims of eligiousflth’Churschwel, 201, p15) Indeed, Janet ‘Sppentiem goes so far as fo define Pryhical Reszarch a a surogate fat" while Lackurtconceces that tcoul als be understood asa faoinatingly scented shetore for sometimes tansparently religious jramings (Ledge and Luck, 200, p. 25). Nevertheless, Psychic cach is far more than a vlefsjstem for religious disenchast fhent as Thurschwell nd Lucthort have previously argued. It created ghostly but dynamic sere of dialogues between the oer wold and ‘be outer mis of sientie acvancement i overlapped with exciting Urselopments in payehology and even played a major cole inthe con Aurion of late Victorian ficton, Moreover, as Thurschwel indicates, Pye Research shares a vary of terest that are inseparable fom Flan psychoanalysis ilusating the extent to which the SPR was ovonly adopting but actively onibuling to the emergence of new fer fins of Knowledge Thurschwe, 200, p.D ‘consider then, an example, Myers’ luminating study on the ‘nutipex Personality’ poblshed in 1886, Not only does this work 30 me way towards demytiying a particulaly tubing and complex poder but was instrumenta in defining a psychological condition Iihich is stil very much msunderstood in. popula culture today (yes. 1886, pp. 548-65). Moweover, Myer was atdontly engaged In continental pryehology and would often report on the theories of Jean Charcot and Alfred Binet especially in elation to hystera) inthe ‘Sekt’ rcetings In Huan Personality, Myers own theory of the ‘sblminal conscnusnes’andhis vision ofthe mind asa layered archi. fecal pce decty precede and anticipate key elements of Frew. Teychical Researchers attempted to challenge and resolve the uncertain Asaction between pychniageal and psy ~ 8 fact which perhaps ‘explains why Freud, jung and Theodore Flournoy would often catab- Urals to the FSPR, each of them demonstrating varying degrees Dele in the communicative relationship between the living andthe Gis (Gaul, 1968p. 39 ter al, both csciplines used the (ates ) term ‘psyche’ as 4 way of ditinguishing their investigations20. Sprain ond Women’ Wig from eclusiely biological and neurological studies of the brain, Pemaps one ofthe unigue qulites of Psyeica Reseach was the Wy in which i located the psyche within 9 smultzeousy ethereal and ‘organic network atecte by the bran but alo persisting ster death, “The opaque borderline beneeen‘peychology” and the ‘pychi ‘between an exablished and an emerging scence, was a malorpeoccaps tion ofthe investigators. Tey strove to understand the oeul in teins ‘of natul bot unexplored phenomena and commited themselves oder sensatlenalzing the sance and the haunted house tn the fist report of the SPRS Literary Commitee for example great emphasis pled on {he dsinction between ‘evidence’ that ule unspiced forthe Uerary palate’ and gothic nanatives ike The Mates of Udsp (Barret an Massey al, 1882-3 . 11). Indeed, Rank Podmore, in hie 1908 study ‘of Psychic Research and spctualism,eneapauates the Society’ aims ‘and rationale a ‘the naturalistion af the sapematra ~ a pee that eal indicates how the SPR et ott neorpoate the other word ita ‘the eveschanging parameters of atu” (Podmore, 1908). Exparding fuer, both Phartname of the Living (1886) and Human Pasonalty are paradigmatic ofthe SPR atterpts to detach tll om supema:ual or gothic allusions and to construc ne systematic theo es that would develop the study of eonciowsnes further in Phantasm, Which Edmund Gurney authored with the sistance of Myers and) odmon, appantions ave coneeved of not ae communications from the dead but ftom pesons who are very much alive. The premise tat Gurney and company supported was tht these ‘Phantasm were pro- duced 'hrough telepathic projection at moments of great dang, Inalth er sress for the spent. Conscious ofthe gothic overtones ofthat vocabulary, Gumey and his fellow researchers jstied thee decison tose ‘pants ather than ‘phantom’ by taking» crt dsinction between the two, a the forme snot corey denied with visual impressions alone’ (Gamey, Myers and Podmore, 18861. p 2) “The langage an the tomography of the ghostly were beng deine, with implications in many areas of Victorian Ife Indeed, iis wort noting tere that Osat Wide parodied this new vocabulary in his sho story Te Cantevile Ghost (1887, in which the eponymous spect s ‘eliberaely treated a ease sudy’ ater than a fightening apparition ‘Wie’ sory protdes a cla indeation of the extent to which Psychic Research wa nflencing the cultural an literary Imagination ‘The phantasms in Gurney's study (which included anything) ‘om autibie to tactile 0 eatonal manifestations) were the ‘ateorued as hallucinatory of ‘projected’ forms rather thn as, ates nh Sa! 2 face supernatural bengs In adton, vee emotions states were iden tied a catalysts for phantasmal vistations:() anslty ~ specially Shout someone il who might die; (2) get ~ in reponse 1 a recent eat () antiiption - of expecting someone's aval Ubi, p. S06) Sceovng to Gurney thee emotions made the ‘ppt re vou Se teapen wore serait poecton (a, heard ore) ‘us pants bea ifmatey ed o nme pychologial sates Testes What mre, putas can aloe at win te thea tea tamewodt that examine nthe secon pr ofthis cape What “egesstht forthe duration of perfomance, sence and aces St'mmveved in complex pychospectal rlstowhip ~ becoming sand repens o pana Tier a thocand cases wee anced In the “aaling’ of Phantasm, om whch ie authors cvs published 702 They deberately che sting ot pions wich oud 2 sect Sesupoed wi «convincing ory ln oder to make the analy Sexe Concrete an scope ote abe sof owed Somey and Myers eto pace these Phantasm win the unex ites ris of ononscinaness an sed fo eas ew aga heres to account for hee Stange ccurene. MY ts imation tothe say, cleat Inet thatthe unconscious tring ofthe sd of oth agent and recent) were responsible Tortie appatons rahe than 2 supeatral, explicable agent Inver jes argued tat these poenomensfeduned unexplained teen te had yt oe seat examined y scence He om thes u theseunconciod emanations donot ow he familar Ghamrl alone, tae thems the faclitaton fhe starngpoint Gtopeations wih fo sence ae yet mol ew urey Myes and Pose 1918 pl) Myer undetitoodconsclousressasan ogni {oles of mpresion st emote ~Indcendet batterie, fectons and relations of familar objets which intermingled with tron ejects sla the oC), Tis pr fis Geelong Ahr of metuatp andthe sbliminal se (ch ors the core fk Fhman Pesto) that pry the expanding munasape as an Andre, taunteayeatry. TMersoverGumey iors srt of ppt, wth a panic fephaston the ete tne and other minuto of 2 espe test Tony opens Up ach naive history Oey tanta: Phanasma eaten i may seman 9 consea: Ss the let whieh Gurney eee in the ease f making the doaratves of death anges stows, pans and fea) wee22 Sprain Wes Wig not presented as ghost stories but a5 Sclentif’ Information. Any ee- rents of these ‘aratves” which lent too closely to anecdote rather than serious analy inquy wete sipped. avay. Indeed, Wiliam James emphases the demystfeation of the occult that character aes the study by dolly remarking that ‘few species of literature are rove tu ll than repors of phantaams’ mes, 1892, p. 730, [Nevertheles, the caves ae vibrant and arresting documents because ‘they offerauniqe view of the othe ie of mineteent- far debates about the nature of acting cannot be underestimated. BY Imagining dialogue between two speakers, Diderot presents the oppos- ing images of the calculating acter (who stately studles human ‘ature aid then imitates i) athe emotional actor (who Becomes 0 Jamersea me ole that he forms a dee empathy wits a caraset bes playing) The fst speaker ais atone potnt ~ Ie the actor i inst while hes playing, how i het top being himself? he was to stop being Mise, how she to catch ast he point where hei sey his hand? (Strasberg, 1957, p15). These questions donot simply eemble te investigative remit of the SPR but ae iategal abet il- ey) to le study of pnt posession and subliminal selves. The actor tho plays himsel on the Stage, whois simultaneodsly both himself Ind the charactey,reconeling the encroachment of oternes with his onscous ident, s bound together with the levels of possession that ‘yes wed to understand the reiatonship betwen spt and medium, In Deo’ tex, the fist spear (who Is against the ‘emotional point of view), argues that an actor ‘who plays from thought, from Study of human nature, fom constant imitation of some ial type, from imagination, from memory” wil be ‘one and the ste’, consis Ent tru to the fle, no mater how many times he has to perform (Bid). To Diderot’ estes, the wae the mos eifiewt aspect of Is ring to digest especialy since t portrayed the actor as 3 simulation Sr llectign' of reality (which could never produce the "tue pe Tomances that he spoke of) Willam Archer am advocate of the ‘new rama such a Ibven's and one of Diderors main opponents, wrote his {fence ofthe emotional approach in Masks or Faces? (188). The te et, according to Arch’, not simply observe and imate human eheviour bt clothed himself ‘nthe phantom of his imagination and Text oneighten the enstienest of his organism to contagion fom theemotions of his personage’ Ubi, pp. 223-4. Interestingly, Gall Marsal argues that Diderot manuscript (whieh unpublished until fer his death) s fll of ambiguities that were ed by hs translators and advocates to eater forthe tastes ofthe idle public. Marshal comments that the oppesition between alls and antiertionalism is srategially orchestrated ‘in 1 counters the implication n Diderot tha he best actor might20 Spinto and Wren Wig bea calculating creature whose theatrical standing reli on lack of common humanity. This was an implcatonparticuaty unbecoming to the actress and one which had to beefed she was to remain des len, and subject fo, the audience’ gue’ Marshall, 1998, p. 123) If fhe acess was only a simulacrum of teheroine she portrayed then she twasa voi, sipped of er feminine empathy (one of her ‘seen gen der charactenses), Moreover the ates" performance would not igite ‘an emotive response fom the audience Ifthe later was constantly eae of her eleulatd approach on andoft stage. We can therefore lnk “Marshalls argument ith wider wansfornation in the period, particu lanl the este preoccupation with the influence of one mind on another, with telepathy and with the tansmision of emotions, images nd ideas ® Indeed, because Psyeheal search addreses these aspects of intellectual and emotive transmisio, the SPR once again becomes ‘ental to our understanding ofthe relatonship betwen the acess and her sole, and the atess andthe audience "To better appreciate the debate over emotve and intellects) act ng methods and its relationship to Psychic Research, i essential to look at Henry ieving’s inttoduction to Diderot wotk. ving ina Sense, acts here a mediator between Diceo’ theories and fin-de site rotons of emotional transmission (such as telepathy and tls) {The actor) ike everyone ele has many strata of consciousness ‘hat he greatest agitation of the surace ayer may be accom by perfec calm beneath, While King ears mourning ver Cordelia and feting in his own nerves all the symptoms of actuals ‘nother Seon of his mind may be keping set watch upon sccent ad gesture, hind reqitering the elect of every touch upat ‘the audience, and afouth dwelling vith pleasure or pln on p fand domestic cancers ~ the notice in Yesterday's Telegraph Supper awaiting him at home. (Ascher, 4 pp ‘Tis splitting of the actors consciousness is not so far rem from Myers theories of human pesomilty espetly the“ ‘hentai 31 ity and tings the actor oe sces) ever loser to the practices Petmedumship and psychic automatsn. Moreover, Myet concept Sth subliminal sll wae aio formed around the tion of vious fesoalties under one singe consclousness’ (yer, 18912, p. 30), Fa polymorphous yet unifies enti Archer’ actors King Let, pro- fesonal at work and an ordinary man at home at the sme time. This ‘puting efect snot only desirable Dut appears to be completely natu- Er'The ator doesnot equie any extra facltles to achleve this~e ‘Sacer states, “ike everyone el’ Furthermore, unlike the serial ‘if exaggerated poses usid fo demonstrate emoton by eater actos, ‘Kher agues thatthe biology ofthe actor becomes attuned to the char ere Is portzaying (anther feature of acting theory whch resonates ‘th the iden of pect! possesion). ‘ached’ opposition ta Diderot theres (although the difeences etneen them ae not a stralghtforard as we might think) was rca itated in his analyse of Eleonocs Dus. The great talan actress was, ating to Arche, living embodiment of Diderot’ fly. Archer AMpunt that Dose’ genius wat an amalgam of ‘an inward git and an futwardacidene: ‘he Inward git s an extraordinary imagination, an unequalled poner of projecting helt into another personality and living rrough the minutes details ofits experienc. The outward acident [that which made he (we ate tol) & eof the stage and 0 gave fer noconly hereditary aptitudes, but that eri and eiong habit ot Tic expression whieh hae made her body the perfec respon- Sie instrament of her mid, (Ascher, 1895, pp 301-2) aber than presenting Due talent asthe result of lng hous of sy fd premeditated calculations, Archer presents her a8 both a “Dorn” teres an access with an inepesible inavidual gift) and the beni Giyot happy ‘accident This rather romantic conception of Dus’ ta mis counterbalanced by Adelie Risto a great actress herself, who ented » more shrewd and stratepie dimension to Duse's perform: ‘Nevertheless, both ofthese postions (emotive and logics) bing Into contact with the otherworldly cements of mediumshp. #8 description, for example, of Duss physi Image a extace yale an appearance tat one can easly take apart and recon ‘hts the atts a 4 Kind of Shapeshifter ora spectre (Stokes, and Basset, 1988, p. 137), Further on, Risto portrays Dus as52 Speman and Wome Wing sn eranced ot bypootied subject, archetypes ofthe Victorian ea that are aso closely ted to the imagery sd techniques of medium She as 2 rather curious manner of gesture that has an automated “uty, certain tit eng goof het arms dow er sides ith er tea tred and droping, a cin angula way of iting hes at, eling fn a rather mechanlel sles, a cersin way of ralsing er open hands with al five Ringers pointing outwards that would ‘eter ntleraby baroque were any oer atest ry to imitate er, bt which in hee proguces an effec that holds ones attention xe, rom all tis daw the conelsion tha Duse ean actress of ‘eat hil of great ingenuity, but that she s by no means an artist truthfulness, as some of her overenthsiastic amitrs ae wont sugges. (wid |As we can see, tls description reintrodces the Diderot debate (the ‘quetion of ‘trahfulnss) whl atthe same tine dawing on hypacis “dance to communeate Date’ automated quality” She s both yp ‘ote and hypnotizing,Talby and Svengal at once ~ he igi bs and angular shapés appear to be under the Influence of some outside fore yet se also holds one’s atention fixedly According to Ristois seading, Daseshflly manipulates both herself andthe captive a fence n'a double motion. Similar to Risto concept Of Dune a seasoning’ aces Antu Symons argued that her talent ‘created el Iterally out of het flesh and boo, and it was nurtured upon her eldhoows misery and kepalive by her yout ordeals, With an impenetrable resev€ she kept her private lie at once seit and sacred, only on the sage allowing hers the absolute lxary of opening er heat wild with is una sted desces' Symons, 1926, p. 60) Significantly If we are to extend the metaphors of postessign and containment futher Symons ports Due as the possessing agent tna performance rather than se ah empty vss who is posesedy the “split’of the heroine. The elements of {anus and fac, not only revving he emotional pas but tans "ingit tothe character she inhabits, indeed, Gall Marsal oes 0 ‘to anue that Duss complex autobiographical acting actually lp ‘he authoaty of the origin! text. Without changing the words en ‘re te Sol 33 page, the actress radially alters ‘the conception of her parts that they fre sary recognisable tothe playwright (Marshal, 1998, p. 170. {Is problematic segregation of personales, ctional and otherwise, Zell a5 the dsplacement ofthe water's authority, ns parallel £0 “ou elements of mediumship, isthe medium was inabited by dhe personalities ofthe dead, she wos aso the hidden source of author in the "exta” networks of FByehiel Research (he documentation of otherworldly voices and rents) Indee, in adeliusl wonkc wit, Gurney, Myers and Staal Strempied to make contact withthe ving after their deaths ~ control- fet and channelled through the mediums they had once investigate, {hs carious reves from beyond the grave undermines thelr power {Breserchers an reinfores the postion ofthe medium as transiter find ‘author (Licks, 2002, pp. 253-6; Oppenheim, 1985, p. 133) [at as Dive was able to take over the pats she payed mthout altering dhe script mediums were able to ater Shersees creatively using the ‘ery courses which defined them, Tepanding on thi there further, we can aso nd an iuminating symmetry between Symons assesment of Duse and Myers’ study of {onora Piper's tance communtatons. According to Myers, the sub minal and the spect self ike actress and character, a intertwined. Te utteanees heard during a sance are therefore the amalgamation of tht the mechum’s andthe spn’ Wenies: Limve spoken of pase sale of manifestations ich a€ those inwofving Piper indlesting on the one hand the powers ofthe si Timi sel which clmiate in ecstasy, anon the other he agency tf dscarnate spits, leading on t0 possesion. But the phenomens Srenot in fat so simply artanged. ses probable that wher a spit fa cov a sentient elves own subliminal ef may Ie able do the same (ayers, 1903, 1,245; ny tales) ‘The same questions of autho, contol and authenticity which cha Sctrice the fin dsc debate over acting surface herein Myer text “The medium (or sensitive ax she Is called hore) saturates and In the very spit se supposed tobe possessed by. In ation, the the medium sb a-senstve’ defines the exchange between living and the dead as aInore spidey, nticate construction ~ a of multilayered personalities in which the power rations between fms and thes spstcontols re constantly negated21 pat ad Wen Wing Although the ter ‘sense’ mplies certain pasty and weakness (rete inthe way that twas wed by ote SPR reece to celer to the oxgaism that was influenced by the spi), Myer hypothesis of crossinluence alters is meaning. The enstv'sposested by asp + but dso capable of controling I In the finest teat, the ttm senso (ery closely related to sestity’ before thelr meanings grew ‘part ovr time) was debated extensively in Diderot’ Parador (taser, 1957, pp. 60-8). On the one hand, the actor of ‘Sensbalty” wa pated foc his ability to be cated away by emotion during a performance. On ‘the cher, the actor could display this ‘Sensbity” but also modulate t= ‘eating an ambiguly over the extent to which senslty was a ct of se-sunrender oF seltealancing AS the question of Senstvitysensbity wis a ental part of the ‘hanging conceptions ofthe theatre and the stance, was logical that ‘the terry wang ofthe era would absorb this connection. Two nat rats, Floence Maerya's My Sst ae Apes (1661 and Henry Jamel ‘Non Vincent’ (1894) use the notion of being 2 ‘senate’ in thei representations of actresses, Along way emoved front the sua gue Stor ofthe thea that were o popular, Marya and James ecrd the lives fvituows sensitive young women on the stage and depict acting as. haunting experience ‘Maryat ‘covery’ used theta concepts and motifs to desc ‘mediamship. However in My Ste the Acres, she reverse this proves epleying mediumistic topes in oder to fame the experience of the profesional stage Indeed, Maryat would ote use spits refen ence points to discuss various aspect of hei and herbelin got penomena povided er wih eh sue ol metphos. The exc Sometimes] have as many aa dove pots in ferent stages of pletion, oating in my brain. never fel at home with a pot tl "have Sette the names ofthe characters to my stitation. Assan ‘shave done that they become setient beings in my eyes and toflctate what shall write lege myself so completly whilst we ‘Out [have no idea il Take up to comec, what Ihave waite, (Black, 1893 p, ‘Marrpat fashions herself here a8 an athormedium, Her writing is 2 sence, the product of her ‘senstvt’~ a dilogue between het Timinal se andthe dscarmate spins’ who wil come her cha ‘We can therefore read My Sst the Actes on tw levels, Not oa examine the macumistic topes and allusions embeded in the text TESTU ae concer a te at witing fe form of me co Tine! in 1881, the novel expos the hypociy of mics say mht heme ine epg eevee tng ples Seto oi ptr Inc the le a th novel ems to phy erases of acting can sage aetin (or abled Sng witha bilities ora conce (rombinga aid eee tapos e te rte) In, herds he tle se tenon once Hac he plage ay set, wes me7C cundesaed tefl iplcaton The nave nes 1 Sta Dunn ho ees tbe o9 ate fee ete Zot and her aes subsequent age os ong ee ove $e Shane necane gore er ers wh ht esol eta to Pe Seip home and sumat hesel othe autor of er stepmother eer and poblmat say aber nts bose Beha bls Ae le ates by efor hemes: Howe, et SERSato rector lca don be Anna expla Sansome ethan tad nee * econ nt aes oe Se waves beeen the magnetic prt faring er lest ate atu eomvertons dle into Bete ats upbringing he ne Had ses sheked a Tee econerng then it pce="But tobe an aes rab ogis an deve specs an ita he ESchomartyorconmonmenand waren olagh ster op, etre chs pfson wih peor crn ie thctpa eb pp. 70-0 tl Seay rca the ane ese (er cu of etng tne pute spre and of tg aa ake oar pape eo cas The espe eel fot adrcs no onysucunbed tthe eommon” shin 2 mos TBpopesfshon tut as tat the at fama somehow fae and (eee cantned hein tht mento ets oer had th nares something tht Beha Bessa toamit- pap or eons of moves) which is the pte’ nd mtu, perap bce tno becoming yuna and eee ot he ace binging. The owe ele day, we ae wt ler in hee a i or He want of etetagennt bt ee eon naa herp ingence poe fob ike theft op ood To tide p79), fe tip of eal second es roan, gia psec an atop fee36 Spal a Wer Wig (@hrough not necessary contradictory) dimension, It suggests that this ‘second nature’ det her actions but sa the same time dangerously dmeut to ace, mercurial and hidden. Furthermore, the imagery ‘ofthe tiger, deployed Nete by Macryst ar an allusion to GH, Lewes "tepresentation ofthe actress 2 ‘panther an the stage’ (Lewes, 198, '. 313" twanslorms Beha into kind of predator ~ dominating both her ‘tulence and the characters shes paying Furthermore, rns Beth {nto a woman who isnot satited by a conventional, “domesticated ‘le without implying that her dese for fame somehow a ox with ‘nr Feminity."Petaps, eth Iter explain, you dont know what & strong feting ambition 1 yearn to be fas f had gone on ving | my qult life at ome with my dear mothe, I might not have fel that yeaming but Ihave tasted the taste of and Usall never est now Unt have done something worth doing” (Marya 188, p. 35-6) Perhaps we can even identify the embryonic New Woman ia Bethas words here ~ in er rejection ofthe Idea af woman a the pave nu ‘ure in er detention to fulfil her dreams and esc.” In adation, thas dese fr fame appear to have vampiic unde. tones ~ i's meat and drink she clams, ‘and when i fal yoo, you ie! (bid, p. 50, Howeve, as have abendy started to show, Marys pporuayal is more sule than that. Btha vamplse (or animalistic) ‘esr forthe sutengnce that performing provides is countebalanced by the empathetic, ‘senstve’ elements of Her cat, cesing an equ Spurtualisexpecences in more etal, Beta’ very fst performance in front ofan audience fat a schon! rosucton of Schiller’ own ofr. The choice of play and, more specs fay, the heroine, are sigifcant here, Joan of Ave was burned a the Stake for relaying the messages she had recived from God and was avout leon of spina (in whom they saw 4 medium murdered for her gifs). Perhaps Marat choos Schiller play not only ori melodramatic qualities but also to obliquely depict Beth's med Ise qualities 35a patormer as well asthe author’ own spr ‘convictions). When the herein’ performance i rewarded with applause, Betha is startled ~ as though suddenly awakening from & ‘ream’ (bid, 1p. 3), Besides echong the moment in which 2 mid emerges fom a tance, this eps strates how the budding a performs using her emotions and ear losing heel in the le, a {than having cart ealulted ‘Pes nie Sait 37 ‘on another ocasion, Beta called to recite rom Tennyson's ys ofthe King: betha nelther sees or ers the eflet she is producing, She sf [ay she hes et the room at Albert Gate and gone back into the astahe tll of She mourns with Athur~thesb that neatly chokes fis tterance sits ghostly copy Inher owe se looks through het shed fears upon the golden tesses with which Guinevere ‘made Ts lace a dathnes from the King, and se ids away with hi in the mist bereft and sone! As she comes back to herself and receives the thas of het audlence and overhears thet compliments upon ter taent the bight gts ate et, se Feels ick and py =the ot Arthur appears f have renewed her own trouble r re (ibid. pp. 154-5) is wl ls omforay into the ear of serait Imaal Soran cents oe, rar Mc brung seeped mei tag adn see aaron tarpon othe ps ut the goscny of ing Boe Noss tmmonited tothe auence through her mouth sec ohen Beta loos tro et use! ers upon the Soke ee ts uncle if she ooking the Quen tho rate ng that abe ho fsed wth Gulneere pt Ina med mse hang nado, tees ao sere that Beta bacomes a ett soy te nna eh esting ety fpr re eo nt Fen me Fema ms feng sick an ey, an experienc on Sr hanya aa Gv hat fer uct the den Pea Thanyats prose Aspect of feminine empty thet Expavormance ety nes and mdash ar a woven Gener nots oops Ble "anspor in connetons re enuhened ins ter pode, which Bethe sus ne eo Maen THe epnymocs heroine’ of Ende play fen en ena mars tos fen that Se ana I wake 8 oto together Cds p28) aces and haat, tom and ap, or vets n dummy, ave conducting & ‘hos convertion with each other This togetherness, weve, s rotate Who exactly isn conte ere? Is the ‘spl’ of Medea 3 rate entity ris he anther lve of Betas multilayered personal other example of her uncanny ability to both inhabit and be ied bya dere ange characte? In another example when38 Spain a Wet Wg etn is playing Jullet, she becomes so immersed in the role that ‘he loses het eyes and believes that death wil come and take hers she les there’ (id, p. 83). Nevertheless, while this oulaing between ‘he living and the dead, between er characters and her ‘el iat, ‘might be bewildering it is both the estas for thas ie o fame an ‘rather paradoxically, proof ofthe pureness of her heart. By embracing her 'senstvy, she reales that she war meant ost into the highest. regions of dramatic a i, p. 90), ‘Uitinatly then, athe than threatening or dsrupting er identity, ‘ts through the rendition of other characters that Bethe manages to find her own sel, to full her desires and eet her talent (ust {85 mediumship provided a unique creative outlet for other women, ‘Beth ife s enriched by the characters she plays. Indeed. Matyas Subsequent novels dealing with aeses, such at Fac the oot (0885) and Peress and Player (1888), all conform to the notion of the emotional sensitiv ates and silly deploy the vosbuay | ‘ofthe ance In order to establish acting a «graceful, complex sn leglimate vocation. Although Maryat does not dietly introduce mediumistc performances into her text, it clear thatthe seve "elationship with her characters and the mediums lationship with the spsts overlap with each other in a highly imaginative and per suasive way, For diferent reasons, Henry James” short story ‘Nona Vincent” also negotiates the connection between the stage andthe occult working ofthe mind. The story was conceived shorty ater the author rex an adress to the SPR by 175). The paper dele with an unsuceesfol hypnotic seston that ‘William james had conducted with Ms Pipet Months later, Henry James’ play The American was deemed 3 eal disappointment aft lzabeth Robins an otherwise very Ane Ibsenite ates was unable to convincingly portay her character "Nona Vincent therefore drew these two strands together ~ forging tong inks between the ates of talented, authentic mediums to communicate withthe dead and failures of actress on the stage. The story revolves around the wit and poducton ofa play which i also called Nona Vincent A ‘we do not know wha the play le about exactly, ste I ein (of another heroine of the 1690s ~ Hedda Gable Petaps this alu points to James’ own interest in Ibsen's theatre and to his dese Produce similar plays. Whatever the cs, the rt story deals with "uoubles ofa young acess named Violet wh, despite he ite ‘Perform the tie rele satsactonly. Eventually, however, she in aerng the pat afer she sisted by the woman on whom the characte of Non suse mason exec the exe to which icone formed syng thceter and ow those characte ca be supe bythe pen they tsp, how the mise can be subsuted eompetely thew tat, Te lyr, Als Wayworth, nodes the etsons Noon Vincent oma coe fend, the soa Mr Auge ‘She had tthe vole the raator expan, she ad onl the vison he only aot pe wa cape of was tected to thse wh, a she ad could SeThmatng" Games 1971, p17). Min agers oneyed erat see a aed mio, whose von eter ue to bet ack of *Rtvonctve ls. The playwright htfore aes on the vison tat sot bag ug oe outer word he Medes as tee iccen ne Asters space estaba hs wn atic agin. Mine's en constr sn uncanny double of Ms sage, aie tees fem thats both his and te womans who Insta = 'she as eitac, your ay Your vl, you motion; she has many elements ee beng dds p 18) Te dana here, Dower, Proves cena peormunce Vet bo was erly Minera oud ploy ‘dunn oy pe, ees en a eile, but one est’ bd, p88) Violets ited ating re taSicd moth state (ihe iepelion ofa single ‘pet and fd wey iSemloyed in sat o tens cet contrat, Nos (esc anosyerte peony appease sed by the ictenre in wich the play ide fo run andy the shortcomings of (ear wot perform het Tes paces therefore portayed Weiein erm ofa "ow body, heute ox passed bythe peor eh tak place fins boundaries. Most ingy though, he {Ec nd toa vlna reste Bere seul ets. In ah {EXtns who pens more ave’ than Vik = constant evoling nd eet agostes, Nace, Vile! becomes ante, wee, es substantial as Non pce pos As wee od that Vet sn te ply i ft te drama ercinesscsed asf she was ving bres Tagen by oth the paytgh ands muse [she had faced him agin and stalling about Nona Vincent a5 Hse had been the moet intresting of ther fends and her suse fiona tat ssoment an iesisibe appeal to their sympathy, Nong Vincent wes the heroine of the pay, and Mrs. Alsager hd taken & tremendovs fancy toes, ca fel you ow ke that woman! she40 spun and Wome Wiking icaimed ina pensveapture of credulity which could only be balm totheartstie spine ‘Tm awfully gad she lives abit What fet about Ihr that she's good del ike you Way observed, (id, p. 188) Later in he story, the ditnctions between character and acres, ction and fac ae broken down further by Wayworth’s blurred vision = "he had een tying al the evening to look st Nona Vincent in Vieet Grey's Person, what substituted in his vision was imply Volt Grey in Nona’? (bid. 18, Violets overshadowed here by the luminous though a yet unfutled) presence of Nona. in relation to this we can sy that Violet an also be understood in terms of fall medhumship. The pot ‘nervous gt’, whois ‘slmost morbidly eonscehout (ld p. 192) of the fac that her performance slacking is unable to chann the spe, tobrng Nona through on the stage. Non, ental sel wo demands embodiment, hovers over both the dramatist and the ates, Violets fare te ‘eceive Nona becomes increasingly frustrating fo both the amas and the acres, a the late snot witout alent ‘She was lke knife withoetan ede good steel tat had never bees sharpened se hacked away at her hard dramati lot, she couldnt ct it smooth (bid, 193) Viole’ fled mediumship on the stage i mended when she isnot acing. Ste is for example, ‘enstve' Mrs Alsager’ feelings for Waywort she sin ove with yu’ (bid, p. 19), Tis observation sa "speton adoubling'asit were ofthe phrase uteted by Mis Alsage the previous ening to descibe the feelings that Violet heel! harbours fr ‘Allan nls wa, Violet esas a medi for both Mis Alsager an het ‘own inner being a this prticalar moment. The two women therefore ‘reat other inthis spect bt alto cancel each other out though Nona’ personality. The strange repetition entangles the tice characte in both a web of desire anda the web of plot =the two women ae ‘oth in lve with Wayworth and, unable to speak fr themselves ey ecome uncanny embodiments as muse ands acres) of hs deste realize hi creation, Nona, "Nona prevails over both wornen through a vision that Alin expe ences athe climax ofthe story. Signifianty, occurs atthe vey ‘moment that Mrs Alsager vis the fall acess to help het get to gop With the rle. Nona appeats to the dramatist, het face and fort the ‘ving herine of his ply. she was not Volt Grey, she was not Mes Alsager, she was not any woman he had seen pon earth, aot ws ‘any masquerade ot hiendsip or of penitence’ Wb, p 205), Ths sene reanimates the Pygmalion myth n which the sculptors cretion (and jc of desire) comes ie tha hls cstion ands Se suckin the angst way, bot ti miei was ong Ha ene heh trade ets, and yet the neigh Sered ied rom his sp {fu because she drew it away, When she bent her deep ees upon sn and to mate Th they seemed t speak c slety and ee : ‘een pen ofthe Rare Pom time to tne she sed and ive live =I ve did) nes hough doesnot exp sate that Non agosto that he [Somer of pte tonmntaton bec he hough he ingen har an amigos da he guy wl {Fhe by Woyworts danse Nevertbele, Nona’ lack of area to Mn ager and Vette er into #8 of 0, ‘pa ery who ents ndpendenty ofthe wo women whoa "efits perfomance onthe ight fhe von 50 ‘Sevish good nee ud na sera None scons ees {Semen reed upon te pcre p27) crate tha ‘Sinng aes the vis at the aces ectes om Mis Alsager {arb cxpleated in tems of mp pyeieal consumption. While th gers the ore omer the wo worn, she ang allows NESE ee upon and mane byte young actess~Soehow ‘Meseanedoaheirall tome Teokie-1 00! hp er bore hom or test tine, nie whole sy ofthe pt ho Tcl matey copy (6, 20% my als). Ager Tocncelycopled ut consues mpi dined Akbough the tony are the happy unlon in marge of Volt nd Waywort, Mis Sinprssscn resece haus the text Shelves fo Torquay only (Setar ater pay as un isco, af eco not est we onan won he ase eee succes in knotting a rariety of themes into this story, ranging, emt etonip ofan ao scresion to that of aces 1 fer Tne oct cements ct te soy ambiguus but consistently i urs None nen to qustsperua le ee tte reduc comes ates the ale har the plyoigh theme a te ates cts neon fa Inland seca omuniatons This Gexpy Sane ove say but ound an unig sere ofhetes ne al—————— 2 spinon Was ng by way of «conclusion, we can surmise thatthe struggle t define sontnes that runs in parallel rough Psyehical Research and the ‘padcce these as two separate but interconnected sides. In the Ee cr tne Pm e have an atlempt to unlock the mysteries of con. SB Shess and to understand the automatisms of ths multlayered weet, de cae of teats, we have the vasfow efor t0 ce eee tme drama” in which women would not be defined through their sic poet or through the repetition of melodramatic ereotypes ut argh thc ncaies of het inner ves. We can see the effects of bot. ‘Maer the changing tatu of mediurship. Inthe 187, only women ine ait for materalzation could become mediums. Howevet, at the Tun of the century everyone ad the capacity to bea senstive and ee Shoe he hauntings of hex own mind. Jost asthe SPR remodelled ‘Panta (nt to mention notions of doubling telepathy, poss aaa an, the tetiques developed BY actresses an the discussion ‘hey eenerted ate inextiabiy linked by alexicon of infuence conto 1m Runyan sates of conciousness” Mediums as well as actresses Mae able osu and sometimes lamboyant) manipulate the rales Una conventions to which they were accountable ‘hn al example then, conde the concept of psyhorhagy 38 sas wie i Psjeial Research, This term descibes a special Hasyn ry nih tens to make the phantasm of person easly percept, {Re breaking loose ofa psyeiel element, definable maniyby Is power er oducins 2 phantas, perceptible By one or more person in some Gomton of space Miers 1903, fp. 2x) This ieeding-ou ofthe pay roeae ts Gueek roots indate, can be convincingly applied 1 both ‘Shumatip and acting Indeed, the psychical slag that produces {he phanann becomes rica metaphor in indeanding the way URatmany fn-desigle acess manifested thet own lives on tae = vine the daamatie character info a phantasin ceenactng a ‘ea’ ast placing themselves both inside and ouside of te pay Moreove Pa Eltonsip between Pychial Reseatch and acting whic under ehtny fs ened to the study of the modemist and neoVictors ‘vel that follows If we ate to fad them as ‘enactments’ ofthe Pat By blunting the fine between authentcty and miniey, the novel Tl examine become sts of ‘psychortagy’~ repositories of phan tots fromthe Vietoan pas, bleeding through histor. “sychorthay {he involuntary emanation of psyecal mater, an therfore becom ‘Ffumofntertenuaity of histor phaitass that projet themselves ince twentethcentury Gln and which, in tun, are reconstructed find projected back into the nineteenth 2 ‘Well-tuned Mediums: May Sinclair and Dorothy Richardson _ yin he broader framework of mediumship, the intimate connection ‘Woven pra! and textual ropes produces a seis f rarely ike yet Taportant itieal questions, Can we all begin t‘communiate’ with the spi after reading an analysts of automatic wating? Doss Myers onan Persona ond i Survival of Badly Death actively combate tO the deve opment of mednomstip? How 1st that a lscarnate group of Foye Rescachersappeat to take over the minds, voces and ands lng womens iim dent, dey are investigating the pestis tapstalim fom widhin he heads ofthe mediums themselres? Why Sata spt wing shimmer with a ich gos of iterary quotations tht sppepriaons fom Pato to Dante, Browning to Tenajson? More pectin, in tems ofthe history and development of cern modes cate thors, can we cead stance sxpts s formal experiments {i narate' technique? An what esta parallels can we raw between the ext produced By Edwardian and Georglan writing mediums and the mocerint experiments of Dorothy Richardson and May Sina? By focadng on two modernist authors who, atthe same ime, are not ly speopdated nto the famiiar modemist canon (Wolf, Joyee ‘Bot ands ont sy alm here to demonstrate how key ements of “roderism canbe cllocatedin the textual and performative practices ofthe Rivatdlan seance~ tracing out a spectral chain of ennection that fre us to retin certain sectved notions abovt the istry of erry novation. Tn ths chapter, {will therefore explore Richardson’ Piimage (0915-07) and Sinclairs Mary Ober: A Life (1919) in tems of ierary Inediunship. Famous, the tite formidable volumes of Pilgrimage Surpmen the conseiousness of Ie protagonist, Miriam, Henderson, 1m fn appuenly‘undilited' and unedited eutpouring. The movemens of44 Spinto a Wes Wig feminine consciousness self ane dramatied sit were In a Tandaark ‘Sreiment in tterary foun. Richardson's naraive ickes between {enely detailed quotidian observation ~ [she] found aplee of fine [duns green twine n her sing box and Ged p the nest packet ~ seal Aig the ends of the sng with a neat blob on the upper side of the tie and the folded paper at each en? (Richardson, 2002 1.47) ~ Tad dep plosophical reflection ~ "You know in advance when you re olowng your fe These things ae familiar because reality ere ‘Coming evens cs fit is ke dropping everyting nd wang bck Seas something you know i there’, p. 13) Thus, by mimicking the rapidity of successive thoughts by adopting i as a structural ant ‘Steet principe, Richardson peas through Mam and Miriam speaks ‘rough Rchateson na semingly enles series of eplacereats and sb Srvons- the self as Othe, the author 3 protagonist, and vice vets. ‘Similan, Sill’ Mary Oliver also unfolds through single bet ‘aynamic complex mode! of consclousness. The narration of the novel ‘tits bevween tid and second persons. Mary's mind is pled in the fammatical and conceptual poston of "ou she is ‘inside’ and “out ide herself at the same time. Through her addesies and appeals to {he tender and through her sustained internal reflection, she fashions ersel a both Subject and Object. When we ist encounter May, she infant in er cot and sheaves us aa succesful poet wh has re- ‘hated the you" who beongs fo the pages we have jst ead, the docu ‘rented sett it were, preserved inthe resrvols of merry, with the ‘real present of et cestive sane fe "There was something in you {fat nent on, that refsed to tum bak, to ook for happiness in memory our happlness mas nove inthe moment that you ve, while you made ‘tyme (Since 2002p. 312. Mos sigfcant for my purposes here, however ithe way ia which Mary's min hangs between the twin eis thas of bgt ad death -"You could tell when you wee realy Bor [Kad nobody cout tell yu wht beng born was’ (bid p. 46). There is you mato anaratie, witht memory, that cannot be accessed, 3 Jou which mystesously persis beyond ene’ own conscious expet e122 Sad ndced the expenence of others In deat, of couse, tls absent Sresence, this strange interspace that Sineae projects between subj: [ay and negation, more troubling sls" you ded this minute’ she trates there would be the nate ater (bid). Time continves~ if au ‘ed this mite there would be the minute afer ~ but without yu in te There would be a story but noone to tel it. ‘The expeence ofthe stance, however, tells us otherwise. The ‘os! returns, fal body or in sentria vole n writing or photography fn physical, aural and textual fragments It isthe task the medium to channel and perform the ‘you" of the minute ae’, This ‘post mortem’ communtation, aI shall demonstrate therdore becomes a Sind of pests ~ wring that both stages and tabs over the lie tived but of gone, a wating which unfolds in the ghostly time ofthe minute ate, a writing that trims with a thousand "you In precisely {tis sense Richardson and Sinclair act at mediums tthe vasious seis which comprise» if, fom infancy to marty. They summon the fragments which form pat of a hole, the mpl elements of Singulat, creating an identity that simultaneously both fixed and fuse ai rendered onthe page: Whale these novelshave been ead SS hesvlyautoblogrphlca ti not my intention hee to provide 3 fending n which the spitalist slay between hfe ard death sands fn forthe textual tantton from living sft fictional protagonist ~ tren if Miers, a8 we have seen i the previous chapte indicates that ‘put communications refesing to particular events i ving” fe, are preeminert examples ofthe sarval of bodily death. Father, my focus Fie bun the spec element of Payehical Reerch end modiumahip mich provide us wth a unique conceptual and histoucal Famework, haunted infastrcture dough whieh Richardson and Sineai’s work {an be seappaised~ mapping ot the spectral subtext of thal selon ‘cious teary experiments and complicating the distinction between the Victorian’ and th "Moder ow then does tis approach to Richardson and Sinai funtion in practice? sty, we must acknowledge how the techniques and innova fons whic characterize thet work ovellap with the proceedings ofthe Sfance—fom the incorporation of dec speech tothe saalteration tntieen persons and tenses, to the emphasis on cyl as opposed to leat tne. Simultaneously, however, most be recognized thatthe diet cetve potential of mediumshp, i ocluded andor disavowed In Mary Obie ri Pilgrimage (in contast to the so-aliedneo-Vitorlan ves which | expe in ater chapter) In other words, aspirtualist teacng’ofRcharéion and Sinclar must carefully conser not only the Ways in whieh the stance connects with, prefigures nd influences thes ‘modeinsetetc but also how thelr wotk ests or conceals its haunted ower need, explicit tferences to spinitualism im Mary Olver are fonspicicus in thee absence and mediumship is treated dsmisiely fea whic theatrical pastime in Pilgrimage Nevertheless, the mast Jnportaat factor here i the collapsible stance beeween author and [otagonst in these texts, as well ae between the sen thoughts of the heroines and the spoken words of other fictional chaacters Its this$6 Spation an ens Wi specific amalgamation of thoughts and voices that allows ws t draw ‘Uncanny tou ao igroualy historia) parallels wih ely twentith- ‘enmuy splint peace "Po des en tf necessary to engage with one ofthe mos fscinat sng episodes in the history of Payehical Research, known a the ‘ios ‘oncapondences or Palin Sunday’ case named afte the day on which Mary Catherine Lytelto, one of the communiating spins, died thom gph in 18752 This exesndinay ease revoted around several futomaiewsiting and tance mediums and spans almost 35 years rom 1901 to 1936. Just as Richardson and Since sought to challenge an fevefine the coordinates of Uterary representation, blursing the Tine between feral and conscious Ie, the women ofthe Palm Sunday ‘ave obscured the boundaries between the spletal and the subliminal Sel, between innovative ieary production and otherwordy commu ‘ation, Put enother wa, if Richrdson and Sinlat were preoccupied ‘withthe unalloyed representation of fe beng live, bringing together {he workings ofconscousness wit the workings ofthe text, then the Sutomtic serps produced by the Palm Sunday mediums can be leg Tnatly interpreted ae formal narative experiment In conveying the “perf These wings haunt the more celebrated modern works which both inherit from and sublimate thet ghostly aesthetic "Thus, my aim inthis chapter Is fo show Bove the automatic writing ofthe Edardian sance, in theory and in practice heals many ofthe ‘oder innovations that we obeervein Rehaxésor and Sica, even i Spun iets bapshed to the farthest maepinsof thelr texts, What Bot concera to me here ee polnt af convergence etwecn the Ierary ‘reatity of Milam snd May represented by Rchareson and Sinclair and {he ceaty of the automatism the crose-conespondence’ A shag socabulary emerges at this uncare that can only be uly appreciated By Baamining the waye in which automat writing challenges genre and ramative frm the ays which i weaves strange, adllyntetexal Connections between sl ator and spi thet. Ir Hght of this, we can ome ounetand Richardson and Sila a5 ‘cros-corespondent in ‘hemselves, Unlike the remsning authors under sutiny inthis book, these modznist women do aot engage with mediunshp in ahistorical fr metaphorical context. Tels Fictions, however, :an be shown to be inneenty mediumisiin both their eomposton ad thei effects. In Ghostwiting Modern, Helen Sword usefully examines the imp cations of popular spitalis topes for moderns writing in tx o ‘Scomplex, push-pull dynamic, 9 sldom-rcognzed combination of {ascination and dlapproval. Although Sinclair and Richardson do aot We Means 47 ‘enue in er stay, major figures such as Eo, Yeats and HD are all inched within this frameworks ven when they mocked t ludicrous tngo and derided ite meta physical excesses, modemist wits were intrigued and attracted by ‘pieualsn’s ontological shines ts location of euthocal power 1 physical abjecon: its subversive celebrations of alternate, oft faplicly, feminine, modes of wing: ts uansgpesions ofthe ta sttonal divide between high and low culture and it ssi-sering tendency to privilege form over content, medium aver mesg. (Sword, 2002, pp 8-9) ‘Slalaly, Roger Luckhurst in is Inenton of Tela shows howe ‘arbos stands of modemist Innovation, from surtlism to collage, sextbit tuong affinities with element of Paychical Resench the more Sintlectal” dimension of spitulist inquiry and practice = These ‘kinds of conjecture, where telepathy, mysial communion, supenat- fal “possesion”, and sexual transference overlay each other, became ‘ol points for Modernist investigators of the limite of conscious: ‘es (Luckhurst, 2002, p. 262). Indeed, Lackhurit conclves ofthe “ross-correspondences’ ara kind of occult collage atd makes a diect ‘echnical parallel with teary proees by TS, Hlot and Ear Pound. “However, is mporant to note here that Lckhurststudy pases over ‘ay Sinclair's substantial engagement with Feyhical Research, particu Sars wit the Palm Sunday eas, and focuses almost excuse on het eet in mystic and modern paychology? Inthe same dscsson, clardson is mentioned Neetingly with reference to the develop- ‘ent of paychoansiys. This chapter therfore dawson the excellent fnsghts of Sword and Luckhurst but at the sme ine, addresses Sige iifleant gap i this field ~ not only tacng the emergence of "moderns ‘eciniques in the cxoss-correspondences ut alio resting the gues of ‘Miram and Mary as mediums. kind of modernism stant la ete can ‘be found in these spitunisttexts and within the brosder framework of sjehial Research,» ‘bdernem’ thats both invokd and disavowed inte experimental narraves of Pipa and Mary Olive.’ “The ‘Cross Correspondences’ nis ance entitled “Automatic Wing orth Revoral of lancet, Dyes concludes that ‘to dein to investigate “planchete” because titi of Katie Kings overt al” s very much s though one eased48 Spann a Wer Wig to anaye the meteonte at Ephesus because the town cet ied Toy toa eagle el down ot Jupiter” (MES, 1885, aa fe al fate ing aed bck tte pst steal 3230 Te grow ha ahve shown inte eviews ap- ‘atone fy dete by Pyle Researches. MPS wa A ea cating meme der ses say bat Yat to pi suonzine porte peso prong the septs. The ot ler dene ea om the deptble spect ca ean medium could mask the own wating UNE Srvc ofa spt fer etal vestigations of vaiout tae a parc W stanton Moses and Leone Pie Fe etd a meen Hanan Psa, Automatic 8 Ne a ga consonant, cols be vied nto four eters ct efit plac, be mesage ay come rom the pen ov Ine et ae ep fom he ces of 8 OY 2 ore eve mbm ery wl he en ers asumpn of ome ON! iN tee eatin of rato of BYP 1. Bene th manta os conte toma Ae ee Spy we nay pace te eas whose RE eave ep om te in of ae cee eth eon big ee! neo waa he ues Cee an th the mstge may emanate om sone A ae ame nk pee 3 07 enbo p aegd ape, Une es Hag come tae he tl mages ie one hand ee eve onthe aera gules grins wet man pode and som eae Ee pny that the messge may edhe ree ened fe gee ae 2 a nto dos ly dim 9 8 “et (Myers, 1903, Il, p- 119) or ies then, te posite of automatic wating are embeded neta acne ner Yate both win a ase wl fom subliminal consciousness telepathy among the ling. om spt guides to'depared fends When Myers expte ina stnatoram in Rome on 17 January 1901, ‘usriend, Willams, was sil siting leaning back nis chal, hls hands over his face, his open notebook stil on is knees” Luckss, 2002, p. 254)? It Myers had survived boxy death, srely he would Communicate through automatic writing 8 one Psjehiel Researcher fo another, inorder to dull consolidate his scent investigations nd the existence of the world beyond. Poignandly, Whe page was ‘lan bid). In late Febrony of that yen, however, Leonors Piper in the Unlted States bog fo teceive menage rom the ccarate sprit fof Myers an amalgamation which combined elements of his lsat ‘Stocaton, his love of poetry and his ‘poathumous” work on Psychical esearch, Piper was investigated by Mes when he wat alive and now fhe was controlled by his spt ~& Kind of payeica eioscopy. in 3 Seip produced in 1908, Myers communiatng hough Piper writes — ‘Tray way utterances echo, echo everywhere’ (Lodge, 1911, p- 232) Piper here construed a pre mechum, an empty vesel through tuhich Myst words resonate during the Seance. But ess echoed” by Pipes he balso ventalloqulasd by her and becomes’ ghost In her Machine’ (Licks, 2002 . 232) Pipers sbylline elegraphy, marked in equal measure by modern communiativetechnologit and cassiallaming,siluded in both form and content tothe sripe received by four othe auromatiss in| Tngland and India who went on t become the princol mediums in the erosscortespondences Later in 1901, Margaret Zeal, eturer In class at Newham College, who asa close fiend and neighbour of| yer began receiving mesages om him. Two years ether daughter Flenanother clase! scolar ho ad atended a course in psyehol- fy a London University, also produced automatic wings purporting fo come ffom the dcamate Peychleal Reseatcher At the same time, and known tothe SPR "Mes Holland), eg receiving and tanscubin fom Myers spt el’ whe based in fofonial india. Lart but not least, Windeed Margaret Coombe-Tennant {vo used the pseadonyn Ms Wilt began automatic wating 1908 te the loss of he baby daughter Daphne. Once agi, the source of| ‘hee mysterious and extaciinary messages was Mes” “Together, they ieelved. hundreds of message: ina ‘ross ornsponence As Jean Balfour sates inthe PSPR the esience of & {tossconespondence i that fragmentary messages, such 35 quotations, focallsions to terry subjects, witten independent several auton ‘ats, which are meaningless taken singly, ar found 0 be intelligible hon thy are combina together (Ballou, 1960, p. 84 The messages50 Spina a Wee WH “rated a textual patchwork united by ‘2 purpose and a design’ hat etd not be asigned to any one automat’ (bi p 4) va he cae wah seen a scheme setup by Myers and the di cael ts of Edmund Gummy and Hensy Siig, who #0 com> attrac throug the mediumship of Mis Wilt and Mes Hovland ‘rami yous, however, the scope ofthe eos comrespandenc” ge Cerne and te interpretation of the sts shied scoring Part madeging and narrowing a the mesagesevoived. Ths, What tet pa pereved as systematic roo ofthe surva of ody death Teaser Eepoing map ofthe Underord, eventually gave way 10 8 note romanticized version ofthe "rey were seen tac ponte from Hades, ohzetlers sent rom beyond the grave, Sear are pineipally addressed to Anu Balfour, another membet ee SPR Artur was in Hove with Mary Cathe fon and a a med to propose to het on the day she passed avay. The mesg intent hor of her undying love for him and over time bult UP & Peetu and inticatly crafted ptre of eater death. The wade rerio hee love leters rom the Other Wold was not reese Fr ena stages ofthe care This clement of the sory, Howes, vin is clvaly connected to the quotation and misquotation of Posty ee apts must be suspended forthe tie being and wil revi he we coneapondences' inthe fut chapter, showing how the hide re wth modest textual experiments are relocated back to fhe confines ofthe Victorian drawing room by A. Bratt "ode Mary Catherine Lyttelton (ten called the ‘Palm Sunday acces and the eisearate Peyebial Researchers, the sprit commu ae ace: anes Maltand Balfour, the brother of Arthut who was ‘ihe ins accident in the Alps dm 2882; Ane Marshal, = mari “alle th om Myers oat in ove and who appears 3s “Phys WrMiges autobography: and Laura Lyttelton, the ster of Mary who added in hit in 1906, A series of ‘interpreters’ competed this et anlar network Grid Wim Ballot John GEOR Treo Giver Lodge and Eleanor Balfour Sidgwick. Besides the case te stomatts were not originally connected andthe see Nerattpent beeen Mary Lytton and Ath Balfour wasnt know Fae Gat much Teter in the ee. Despite theories of» conspto- ‘Rtmonship between the mediums, te casei peculariy rant fo casifeation one ate to view te sats 6 fragmented atc nlf’ naratve which flats the Iovsory betwee vaya nd Lytton, we can begin to draw clear and productive parallels with modest prose n which the rade is ect} required fo partake jn (and reflect on} the sonsinution of meaning. The foros therefore sf fom the spt sxps themselves to thelial ‘Whats important hee isthe fc tht the serps mast be paced along ie eachother nord to eval thee underlying meaning. How then {ne read the work of Sadar and Reason in sar ways? We now for example, that Rcardion had ed Proust and ws inlenced Dy hls magnum opus Indeed, she read his volumes a partcully iventive may, teconceving the function of theisade 36-3. author feta Teal shove 5 ol. plecemea, leaving the al oe he oom, Sid reid them the sameway taking wp te st handy Vl and ope ing at random, Ar st he whole hing hangs and Ran, a apesty all found me’ (tts, 195, p10), At the see ime, however Richardson ould not have Been (consciously) aware ofthe crosreorespondences Sh the sting sma between her on ang pacts, which ‘were then incorporated into the with of Pima, an the methods Pye Rese Sina on the oer hand, wasn nguistive member ofthe SPR and became fscinsted by theese. Having joined in 1914" se suggested {hat the ‘laborate and evident prponttl dovecaing of the sp Cin 147189) a be ato hei henge Sora Sinclar amalgamated Payhical Research and payehoanayss Siomutebethypobene ae Now, prychologially, dese, conscious or ‘subconscious if it be Strong enough, i the most purposeful snd designing thing in the Universe Dresmanaiysis gives us some idea of the ext-ordinary power the poche has of elaborating and designing Is material ccrding tt desire Ie even provides the materi, (id, p. 68) Wat sncar doesnot clanty though is whether the dese bend the Colton of the srpts belongs to the mediums ~ a tlpatic network of communication scrss minds and continents otto the up of Investigators who painstakingly ace and idee the Iterary and storia allsonsof these petal weg. ‘Once more, the balance Bebren activity and pasty during the store sdb. Taste bomerestisotaquoton thoes (metus o pst) Qu ho ses meaning and coherence to thes te ty fragments (spit or interpreter Ted, the Sips Seem aiest skaware of the shiting dynamic between medium, communicant2 spate ra Women Wis and investigator — Wie the wor! Selectlon. Who secs, my fend sr cont adress the question to Fiington. Whoselects” (Lodge sont py7)® Peington,one of the pineal iterrees i post aaa aa igure of authors Dut aso of authorship. The message an cs the penn ofthe autho ving or dead, by riven ee lomover creation, Whatia ncude ndsthat toon hat © iterees a eto sar te based onthe editorial and recive capacities of Fre euigating group rather than She medium or these ny Mis Wile in 191, te ent of Myers sorrel withthe poetry of Kens and Sill, res consoling tate escereeh leary allusion and spc communication which are eens nate icheme ~The Nigh In Night but Shelly entire wall Once rote ye Laurels Myers ths ems yesherent too Myer Gscoutaged’ (Lodge, 1911, p. 158), The telegraphic spt re somtac the shrtomings nt of Mie aby tact hime ree on bao te Inert ais ofl comprehend the rae i are being received through Wile. arextion thus shifted vi dneiam pitt pang tothe resenches of the cat; who ae Tak cul active se) snd ins! Scans (as the adeses ofthe messages, Tis netwock Bred the dasnetons between eumship,authotsip and aerator 1 egnor continued to work trough tomes of erty and sical rane ow they know tey were no becoming meus thes seem capanding and adding tore depth to the spit messes? oe cake re not, therefore, a sed lc of meaning, Rather acts sees of lps om hich interpreters oul pot eh aa eng aa to return to Snel, thet own desis for meaning, ae a ory examination of he scripts pushed inthe FPR Idee eat wth She cate shows how 3 exherent marae cea eel in thi interplay between script and interpetation 19 Sea re the investigators wee as active in corsage SD SS they were in deciphering the ey gered the ola the ivestigator inte ance BY et ingle menage op elng mie ora east cuba! t some exzent in reser expression, bythe range of memory anc asodation— ot Poe ent any by the brain depost— through wom the answes ae aa ed p18), tn doing 10, Lodge was reading the stance coast commourication tough to interpreation, in gendered from pi conforming to Victorian wees of medumitic pss aan runs efectvely powerless ineation tothe wil ofthe spt the media pce! Researcher fila wih he wok of Mess and ‘cumey. es vowed mdiomshp at nen on pet comma ‘So ntnnel inint o ag penny of test oer not, he dim se 0 {Ee see age eae Spt communeaton ts the men Sm nage, het ra jes ketene aps ‘Tosa We ay ten sot ere tems oss “ng.these messages and te what extent do the me ‘esi J “the consciousness of the medium? See "he sps wee couse he sof them metus not by he ace snd hiya wo te eg neg intsiode the epee othe ems means canbe contd wn te sea Poston ofthe tetas espe of Toga sex enor Sgic for emple, war ca a masa fropery scenic sd sept fpr) Ae war pole in he Fes ts hypothe challenge, sored oad nbd In sree mcr we pad Care jess a anoerto Lage theory Myer who wold phe ‘telus ubensy adept aneer satiny whe 0 {poking tough he aceng Pcie Researcher of eee “Therein extn obtinay ofthe inventor They reigns. They have to 2h ae mais ny wean ey ‘gest del ofthe atmosphere st ~ {shal allt superior ~ 100 ‘prior ins attode ‘You know the tet, he shat snot ike a ite ch 18 ts much better for them to etn than to dogmatise. There i an awful danger in yout thinking ~ heap of you - that te learning ‘ge euch oe hat yo an you hae pct ‘aly down rls, anc that senses can be standardised, Wheres, ‘isa mater of fact there are many varieties, and you can lay down ‘anons, you cant bing ther up to standard You have sill ch t9 Tenn; shave we. Do you admit his? (ia, p17" NE eee oa Tre ee OM a ecinig ee weatal omen in‘Sst and Woe Wig are oo cage, suggested, fo stmt and catego, 00 Prom to ste nc estes oth the acuacy of Paya Rese es ne mean ominine ut powerful The med 2 bw a eta, urge sense whos a, ‘iets a ares ls othe interpreter f Sra ec wo alo conte a plore of aes in he Peer ering stoma witing. shares «silat wpa ‘ntt of te ame pt Mg an pols he HE et tapes andthe dese for pect BE epttng eee ofthe septs andthe de aap bic nay potently lea © misunderstanding she, to make compet {ve not ben ble a should have weds te ts ton of tne content of stoma scrip, 38 much 25 cae gx cca for cation, and moreover. thee Sins tin dee rege ncn meine hh aa cima bear may be pu upon some pa of he Arting or eptoes may be woe sect Tome explanatory hypothe. seen a aly Ree ccs ok aly exces an Be oh Pia re eee ee The go = a a nm mee or Seri nets ett rae one ot th ed, te grein ue wag the andere fey hough. ‘win he all ie, look tht Nor et st ting thy ih Step sot ita the shortening trea pens past al dob are et tnd Mate 5 ‘Te naze abandoned ~ reach the goal: Then Vision flashes on the untammelled [i] ‘allow, 1960, p.227) “Te script les to Aide sing a lof wt These in ‘order tnd is way out of the Gran abrndy in whore ene “elsed he Minor tthe Snvestetrs ete wonders of this ‘ExnaLaginty consid by tne dears pts of My ad “imps hen the mediums wee potoned ss Aad. They P= “ie theta ith whieh te abyrint can be raat. eas the Muti wih hs bulls ead and ma ody, alanine Inuman’s ting which ists desertion, hove the sep The Stree arealdo fel ate than see nyo fs ace ‘heise shi be interme ee peas more ne ‘reempive agement, Esewme, Vera's scp pen ste to Ih nas anloous tothe ooscespondenees = lng Cet “twig nay aby ts rae you wil fo flow. ing ot #Mineau? Here sin the ld ory, Ariadne pies he ‘he’ bi, 9 228) adn both the stanton ie musemlns tind Theses espe The mediums in hs cee Both ee the ery ay Sine ae afer lrber automat mich hey do ot foe they dele) annette min eve ay 9 Eres voy aot si hes ne espe Ther episins the astmatirempromngthe heme oe pre "Tote ead xen on sina of astra Tas woul sy fe 1 Gumey might make an also fo Phoebe oto Zoo Hersina ey conceaiy go ne beer an shove in Ssarander ikut the gold hen, p24) my own ip) etingo Myer atpriation of stati wing, We Bin to serine vrs computation a wrk nthe fia pe sep Te edie questioned the extent o which ter sulin sees wee immed and tok ovr thee wing bas sath than pesely ‘python the sane witing apparatuses, Mie et “wrote to Margaret Verrall a ‘When 1 was about 16 oF 17 years od, fora few weeks ater reading an rice on, I think, Psyehcal Reseach I ted automatic writing Thad wolube communications, but Thad no one to guide or aise re_and I gave stup. About si weeks ago (thats about the end of56 spain at Woe Win eos Ara fw pst 90 col ol st he impo 3 A 8 edo come = ey ay tat be int se ate es eng om ene Se 2 gic estate oe ee 0 fe a ep ene ten oe, st ee, PING samy bain be Pf ns eth frees. Mos te em buen yn fae Sree ‘(Verral, 1906, p48) shen bean tore ies nent om the pat WHE Te ac Rp fo poses hexane CA se a ae ging owe ten te he of conifer sit psesion, Ses Ps sentgucng oe of sm a enteral 08 € Ht Ow Fury products ine estoy Sau questioned ie extent which er orn Ng «et en the production f stoma Pt, a aR nS Perea ied ‘re are ces wc he aon ae dine, he ope a ee 0 Ta peso et to tae a cy th pes ght Na cs sp shows vere mens DO Sn Mh nea tw ce of re we ey enc eas rane A enya re ing a A cy ean on eon ENE ‘ea 19065 9.38) ores Vera eg eegoring the mearing fe Ss He ae asin and systema he ett 1 ah amet pean ike Wile, she pene et to ovate ta incr meson, reat a sn ney ted pn A ‘near ono pen ter petals Veal relat etn ban ior fe ow wine an he fe oh cringe a ei ie ed a ape Vrs ans row toma oat ee enmus of Smelt and Rehab — he 8 Se a ons am tough sont ou see achat, Veal wants 9 pes of 1 nner sl, wipe the sate clean of any traces of her own consciousness. ‘AS she wrote in er diay whete et ovm thoughts came unhampered “Thad frgoten the pric isin theory, which was new to me ‘when met in (aman. Personality]. And nove ee that his 15 Jus what want bid, p. 94). There isan erotic charge to the wat Tere a oye invasion” which is welcomed and desired, which ‘would stabs the authentic of the automate srpt others. ‘But Verralls words mask he own willpower to evoke, summon and ender to sonething that i with he all along. Mrs Holand expeses the sme preoccupations an anxieties, not tuough artes, letters of lary ents but within the Sept she i Producing. Se both addressee and astomatist- he absurd thing i ‘hat You ate iad that the interest you taken the SPA will make You {faulent Ian fel your pen shying ast were whe I ty to form ‘a name that suggest anything you have tead ~ Now I'l wale ast of ‘Eames your pene boggles at Henry Sidgwick Edmund Gumey Stainton ‘Moses EW H. Myets"Jahason, 1908-09, p. 201) "There is abate of wils here. Holland ie haunted bythe dscarnate spits and, simultaneously by theens they wrote when living, Uae ‘ater wring mesos wh vocferosly claimed to be completly pa ‘Sve during te prection of script, Holland, Wille and Vera are cage to negotate and explore the eeislon betwen thelr wring sls and — the spit ater” This separation establishes the medium sthenity ‘sd also her honour, she was to produce witng that ns intimate oF transgresiveIn the cateof Mrs Holland ante other atom of the ‘cosscorespondences, te tansgesion i located aot in the content butintheforn ofthe messages. The iterary post of las and Vicor oct beckons ands assimilate in these new verses whch reinvent and reinterpret tetera canon Hollans poetry rere in free ves, Iinluding quetations and vivid imagery. reds ike an isto sure ‘st cxperimert ~The steely glitter of Arcturus "Her hairhad grown Just, Jong enough to catch Heavens jasper gtr". And the soul going up to God wentby her ike cea lames (Balfour, 1960, , 230, (Consider these two excerpts frm the spt of Hen Verall and cs Holland in terms of reinvention and innovation Helen Vera! isical education ts tntestined here with Myers scholarly know ge producing a kind of netwodke sputualst poets than bings togater the ancient an the moder ‘he flowery mead -asphodel - Persephone — the chatot of Dis foam-ecked steeds Asphodelos8 Spat ad We WHS ‘80, no, go not to Lethe’ sleep too bing orgesulness I the intenser ight that heralds in te dawn ‘wen the grey clouds ol Back from Day's portal fet ste dawn ride forth the osss of dawn and of death eet (Lodige, 1911, p. 241) vert nt setae ia es si ee ater ac Toye antag sr secre = periage~ persist - In penitence ~Pesephone- Pens ne far meadows desolate — singer of Persephone fom the far meadows al ast though forgotten Sy? “Through these groves the hidden piping il ‘What forms ae these conn ~All white trough the gloom = The vole ofthe bird = ad nina wherein the power ofthe pier ay “The torture ofthe whiting whee po ie scence sia ad seta hye a we eet any nd eomenton cl syn cd tai. Te we Pe ne een ine es yc me a ed ra pen) the ein tee A POE ec ee lume ss nga wine ther wos ame Ely. one ce oe So lan a ales 1M erp ed ecu, with uncon co wate ~The presen sun rile hese gossamer thea sy old rooms News of him ~No I was not conceened with that last -mesage~ it was Myers ~ Not here the other sie ofthe hersng pond — “piper st the dowe and wite/In a ook that all may eead The Stygian River" ibd, 273), Mie Hollands sept makes se of Bike’ inteo- suction 10 Sony of rnocene, creating an explicitly Iterey play On| ‘words using te ferms of the poem and Pipers name. The spt i ‘ho conscous ofits own resistance to clasifction, within Psyehical ‘Research and within 2 terary gere. Indeed, perhaps the ‘ther side of ‘the herring pond” alo alld othe complex way in which hese sxps ‘both invite anc deny compasson with experiments inIterry wating "They ae se rings as were. Ths, T would argue that she cena ‘ase of PayblclReseich In the bwentieth century becomes, fo ier ‘xy modernism a paper boat onthe Sygian River, ends traveling ‘owas Lethe und the void of foxgtting ‘Bette Londor, inher study on literary collaboration betwen women, angus that ‘aulomatie wating, by breaking down distinction between the nya the soos egal atau a eee teanents staan writing practices, often communal or eolaborative in natu “hat could nate subsumed unde the ube of the propriety author (Condon, 199, p. 171). With this framework in mind, the remaining pat of this chapter ell deal withthe construction ofthe proprietary female ‘nuthor in the works of Richardson and Sine Tropes of the ‘spoken and the wten, "the product and the process, the Musearyand_ nonsiteray’ define the automatic wring ofthe cross-corespondences id ao haunt the naraivesofPpinage and Mary Ole is ways that ‘bly Interwemespnualst automate writing and innovasve eray Production. Wreress the mediums I have discussed so at sought 10 negotate the tension betwen Jone sit and discanate spit though native engagement with Psychical Research, Sinclair anid Uchardson fcclude thelr ierary mediumship by constantly reminding us ofthe [rsence ofa sngle heroine and single author who refacs, dvines. St delivers the wold around het Passing from mind to mind: Mediating the self in Dorothy Richardson and May Sinclair Inthe opening sentence of a script writen on 1 Aprl 1909, Mis Holland elongites the running thread connecting ghosts with the theate~ ‘Chane. The stalrease forthe unheard, unseen feet oftheprio a omer Ws Loge tented odin nse coming avg 1918270 ee Zango. He a ed ating, cong Ue SO Sot Deon 1e ‘Charonean’ or ‘Charon’s staircase’ was Gre Deen ecm, wane i om he wos sl, WD ser.” ~ A ne Heth ence ue ee tendencies e ee ang eve ne en oma ey soma eee om HY er ae meds fom. maiz she ni of tn on epic acca ‘seh ones non ins iwc het in a ry ese be etme si Oe nt ato come Me Bete Londo tig oan apes moral ene nan the wing of some xO BORE HOME ao 198 2, im fot ands 197 ae tht ah was a soning Oe sg ane aerial bi ms en ou ip your to and we ay a el psn a He ene wa pave edi because er knoe was Lie za in pes rsh cantor set —anecton seman of acorn no nn saa i laiy e ecin so ee ek Haig sci eit eu ting col a eerie be pee i a ‘ote st creo gupomonn svn er mai sh ng run neon ne consti Sees hen es stag othe rt pentane oe sama cme my tha gs Pe om a. ss 98 wee othe st eves of cid ay Sn fhe he eg Ey ima, aS gant of her noel. Wheres 2 pp eg ate Beet, is clbated by Snel pastas double movement of author and protagonist 1s represented by the malganation ofthe writing self with ts fctonal creation to the pot ‘hat thetwo become indstngushabe. This doubling effect i nt only present n Richardson's work as we shal see, but Sila’ description ‘of Richadson and Milan's interchangeable postions: Rather less obviously she [Richardson] must nt tll story or han lea situation or set a sene; she must avoid drama as she avolds ‘atiaion. And there are some things she must nt be. She must not be the wise, a-knowing author. She must be Miriam Henderson, She rust not know or divine anything that Mam doesnot know fof divin; she must not see anything that Miram does not see She has taken Misam's nature upon her. Of the persons who ‘move though Mitiam’s world you know nothing but What Mizar ‘knows If Miriam is mistaken, wel, she and not Miss Richardson {s mistaken, Mita ls an acute observer, but she Is wey far fom seeing the whole ofthese people. They are presented tous in the Same vivid but fagmentary way tn which they appeated to Milam, the Fagmentary way In which people appear to most of ws. Mis ‘ichudson has only imposed on hesslf the conditions that ie Impaes on us al (dime Scot, 190, p. 443)" ‘Sioclae praees Richatdsonsnasaive technique, which defies literary ‘onventons and diminishes the symbolic authotity of the omniscient ‘naiatoe Instead ofthe allknoving author standing behind Minar, ‘ichardion elfectively ‘lternatesith-het“oxn_piotagonis’~ she ‘has becime Minam Hendetson, Yeti “Miriam ts mistaken she and ot Miss Richardson is mistaken’ There Is an incessant sing in| ‘and out of character here, where Richardson is and is ot Mitam, ‘Man's knowlege ofthe persons that surround her I fagimentary, lke the ascarate personalities ofthe communicants in the