A week ago I promised that I would be sending Paid Subscribers the second chapter of The Traditional Theory of Literature, the only book as far as I know dedicated to explaining a Perennialist approach to the best poems, plays, and parables. That first post, in addition to the book’s Table of Contents, Preface, Chapter 1 (Prologue), and Glossary, included my explanation of why Serious Readers of classic and contemporary fiction, especially fans of J. K. Rowling, will benefit from every minute they invest in Ray Livingston’s book.
In brief, the Perennialist reading of literature begins with a different idea of what a human being is, which reflects the social environment or society and culture that best fosters his achievement of his end or telos, which reflects what role art in general and story specifically plays in his best life. The human being as primarily spiritual, his end as profound communion with what is most Real, and story as non-liturgical sacred art (not necessarily or even usually ‘religious’) which supports him in his vocation to that end are the premises of the traditional or theocentric understanding of man, society, and art.
Which is the title of Livingston’s second chapter and a description of its organization as well as of its contents. It’s not easy reading; the subject matter is quite dense and he covers an enormous amount of ground relatively quickly so he can get to the ‘literature’ in the remaining chapters of the work. Without setting out the premises of the Perennialist understanding with respect to what it means to be human, how a community is designed to make a fully human life possible, and how the art of everyday objects as well as set pieces for appreciation or entertainment — there being no meaningful difference in the value of practical and fine arts here — bring that polity to fruition, discussion of literature from the traditional view would be a waste of time.
I spent most of my day having to reformat the chapter line by line and finding online sources for almost every book in the fifty plus footnotes. I found the reading and re-reading a delight, amazed each time I went through it how another pass brought out more of what Coomaraswamy and other Perennialists that Livingston cites about the world understood right side up rather than through a modern, materialist, and individual lens.
Next week, chapter three is ‘The Creative Process’ and we can begin a compare and contrast with Rowling’s Lake and Shed ideas. I’m all but certain the better grasp a reader has of the chapter below, the more he or she will understand why Rowling chooses the Shed tools she has and the effect her stories have on her readers.
