The Chemickal Marriage

–’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Triune.’
    ‘What in all hell –’
    ‘Three-parted, for heaven’s sake! Body, spirit, mind. That
triune
constitution of Man will
equally
stand for the Nation and the three estates that form it: Church, aristocracy, citizenry. In today’s parlance one might substitute government for aristocracy, but the comparison holds. Moreover, the three estates – as every man carries the shadow of sin – necessarily contain their opposite, fallen aspects: the bigotry of the Church, the tyranny of the stateand the ignorance of the mob. This duality is precisely why secrecy is of paramount importance in communicating any –’
    ‘This is exactly the nonsense I had hoped to avoid.’
    ‘Then your errand is hopeless.’
    ‘Can you not simply relate the thing as a tale?’
    ‘But it is no
tale
. I do not know how else to put it. Events occur, but without
narrative
. In its place comes only detail, description. If there is a bird, one must know what colour and what species. If there is a palace, how many rooms? If the seventh room, what colour are the walls? If the Executioner’s head is placed in a box, what kind of wood –’
    ‘Nevertheless, father, please.’
    Father Locarno gave a querulous snort. ‘A saintly hermit attends a royal wedding, along with other guests. The guests undergo several trials, and a worthy few are admitted to the mysteries of the wedding. But before the young king and queen can be married, they and the royal party are executed. Then, by way of more rituals and sacrifices, they are miraculously reborn. This journey – the Chemickal Marriage – is emblematic of the joining of intelligence and love through the divine. The Bridegroom is reality, and the Bride – being a woman – is his opposite, the empty vessel who attains perfection through union with that purified essence.’
    ‘What essence?’
    ‘What do you
think
?’
    Chang snorted. ‘Is it an instruction book for madmen or for a brothel?’
    ‘Those outside the veil rarely perceive –’
    ‘Again, the Bride and Groom. He is also reality and she –’
    ‘Is possibility, fecundity, emptiness. Woman.’
    ‘How bracingly original – fecundity and emptiness at the same time. And this king and queen – the Bride and Groom – are
executed
?’
    ‘By ritual.’
    ‘Then brought back to life?’
    ‘Reborn and redeemed.’
    ‘And what is made, in this spectacular marriage – when these two become one?’ Chang’s voice became snide. ‘Or, excuse me, three – or also six –’
    ‘They make heaven on earth.’
    ‘What does that mean?’
    ‘The restoration of natural law.’
    ‘What does
that
mean?’
    It was Locarno’s turn to scoff. ‘What informs our every dream? The return of Eden.’
    In the lowest basement Chang availed himself of a porter’s luncheon, trustingly left on a table. He ate standing, and stuffed the last bites into his mouth before lifting the sewage grate with both hands. He emerged some time later in the shadow of St Celia’s madhouse. Chang washed his hands and face at its carved fountain – an infant baptized by Forgetfulness and Hope – and slopped water onto each boot, the worse for a second journey underground.
    Three streets past St Celia’s was Fabrizi’s. Chang’s visit was brief – and cost the second of his rolled banknotes – but he was once more armed: a stick of ash with iron at the tip and, inside it, a double-edged blade, twelve inches and needle-sharp. Signor Fabrizi himself said nothing with regard to Chang’s absence or his present disarray, but Chang knew full well the picture he made. He had seen it himself too many times, men risking all on a last desperate throw – a gamble, it was obvious, they had already lost. If one ever saw them again it was only being pulled from the river, faces as shapeless and swollen as an uncooked loaf.
    Before leaving, he had asked Father Locarno if there was anything unique to
The Chemickal Marriage
that might have explained its singular attraction for the Comte.
    ‘The messenger, of course.’
    ‘Of course? Then why not mention this before?’
    The priest had huffed. ‘You wanted the
story
.’
    ‘What messenger?’
    ‘The hermit is summoned by an angel, whose wings are “filled with eyes” – a reference to Argus, the hundred-eyed watchman slain by Hermes –’
    ‘A reference to what purpose?’
    ‘The messenger – the Virgin – is a figure of vigilance –’
    ‘Wait – the Bride is a multi-eyed