Religious symbolism in The Hollow People

I. The soul’s journey into the ‘other world’

This theme is heavily reflected in The Hollow People through allusions, which are a literary technique
that reference a recognized literary work, person or historic event

The Hollow People: an allusion to the modern poet T. S. Eliot’s poem entitled The Hollow Men, which
is about the soul’s journey after death and about the end of the world.

Dante: Italy’s most emblematic poet, who wrote The Divine Comedy, arguably the greatest literary
work in the Italian language. The Divine Comedy is about the soul’s journey after death, and it is split
into three parts: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise.

Beatrice: she was the love of Dante’s life that inspired him to write poetry.

Ezekiel: Biblical prophet. Author of the Book of Ezekiel (6th century B.C.), which reveals prophecies
regarding the destruction of Jerusalem (Hebrew for “The City of Peace”), and the restoration to the
land of Israel. To prophesize means not only to foresee the future, but also to speak the truth, so it
implies a type of vision that can see the future as if one is already there.

Gehenna: a small valley in Jerusalem. In the Bible it is a symbol of hell. In The Hollow People, Tarnagar
is a city in the country of Gehenna.

“All around the world countries descended into chaos and barbarism. Only in Gehenna was civilization
preserved, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of one man, Dr. Stanislaus Sigmundus.” p51

“Our neighbors get on very well without Ichor. We are the barbarians, not them.”

“How can you say that?” Bea demanded.

“Because it’s true. You can’t imagine how differently they live. Their citizens are free. If they wish to
criticize their leaders, they do so. Unfortunately, they don’t want anything to do with us. They consider
Gehenna a diseased country.” p171

Odylic or Odic Force: the name given in the mid-19th century to a hypothetical vital energy or life
force by Baron Carl von Reichenbach. It was named from that of the Norse god Odin. It was thought
to permeate all plants, animals, and humans, and to be visible in total darkness as coloured auras
surrounding living things, crystals, and magnets, but that viewing it requires hours first spent in total
darkness, and only very sensitive people have the ability to see it. In The Hollow People it is an invisible
vital life force, the underlying structure of reality, that could be manipulated by a select few, such as
Ezekiel or Dante’s mother.
II. Initiation ritual

The coming-of-age ceremony. Symbolic stages (14 steps-years, pillars-responsibilities, centre of

Dagabo-Axis Mundi, reciting the promises of Dr. Sigmundus-incantation and assimilation of special
teachings, ingestion of Ichor-ingestion of the blood of gods, transformation, entering into the adult
world).

III. Transformation of the self (death, rebirth)

Ichor:

- in Greek mythology, blood of the gods

- in The Hollow People, a drug that makes you stop dreaming
- parallel to the Eucharist – eating bread and wine that symbolize the flesh and blood of Christ, the
most important ritual in the Church
- consuming the flesh and blood of a god transforms the individual
- by doing this, the individual participates in the life of that god, becoming like that god
- for the transformation to take place, it is necessary for his old self to die, so that he can be reborn

IV. Axis Mundi

Axis Mundi is Latin for “World Axis.”

It is a fundamental religious symbol present in all religions, something that was discovered by the
Romanian historian of religions, Mircea Eliade.

Also known as the ‘cosmic axis,’ ‘world pillar’ or ‘world tree,’ the axis mundi is the centre of the world,
or – in other terms – the connection between Heaven, Earth and the Underworld.

Left: Yggdrasil,
the World Ash of
Norse mythology

Right: The
kauwa auwa
pole of the
Achilpa (the
native people of
New Zealand)
The Axis Mundi (or centre) in The Hollow People

The mental asylum is the centre of Tarnagar; almost everyone who lives in Tarnagar works at the
asylum.

Beatrice Argenti was thinking, as she often did, that the asylum was a particularly ugly and dispiriting
place in which to live. The Old Clinic at its center, with its gargoyles and turrets, had a certain style,
though it could never have been described as beautiful. It was surrounded by the most ramshackle
collection of buildings imaginable—rows and rows of mean little houses in which the medical staff and
administrators lived.” p4

The coming-of-age ceremony takes place in the centre of the Dagabo

“As she said this, she was standing in the center of the Dagabo, where the adults all went to receive
Ichor once a week. To one side of the dispensing table stood a large jug of water, a number of small
tumblers and a plate of sweets. In the middle of the table was a small golden box—the reliquary.” p62

Moiteera is the centre of the resistance against Dr. Sigmundus

“Before Sigmundus destroyed it, Moiteera was famous all over the world for its culture and its
learning,” Ezekiel informed them when they had tied up the boat and clambered unsteadily ashore.
“Of course for him it was just a center of resistance that had to be crushed.” p152

V. The connection between these symbols

The coming-of-age ceremony is a ritual of initiation (from childhood into adulthood).

The participant goes in the centre of the Dagabo, where there is a reliquary containing parts of Dr.
Sigmundus’ belongings, including parts of his body (his hair). They are held as sacred to the community
of Tarnagar, much like the relics (bones) of saints are held sacred to the Christian community.

The ingestion of Ichor is the most important part of the ritual. It produces a psychological
transformation, removing the individual’s capacity to dream, reducing their aggression and their
individual will and motivation, making them less creative, less inclined to make their own decisions,
and easier to control. This transformation destroys their individuality, imposing uniformity and
assimilation to the collective consciousness of the group. It is thus a negative transformation.

The ingestion of Ichor is accompanied by the assimilation of the teachings of Dr. Sigmundus, who is
the creator of Ichor and of the belief system that governs Tarnagar. Through the ritual, the individual
assimilates this set of beliefs and is thus transformed, undergoing a death and rebirth.
Questions /15

1. What is an allusion? 1pt

2. Which elements in the book reference the theme of the soul’s journey into the ‘other world’? 3pts
3. What is Odylic Force and what was it named after? 2pts
4. What effect does the consummation of the blood of the gods have on the individual? 2pts
5. Where would an individual consume this blood of the gods? Give examples. 3pts
6. What is the significance of the symbol of the centre? What is the Latin term for this centre? 4pts