The Dynamic Contrast and the Dance for the Liminal Space In-Between
Part 2 of my Analytical Essay - “They Go in Cycles”: Classical Archetypes in Doris Lessing’s “A Mild Attack of Locusts”
The Apollonian and the Dionysian symbols are not always in correspondence or equilibrium when they counterbalance each other in the state of “perpetual conflict”. After the locusts arrive, the narrator uses militaristic diction and cacophony to discuss and draw attention to the demonstration of its severe nature when the Apollonian side shortly overpowers. Though the “cloud” formed by the locusts is “distorted” (Dionysian), it resembles an “oppressive” sense of “thick, hot orange”, reminiscing the color of the sun (Apollonian). Distortion is part of the Dionysian complex since it reminds the unrestrained nature of the locusts. This shows that even with the dominant force of the Apollonian present in militaristic diction, traces of Dionysian can be seen, delineating the interconnected nature of the two aspects. Not only does the “swarm” of locusts have “advance guard[s]” that are “marching” swarming” and “advancing”, showing an eerie sense of orderliness in the violent attack, but the “locust armies” are also “beating and banging and clanging” brutally, creating a large cacophony “reverberating” and “clamoring” in the room of the farmers. By using a polysyndeton to connect and intensify the arduous cacophony, the narrator illustrates the fierce strength present when allowing the Apollonian symbols to express and evoke their severe and vehement brutality, and the echoing of the “clinging” and “banging” and “swearing” and “cursing” sound made by the men. This scene, however, also conveys a sense of destruction (Dionysian). Specifically, it calls to mind that the narrator uses a seemingly Apollonian-dominant metonymic diction to suggest the violent nature of the locusts. This implies that even when the Apollonian seems to overpower the Dionysian completely, it is still possible to find traces of both in nature at the same time, showing the two are connected with deeply interrelated roots.
Not only can the Apollonian overpower, but the narrator reveals that the Dionysian also dominates the passage of text through similes comparing the locusts with the “driving rain”. As the “crawling” locusts are eating the mealie crops, Margaret sees them as a “pale, thin … darkened [cloud] with moving shadow”, alternately “thickened” and “lightened”, like the “driving rain”, spotlighting on the unrestrained and uncontrolled nature of the locusts. Indeed, in this scene, the locusts, representing nature, begin to show their destructive aims and their dynamic fluidity. The constantly “moving” cloud of locusts as well as the constantly changing contour of the “cloud” they formed suggests the changing nature of locusts. The unstable and capricious characteristics of the locust link to the Dionysian aspect of nature, where nature illustrates its instability and precariousness. However, it calls to mind that traces of the Apollonian still exists inside a Dionysiac description of the moving locusts. The farmers comment immediately after the narrator describes the locusts that the situation will “go on for three or four years”, demonstrating how farmers strive to find themes of patterns and repetition inside a system of instability like nature. The similes draw attention to how Apollonian themes are still present and can be found inside a Dionysian-predominant description of the locusts, showing the two “co-exist” indeed in a “perpetual conflict”.
HERITAGE OF DESTRUCTION, HOPE OF REBIRTH, AND THE LIMINAL SPACE
As the story progresses, the direct interactions between the Apollonian symbols and the Dionysian symbols gradually turn into the delicate dance between the themes of the heritage of destruction (Apollonian) and the hope of rebirth (Dionysian), an act of balancing the “perpetual conflict” with “periods of reconciliation” and finding the liminal space in-between, presented in the form of symbols and metaphors. Old Stephen, one of the farmers, brings inside the room a body of a locust. Then he proceeds to “split it down” with “his thumbnail”, only to discover that it is “clotted inside with eggs”. The symbol of the “egg” is commonly associated with relations to heritage since it represents the generations of locusts being passed down. Combined with the violent and destructive nature of the locusts, it calls to mind that the “egg” is a representation of the heritage of destruction found as part of nature’s cycle. On the other hand, the symbol of the “egg” presents an opportunity for the locusts’ rebirth. Simply, the locusts can also be born through the means of laying eggs. This binary opposition and duality of suggestion highlight the balance between the destructive forces and the constructive forces inside nature’s cycle. Moreover, by balancing out the centripetal force of the chain of destruction and the centripetal force of hope of rebirth and renewal, the liminal space is formed as the result, presenting a place for the intrusion and residence of the symbol of the “egg”, or nature’s cycle in general.