Romantic Outlaws, Beloved Prisons: The Unconscious Meanings of Crime and Punishment 9780814721100

Citation preview

Romantic Outlaws , Belove d Prison s

R

o

m

B

e

a

n

t

i

c

O

u

t

l

a

w

l

o

v

e

d

P r i s o n

s

s

T h e Unconsciou s Meaning s of Crime an d Punishmen

M a r t h a G r a c

e D u n c a

m

,

t

n

N E W YOR K U N I V E R S I T Y PRES S New York and Londo n

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London © 1996 by New York University ALL RIGHTSRESERVED Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Duncan, Martha Grace, 1945Romantic outlaws, beloved prisons : the unconscious meanings of crime and punishment / Martha Grace Duncan, p. cm . Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8147-1880-9 (alk. paper) 1. Prison psychology. 2 . Crimina l psychology. 3 . Prisons in literature. 4 . Criminal s in literature. I . Title. HV6089.D84 199 6 364.3—dc2o 96-1012 4 CIP Sections of Part One were originally published, in different form, in the California Law Review, © 198 8 by California Law Review, Inc. Reprinted fromCaliforniaLaw Review, Vol. 76, No. 6, Dec. 1988, pp. 1201-48, by permission. Sections of Part Two were originally published, in different form, in Volume 1991 of the University of Illinois Law Review. Sections of Part Three were originally published, in different form, in 68 Tulane Law Review, © 1994 , the Tulane Law Review Association. All rights reserved. New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32 1

This boo k i s dedicate d t o th e memor y o f D O N A L D W . FYR .

For without friends, no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods. ARISTOTLE

Contents

Preface an d Acknowledgment s i

x

Introduction i PART ON E Cradled o n th e Sea : Positiv e Image s o f Priso n an d 7 Theories o f Punishmen t 1. A Thousand League s Above: 9 Prison A s a Refuge from th e Prosai c 2. Cradle d o n th e Sea : 2 Prison A s a Mother W h o Provide s an d Protect s

4

3. T o Di e an d Become : 3 Prison A s a Matrix o f Spiritua l Rebirt h

2

4. Flower s Are Flowers : 3 Prison A s a Place Lik e Any Othe r

8

5. Methodologica l Issue s 4

4

6. Positiv e Image s o f Prison an d Theorie s o f Punishment 4

8

Epilogue t o Par t On e 5

6

PART TW O A Strang e Liking : Ou r Admiratio n fo r Criminal s 5 Prologue t o Par t Tw o 5

7 9

7. Reluctan t Admiration: 6 T h e Form s o f Ou r Conflic t ove r Criminal s

4

8. Rationalize d Admiration : 7 Overt Deligh t i n Camouflage d Criminal s

0

vii

viii Contents 9. Represse d Admiration : 10 Loathing As a Vicissitude o f Attraction t o Criminal s Conclusion t o Par t Two : This Unforesee n Partnershi p 11

2 6

PART THRE E In Slim e an d Darkness : T h e Metapho r o f Filt h i n 11 Criminal Justic e Prologue t o Par t Thre e 12

9 1

10. Ejec t Hi m Tainte d Now : 12 T h e Crimina l A s Filth i n Western Cultur e

3

11. Projectin g a n Excrementitiou s Mass : 14 T h e Metapho r o f Filth i n th e Histor y o f Botany Ba y

7

12. Stirrin g th e Odorou s Pile : Vicissitudes o f the 17 Metaphor i n Britai n an d th e Unite d State s

1

Conclusion t o Par t Three : Metapho r Understoo d 18

5

CONCLUSION T h e Romanticizatio n o f Criminal s an d th e 18 Defense agains t Despai r

8

Appendix 19

5

Notes 19

7

Bibliography 24

3

Index 26

3

Preface and

Acknowledgments

The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together. —Shakespeare This i s a boo k abou t paradoxe s an d mingle d yarns—abou t th e bright side s o f dar k events , th e silve r lining s o f sabl e clouds . T h e book portray s law-abidin g citizen s wh o harbo r a "strang e liking " for crimina l deeds , an d criminal s wh o find a n "extraordinar y beauty" i n thei r priso n yards . Thus , th e boo k describe s a nonuto pian worl d i n whic h criminal s an d noncriminals—whil e injurin g each othe r i n way s plai n fo r al l t o see—nonetheles s liv e togethe r in a symbioti c a s well a s a n adversaria l relationship , needin g eac h other, servin g eac h other , livin g for a s wel l a s off eac h other , enriching eac h other' s live s in profoun d an d surprisin g ways . This boo k ha s it s root s i n m y doctora l trainin g i n th e Politica l Science Departmen t o f Columbia University . There , i n th e 1970s , I becam e fascinate d b y individual s an d group s wh o rejec t th e legitimacy o f th e stat e an d oppos e it s righ t t o gover n thei r lives . In paper s wit h suc h title s a s "Consciousnes s versu s Spontaneity " and "Utopia n Fury, " I explore d th e socioeconomi c an d politica l matrices o f Spanis h anarchism , Brazilia n peasan t movements , an d the Colombia n "violencia. " Throughou t thes e endeavors , I bene fited fro m th e wis e counse l o f fou r scholars : Professor s Dougla s Chalmers, Mar k Kesselman , Arnol d Rogow , an d Alla n Silver . During m y year s i n graduat e school , m y interes t graduall y shifted from th e objectiv e condition s fosterin g radica l an d revolu tionary movement s t o th e idiosyncrati c meaning s o f th e move ments fo r th e participant s themselves . I n m y searc h fo r bette r tools t o investigat e thes e subjectiv e meanings , I decided , upo n completion o f m y doctorate , t o see k trainin g a s a researc h candi IX

x

Preface and Acknowledgments

date a t the Psychoanalyti c Institut e a t the Stat e Universit y o f Ne w York, Downstat e Schoo l o f Medicin e (no w th e N Y U Psychoana lytic Institut e a t Ne w Yor k Universit y Medica l Center) . Throug h a trainin g analysis , classes , an d clinica l experience , I studie d th e complex vicissitudes o f the huma n min d an d th e genesi s o f menta l associations i n childhood . Fro m th e beginnin g o f m y psychoana lytic trainin g unti l th e presen t time , I hav e receive d sustainin g encouragement fro m th e facult y o f th e Psychoanalyti c Institute . I especially wish t o than k m y advisers , Drs . Marvin Nierenber g an d Martin Silverman , an d th e forme r directo r o f th e Institute , Dr . Austin Silber . In th e fal l o f 1980 , m y ongoin g preoccupatio n wit h issue s centering o n authorit y an d interpretatio n le d m e t o matriculat e a s a J.D . candidat e a t Yal e La w School . N o t surprisingly , I soo n found mysel f draw n t o Crimina l La w a s th e aren a wher e th e state an d th e individua l confron t eac h othe r i n th e mos t dramati c fashion. I t wa s m y goo d fortun e t o stud y Crimina l La w wit h Professor Abraha m Goldstein , wh o fostere d wonderfu l clas s dis cussions rangin g fa r beyon d th e element s o f crimes . Professo r (now Dean) Anthony Kronman encourage d m e t o bring m y previ ous trainin g t o bea r o n th e la w an d gav e generousl y o f his tim e t o help m e obtai n a position a s a law professor . In additio n t o thes e long-term intellectua l debts , I am obligate d in mor e immediat e way s t o th e Emor y Universit y Schoo l o f La w and it s Dean, Howar d O . Hunter , fo r summe r researc h grant s an d a sabbatical leav e t o wor k o n thi s project . I a m als o gratefu l t o th e following colleague s a t Emor y University , wh o too k tim e fro m their ow n wor k t o commen t o n previou s draft s o f thi s book : Professors Davi d Bederman , Harrie t King , Andre w Kull , Mar c Miller, John Sitter , Gar y Smith , an d John Witte , Jr. I ow e a wor d of specia l appreciatio n t o Professor s Thoma s Arthu r an d Collee n Murphy, wh o no t onl y read earl y drafts, bu t als o served a s my first audience fo r man y o f th e idea s an d muc h o f th e languag e i n th e book. M y gratitud e goe s a s wel l t o Professo r Sherida n Baker ; the Reveren d Richar d Duncan ; Professo r Michae l Hoffheimer ; Professor Jame s Kincaid ; Richar d Levin , Esquire ; Professo r Nor -

Preface and Acknowledgments

XI

val Morris; Dr . Ralp h Roughton ; C . G . Schoenfeld , Esquire ; Pro fessor J. Alle n Smith ; an d Professo r Walte r O . Weyrauch—al l o f whom gav e me th e benefi t o f their thoughtfu l criticism . Professors Jame s Boy d Whit e an d Howar d Kushne r extende d themselves fa r beyon d th e cal l o f dut y t o hel p m e find a suitabl e publisher; I am extremel y gratefu l fo r thei r efforts . M y secretaries , Radine Robinso n an d Rosalin d Wiggins , too k a n activ e interes t i n the substanc e o f th e boo k whil e typin g draf t afte r draf t wit h patience an d goo d humor . T h e staf f o f th e Emor y La w Librar y provided indispensabl e researc h support . I ow e my greates t deb t t o m y lat e frien d an d colleague , Donal d W. Fyr . Hi s overflowin g lov e o f book s an d idea s gladdene d man y an hour ; hi s belie f i n m e an d m y projec t helpe d t o kee p m e o n a steady course .

Introduction

This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. —Shakespeare

While Morto n Sobel l wa s servin g a thirty-year priso n sentenc e a s a co-conspirato r o f the Rosenbergs , hi s wife, Helen , observe d tha t the tw o o f them wer e actuall y happier tha n man y couple s livin g i n freedom. Sobel l agreed , bu t cautione d hi s wif e agains t expressin g such a n ide a t o others , les t i t b e misunderstood . People , h e thought, "woul d sa y we wer e nuts , o r eve n worse . Anyway , happi ness is never a s easy to explai n a s unhappiness." l Recognizing tha t hi s an d hi s wife's respons e t o hi s imprison ment was paradoxical, Sobel l feare d tha t othe r peopl e would rejec t their experienc e a s invalid— a them e w e se e agai n i n Eric a Wal lach's priso n memoir , Light at Midnight. Describin g th e five year s she serve d i n Sovie t camp s an d prisons , Wallac h wrot e tha t th e great beaut y o f th e Siberia n landscap e ofte n awe d he r an d he r fellow prisoners ; a t times, the y could no t hel p stoppin g thei r wor k to admir e th e scenery . Yet, she reflected, "w e di d no t dar e admi t i t openly t o eac h other : ho w coul d w e possibly enjoy anythin g i n th e inferno!" Instead , the y kep t tellin g eac h othe r ho w muc h the y would hav e admire d th e majesti c view s i f the y ha d gon e ther e a s tourists. 2 In thes e vignettes , a complex , differentiate d realit y defeat s th e stereotyped expectatio n tha t pena l confinemen t wil l prov e a n un equivocal evil . Fo r certai n positiv e aspect s o f experience—amon g them, lov e an d beauty—th e dichotom y o f confinemen t an d freedom i s simply irrelevant . Yet, if SobelP s an d Wallach' s experience s strike u s a s paradoxical , stil l mor e deepl y s o ar e situation s wher e the prisoner' s happines s i s no t merel y unaffected , bu t actuall y i

2

Introduction

enhanced, b y incarceration . I n suc h cases , prison , becaus e o f it s symbolic resonance , ma y com e t o stan d fo r a nurturing mothe r o r a matri x o f spiritua l rebirth . Her e w e se e clearl y th e trut h o f Northrop Frye' s remark : "Ma n lives , no t directl y o r nakedl y i n nature lik e the animals , bu t within a mythological universe , a bod y of assumptions an d belief s develope d from hi s existential concerns . Most o f this is held unconsciously." 3 This boo k wil l endeavo r t o explor e tw o adjoinin g region s o f this unconsciou s mythologica l universe : (i ) positiv e image s o f penal confinement , an d (2 ) romantic visions o f criminal s an d thei r illegal deeds . Thu s far , I hav e touche d o n onl y th e first o f thes e regions, bu t th e second , likewise , i s rich i n paradox, inne r conflict , and reluctan t admissio n o f painfu l truths . Consider , fo r example , the followin g passag e from Si r Walter Scott' s novel Rob Roy. Here , Nicol Jarvie , a pruden t Scot s businessman , muse s ove r hi s at traction t o a violent outla w who extort s fee s from hi s countryme n in exchang e fo r protection : It's a queer thing o' me, gendemen, that am a man o' peace mysell, and a peaceful' man's son, for the deacon my father quarrelle d wi' nane out o' the town-council—it's a queer thing I say, but I think the Hieland blude o' me warms at thae daft tales [of Rob Roy], and whiles I like better to hear them than a word o' profit, Gud e forgi e me! But they are vanities—sinfu' vanities , and moreover, again the statute law—again the statute and gospel law. 4 Honestly acknowledgin g tha t Rob' s crimina l adventure s appea l t o him mor e tha n " a wor d o ' profit, " Jarvi e recognize s tha t thi s fascination i s surprising i n someon e o f his character . At th e en d o f his statement , h e endeavor s t o appeas e hi s inne r mora l voic e b y roundly condemnin g Rob' s acts . A boo k suc h a s thi s one , whic h seek s t o examin e th e labyrin thine chain s o f meanings tha t we associat e with crim e an d punish ment, crie s ou t fo r a n interdisciplinar y approach . Specifically , i t demands a sourc e tha t ca n revea l ou r unconsciou s a s wel l a s our consciou s associations . Suc h a sourc e i s literature . Wit h it s allusiveness, it s internal cross-references , an d it s richness o f meta phor an d symbol , literatur e i s especiall y well-suite d t o conve y

Introduction

3

unconscious meaning . Therefore , throughou t thi s book , I emplo y literary classics , supplemente d b y prison memoirs , films, an d lega l history, t o demonstrat e th e paradoxica l symbioti c relationshi p be tween criminal s an d law-abidin g people . M y approac h t o thes e texts is informed b y psychoanalyti c theory . I thu s tak e fo r grante d such basi c psychoanalyti c tenet s a s th e existenc e o f th e uncon scious, th e meaningfulnes s o f al l menta l manifestations , an d th e profound causa l significance o f early life . This boo k i s divide d int o thre e distinct , ye t closel y related , parts. Par t One , "Cradle d o n th e Sea : Positiv e Image s o f Priso n and Theorie s o f Punishment, " seek s t o sho w tha t alongsid e th e negative visio n o f priso n a s a livin g hell , a n islan d o f th e damned , or a place where me n ro t under thei r rock s and yearn fo r freedom , many prisoner s an d nonprisoner s exhibi t powerfu l positiv e associ ations t o incarceration . I n particular , I wil l presen t evidenc e t o suggest tha t priso n i s viewed a s a refuge from life' s trivia , a "cradl e on th e sea, " a n academy , an d a plac e wher e tim e stand s still . Besides settin g fort h th e affirmativ e image s o f prison , I endeavo r to explai n them . T h e source s discusse d rang e from psychologica l processes (suc h a s institutiona l transferenc e an d ora l fixation), t o cultural archetype s (suc h a s th e dialecticall y relate d polaritie s o f death an d rebirth , sufferin g an d redemption) , t o sociopolitica l factors (suc h a s th e actua l negativ e aspect s o f lif e i n freedom). A t the en d o f Par t One , I dra w implication s from th e positiv e mean ings o f confinement fo r th e classica l theories o f punishment: retri bution, deterrence , an d rehabilitation . Part Two , " A Strang e Liking : Ou r Admiratio n fo r Criminals, " makes a shif t from lawbreaker s lookin g a t punishmen t t o law abiding peopl e lookin g a t criminals . Drawin g o n criminal-non criminal dyad s i n suc h work s a s The Grapes of Wrath, Heart of Darkness, and Les Miserables, I examin e th e parado x o f our wonder ing estee m fo r thos e wh o brea k th e law . I begi n b y showin g bot h the pervasivenes s o f admiration fo r criminal s an d th e simultaneou s resistance t o tha t admiration . Inne r divisio n i s painful ; therefore , noncriminals develo p strategie s fo r minimizin g thi s menta l con flict. On e suc h strateg y i s wha t I cal l "Rationalize d Admiration :

4

Introduction

Overt Deligh t i n th e Camouflage d Criminal. " Noncriminal s adopting thi s approac h openl y admir e criminal s bu t believ e tha t they d o so because o f the lawbreakers ' virtues—fo r example , thei r embodiment o f justic e (Robi n Hood , To m Joa d i n The Grapes of Wrath); freedo m (Carmen , Mol l Flanders) ; greatnes s (Kurt z i n Heart of Darkness, Raskolniko v i n Crime and Punishment); o r glamor (Ala n Brec k in Kidnapped, Jay Gatsb y i n The Great Gatsby). T h e secon d strateg y fo r copin g wit h th e inne r conflic t ove r criminals is repression. B y this mechanism, noncriminal s energeti cally ba r from consciousnes s thei r admiratio n fo r criminals , thereby alleviatin g thei r guilt . Often , thes e noncriminal s replac e their burie d estee m fo r lawbreaker s wit h consciou s loathin g an d repudiation. T o illustrat e thi s dynamic , I analyz e th e travelers ' rejection o f th e prostitut e i n d e Maupassant' s stor y "Ball-of-Fat " and Pip' s disgus t fo r Magwitc h i n Great Expectations. In defendin g agains t thei r admiratio n fo r criminals , som e non criminals g o beyond disgus t and loathin g to persecution—a stanc e that enable s the m t o associat e wit h criminal s an d eve n imitat e their way s whil e maintainin g a n inne r convictio n tha t the y ar e upholding th e law . T o portra y thi s vicissitude , I dra w o n th e villagers' treatmen t o f Christ y i n Synge' s dram a The Playboy of the Western World and Javert's shiftin g attitude s towar d Jean Valjean i n Hugo's Les Miserables. Part Three , "I n Slim e an d Darkness : T h e Metapho r o f Filth i n Criminal Justice, " build s o n th e foundatio n lai d i n Par t Two , i n particular, th e discussio n o f loathing , disgust , an d repudiatio n a s vicissitudes o f admiratio n fo r criminals . A t th e outset , I trac e th e association betwee n slim e an d criminalit y i n suc h work s a s Macbeth, The Hound of the Baskervilles, an d Jamaica Inn. I n th e cours e of thi s analysis , I adduc e psychoanalyti c theor y an d chil d observa tions t o demonstrat e tha t soft , we t dir t i s as deeply attractiv e t o u s as it i s repulsive . I sugges t tha t slime' s unconsciou s an d forbidde n allure helps t o explai n it s popularity a s a metaphor fo r criminals . Criminals ar e see n no t onl y a s slimy , bu t a s ineradicably slimy. For thi s reason , the y ar e viewe d a s worthles s object s tha t ma y b e thrown away . Thus , th e stati c metapho r o f th e crimina l a s slim e

Introduction

5

leads t o a dynami c allegor y i n whic h criminal s commi t a ba d act , become indelibl y stained , an d ar e cas t out . Thi s allegor y foun d a resonance i n eighteenth - an d nineteenth-centur y Britain , whe n the Britis h governmen t electe d t o solv e it s pena l crisi s b y ban ishing hundred s o f thousand s o f criminal s t o Australia . T h e his tory o f Australi a i s replet e wit h description s o f convict s a s "sew age" an d thei r island-priso n a s a "dunghill, " a "cesspool, " an d a "sink o f wickedness. " I n eve n mor e graphi c terms , Jerem y Ben tham describe d th e polic y o f transporting criminal s t o Australi a a s projecting a n "excrementitiou s mass. " Notwithstandin g th e rich ness o f thes e expressions , i t was not fo r it s languag e tha t I electe d to analyz e th e Botan y Ba y experiment , bu t becaus e thi s episod e represents a remarkable effor t b y noncriminals—an effor t t o elim inate th e ver y relationshi p wit h criminals , t o repudiat e convict s utterly an d trea t the m a s i f the y wer e o n anothe r planet , o r a distant star . Ironically, th e Australia n pena l colon y soo n acquire d a positiv e significance a s a new promise d lan d wher e criminal s coul d rebuil d their lives . It was not onl y a place East o f Eden t o which the y wer e banished, bu t als o a ne w Jerusale m t o whic h the y came . Thus , this "priso n o f infinit e space, " lik e th e traditiona l prison s an d penitentiaries depicte d i n "Cradle d o n th e Sea, " became , i n th e eyes o f som e convicts , a belove d prison . Muc h later , idealizatio n also replace d contemp t wit h regar d t o th e origina l transporte d convicts, th e Firs t Fleeters ; today , the y ar e see n a s romanti c out laws. And s o we com e ful l circle . In th e book' s Conclusion , I sugges t tha t th e prisoners ' exalte d conception o f their priso n an d th e noncriminals ' glamorou s visio n of lawbreaker s ar e bot h manifestation s o f a romanti c yearning . Specifically, thes e portrayal s reflec t a desir e t o escap e fro m th e mundane world-as-it-i s int o a noble r an d mor e meaningfu l tim e and place . Suc h romanticism serve s to defen d agains t the narcissis tic wound o f our relativ e punines s an d mortality .

CHAPTER I A Thousand

Leagues

Refuge from the

Above:

Prison

As

a

Prosaic

By "world" I mean the whole complex of incidents, demands , compulsions, solicitations, of every kind and degree of urgency, . . . whic h overtake the mind without offering i t any inner illumination. —Paul Valery

Toward th e en d o f Aleksand r Solzhenitsyn' s nove l The Cancer Ward, Ole g Kostogloto v i s release d from th e hospita l wher e h e has bee n confine d an d goe s t o bu y a shir t i n a departmen t store . While lookin g ove r th e shirts , h e hear s a ma n as k th e clerk , "D o you hav e a siz e twenty-fiv e shir t lik e thi s one , wit h a siz e fifteen collar?" Ole g react s wit h horro r an d righteou s indignatio n t o th e small-mindedness tha t h e feel s thi s questio n reflects : It staggered Ole g like an electric shock. He turned in amazemen t and looked at this clean-shaven, smooth man in the good felt hat, wearing a white shirt and tie, stared at him as though the man had struck him. Men had endured th e agony of the trenches, bodies had been heaped in mass graves, others had been buried in shallow pits in the icy Arctic, people had been arrested time and again and sent to camps, they had frozen i n barred railroad cars, men had broken their backs working with pick and shovel to earn the price of a tattered padded jacket, and this sniveling fop remembered no t only his shirt size, but his collar size? This last fact shattered Oleg . He could not have imagined tha t a collar had its own separate size. Suppressing a groan, he turned his back on the shirt counter. A collar size, no less! Why such a refined life? Why return to this life? If you had to remember your collar size, you'd have to forget something. Something more important! 1 9

IO

A Thousand Leagues Above

T h e cance r war d a s depicte d b y Solzhenitsy n i s not, o f course , a prison , bu t i t resemble s on e i n importan t respects . Solzhenitsy n himself call s attentio n t o th e parallel , fo r h e describe s Ole g a s thinking: "Emergin g fro m thes e hospita l gates—ho w di d thi s differ from emergin g from prison?" 2 T h e inciden t o f th e colla r siz e illustrate s th e forme r captive' s rejection o f th e trivia l preoccupation s tha t h e finds i n freedom. We se e a simila r reactio n i n a boo k b y a ver y differen t kin d o f prisoner: a n America n wh o spen t mor e tha n thirtee n year s i n a Florida stat e penitentiar y fo r breakin g an d entering , peti t larceny , and burglary . Durin g a n interva l o f freedom, Jame s Blak e write s to a friend: Another kind of nostalgia I've been fighting is the Brotherhood Of-The-Doomed feelin g I had in the penitentiary and no longer have, with nothing to put in its place. I've been trying hard to isolate and name this virus, and think I have. Thing is, it's better than many things the world of electric toothbrushes has given me? In a n earlie r letter , written insid e prison , h e attempt s t o explai n what attract s hi m t o a lif e o f confinement . Again , th e word s resonate wit h thos e o f Ole g Kostoglotov : "Lif e ha s indee d bee n reduced t o it s simples t terms , a stat e o f affair s no t completel y unpleasant. S o man y o f th e trimming s tha t g o wit h lif e outsid e have ofte n bee n merel y confusin g t o me . T h e foo d her e i s simpl e but entirel y adequate, a s are the pleasures." 4 Blake' s words sugges t a parallel between th e allur e o f imprisonment an d tha t o f monasti c life—a poin t tha t other s hav e made explicitly. 5 In a lette r writte n jus t afte r returnin g t o priso n fo r anothe r crime, Blak e elaborate s hi s visio n o f lif e outsid e priso n a s mean ingless, frenetic activity : Your concern over my welfare is indeed gratifying,... bu t the basic misconception o f most civilians about convicts is that they suffer, when actually they are comparatively blithe and carefree. Certainly they're not as harried as the gnomes I see on New York streets, scuttling and scurrying into subways like apprehensive White Rabbits.6 By contras t wit h thi s negativ e imag e o f lif e i n freedom, Blak e names priso n wit h a symbo l o f th e eternal : "I' m stil l tryin g t o

A Thousand Leagues Above

II

make i t her e an d resistin g th e awfu l temptatio n t o g o bac k t o th e peace an d quie t o f the Rock." 7 T h e imag e o f prison a s an islan d o f calm amidst th e hurly-burl y also appear s i n Shakespeare' s King Lear. Her e to o w e se e a varia tion o n thi s theme : priso n a s a plac e o f enduranc e amids t ephe merae. Towar d th e en d o f th e play , jus t afte r Lea r an d Cordeli a are reunited , Cordeli a asks : "Shal l w e no t se e thes e daughter s an d these sisters? " Lear' s repl y constitute s on e o f th e lovelies t carcera l fantasies i n literature . I t suggest s tha t he , wh o ha s bee n greatl y troubled b y possessions, an d wh o suffer s from guil t ove r hi s treat ment o f hi s younges t daughter , ca n loo k forwar d wit h raptur e t o an auster e existence . No, no, no, no! Come let's away to prison. We two alone will sing like birds i'th cage. When tho u dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down And ask of thee forgiveness. S o we'll live, And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh At gilded butterflies, an d hear poor rogues Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too — Who loses and who wins, who's in, who's out— And take upon ' s the mystery of things, As if we were God's spies: and well wear out, In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones, That ebb and flow byhh moon. 8 T h e prisoner s ar e stil l an d endure , whil e thos e i n freedom com e and go . Like Jame s Blak e an d Shakespeare , Solzhenitsy n imagine s prison a s a cal m plac e i n th e mids t o f motion . I n The First Circle, he depict s th e sharashka ( a specia l priso n fo r intellectuals ) a s a n ark restin g o n th e water . H e suggest s tha t b y virtu e o f thei r seclusion an d relativ e stillness , th e prisoner s enjo y a truer perspec tive o n lif e tha n the y coul d attai n fro m th e outsid e world, whic h i s rushing by : "From here , from th e ark, . . . the whol e tortuou s flow of accurse d histor y coul d easil y b e surveyed , a s i f fro m a n enor mous height , an d ye t a t th e sam e tim e on e coul d se e ever y detail , every pebbl e o n th e rive r bed , a s i f on e wer e immerse d i n th e stream." 9

12

A Thousand Leagues Above

Elaborating o n hi s metaphor , Solzhenitsy n conceive s o f th e prisoners a s floating o n th e river , henc e "weightless " i n tha t the y are free o f prosaic concerns : Those who floated in the ark were weightless and had weightless thoughts. They were neither hungry nor satiated. They had no happiness and no fear of losing it. Their heads were not filled with petty official calculations , intrigues, promotions, and their shoulders were not burdened with concerns about housing, fuel, bread , and clothes for their children. Love, which from time immemorial has been the delight and torment of humanity, was powerless to communicate to them its thrill or its agony. 10 Whereas thi s excerp t depict s priso n a s a cal m bu t passionles s abode, elsewher e Solzhenitsy n portray s priso n a s th e plac e wher e one ca n engag e lif e a t it s mos t profoun d level . I n th e followin g passage h e describe s th e thought s o f th e prisone r Gle b Nerzhi n on th e occasio n o f his wife's visi t to th e prison : Seen from the outside [hi s life] appeared an unhappy one, but Nerzhin was secretly happy in that unhappiness. He dran k it down like spring water. Here he got to know people and events about which he could learn nowhere else on earth, certainly not in the quiet, well-fed seclusio n of the domestic hearth. From his youth on, Gleb Nerzhin had dreaded more than anything else wallowing in daily living. As the proverb says, "It s not the sea that drowns you, its the puddle."11 T h e broadenin g experienc e o f imprisonmen t i s contraste d wit h the narro w "seclusio n o f th e domesti c hearth, " wit h wallowin g i n the quotidian , wit h drownin g i n a puddle . In additio n t o th e symbo l o f cal m amids t motion , anothe r image use d t o expres s th e them e o f priso n a s a refug e from th e prosaic i s tha t o f a hig h place . Thus , i n Stendhal' s nove l The Charterhouse of Parma, th e priso n i s constructe d s o fa r abov e th e ground tha t Fabrizi o refer s t o "thi s air y solitude." 12 O n th e first night o f hi s incarceration , Fabrizi o spend s hour s a t th e window , "admiring thi s horizo n whic h spok e t o hi s soul." 13 I n prison , h e finds th e happines s tha t ha d elude d hi m i n freedom: "B y a parado x to whic h h e gav e n o thought , a secre t jo y wa s reignin g i n th e

A Thousand Leagues Above 1

3

depths o f hi s heart." 1 4 Endeavorin g t o accoun t fo r thi s paradox , Fabrizio reflects : "[H]er e on e i s a thousan d league s abov e th e pettinesses an d wickednesse s whic h occup y us dow n there." 1 5 We se e th e sam e them e o f priso n a s a cloiste r i n Solzhenitsyn' s depiction o f th e mee k Baptist , Alyoshka , i n One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Whe n th e protagonist , Shukhov , tell s hi m tha t prayer i s ineffectual , sinc e i t canno t shorte n one' s sentence , Aly oshka remonstrates : " 'You mustn' t pra y fo r that. ' Alyoshk a wa s horror-struck. 'What d'you want your freedom for? Wha t fait h yo u have lef t wil l b e choke d i n thorns . Rejoic e tha t yo u ar e i n prison . Here you can think of your soul. ' " 1 6 Shukho v reflects: "Alyoshk a wa s talking th e truth . Yo u coul d tel l b y hi s voic e an d hi s eye s h e wa s glad t o b e in prison." 17 A variatio n o n th e them e o f priso n a s a refug e from th e com monplace appear s i n Graha m Greene' s nove l The Power and the Glory, which concern s a Mexica n pries t imprisone d durin g a pe riod o f religiou s persecution . T h e followin g passag e occur s fol lowing th e priest' s releas e from prison , whil e h e i s hearing confes sions i n relativ e safety : The ol d woman prattled on and on,.. . prattled o f abstinence days broken, of evening prayers curtailed. Suddenly, without warning, with an odd sense of homesickness, he thought of the hostages in the prison yard, waiting at the water-tap, not looking at him—the suffering an d the endurance which went on everywhere the other side of the mountains. He interrupted th e woman savagely, "Why don't you confess properly to me? Vm not interested in your fishsupply or in how sleepy you are at night. . . remember your real sins. "18 Here w e se e th e priest' s nostalgi a fo r priso n a s a plac e wher e serious thing s happen, wher e peopl e suffe r an d acknowledg e grav e sins. T o th e trivia l preoccupation s o f hi s civilia n penitent , h e opposes priso n a s an embodimen t o f what i s "real. " I hav e sai d tha t priso n i s ofte n picture d a s a refug e from th e trivial o r prosaic . Bu t what i s it a refuge for? Tw o principa l theme s emerge from th e literature : priso n a s th e quintessentia l academ y and priso n a s a catalyst o f intense friendship. T h e imag e o f priso n as a n academ y appear s i n Solzhenitsyn' s nove l The First Circle.

i4

A Thousand Leagues Above

Early i n th e book , Gle b Nerzhi n elaborate s o n th e way s tha t prison ha s develope d hi s understandin g o f life . H e say s tha t a s a free ma n h e rea d book s o n th e meanin g o f lif e o r th e natur e o f happiness bu t understoo d thos e work s onl y superficially . "Than k God fo r prison! " he exclaims . "I t gav e me th e chanc e t o think." 1 9 Nerzhin goe s o n t o tel l a fellow prisone r tha t a n understandin g of happines s come s from recognizin g tha t i t doe s no t depen d o n external blessings : "Remembe r tha t thin , water y barle y o r th e oatmeal porridg e withou t a singl e dro p o f fat ? Ca n yo u sa y tha t you eat it? No. Yo u commune wit h it , you tak e it like a sacrament . . . . [I] t spread s throug h you r bod y lik e nectar. . . . Can yo u reall y compare th e crud e devourin g o f a stea k wit h this?" 20 Compar e the simila r insigh t tha t Tolsto y attribute s t o Pierr e i n War and Peace: "Whil e imprisone d i n th e she d Pierr e ha d learne d no t wit h his intellec t bu t wit h hi s whol e being , b y lif e itself , tha t ma n i s created fo r happiness , tha t happines s i s within him , i n th e satisfac tion o f simpl e huma n needs , an d tha t al l unhappines s arise s no t from privatio n bu t from superfluity." 21 T h e blac k America n prisone r Samue l Melvill e perceive s wha t he ha s learned i n priso n i n muc h th e sam e light : for the first time since i was a small boy i have no money and no keys in my pockets, you can't imagine the rehabilitating effect o f that! from the muslims i am learning to fast and control my own body, from reading thoreau and some of the eastern teachings i can live on much less than even prison allows . . .. an d i am tripping all the time, not with the frenzy of acid but with the confi dence of my liberation from superficialities. 22 Whereas thes e prisoner s regar d priso n a s a plac e wher e the y have gaine d wisdom , Malcol m X portray s hi s confinemen t a s a catalyst o f learnin g i n a mor e concret e sense . I n a chapte r o f hi s autobiography entitle d "Saved, " h e describe s ho w h e taugh t him self t o rea d wit h understandin g whil e i n priso n an d ho w thi s ability opene d u p a ne w worl d t o him . H e believe s tha t priso n enabled hi m t o stud y mor e intensivel y tha n woul d hav e bee n possible i n college , wher e ther e ar e "to o man y distractions , to o much panty-raiding , fraternities, an d boola-bool a an d al l o f that. "

A Thousand Leagues Above 1

5

H e asks : "Wher e els e bu t i n a priso n coul d I hav e attacke d m y ignorance b y bein g abl e t o stud y intensel y sometime s a s muc h a s fifteen hour s a day?" 23 Malcolm X view s priso n a s a catalys t o f learnin g i n tha t i t provides a n environmen t free from worldl y concerns . Othe r pris oners hav e picture d priso n a s a matri x o f intens e friendship be cause i t force s prisoner s t o liv e togethe r i n isolatio n from th e world. Thus , throughou t The First Circle Solzhenitsy n contrast s the isolatio n an d mistrus t tha t characteriz e relationship s amon g the civilian s wit h th e camaraderi e an d profoun d friendshi p tha t pervade th e prisoners ' lives . In th e followin g passag e Solzhenitsy n describes friendship i n th e sharashka in th e languag e o f ecstasy : In these Sunday evening hours solid matter and flesh no longer reminded people of their earthly existence. The spiri t of male friendship and philosophy filled the sail-like arches overhead. Perhaps this was, indeed, that bliss which all the philosopher s of antiquity tried in vain to define an d teach to others. 24 Solzhenitsyn i s no t alon e i n portrayin g priso n friendships a s unusually passionate. Fo r example , Eugeni a Ginzburg , imprisone d by Stali n fo r eightee n years , declare s simply : "Ther e ar e n o mor e fervent friendships tha n thos e mad e i n prison." 25 S o to o Ver a Figner, confine d b y th e tsars , write s tha t upo n he r releas e from prison sh e experience d despai r a t losin g th e peopl e wit h who m she ha d spen t twent y year s "i n clos e communion , unde r th e mos t exceptional circumstances." 26 Beyond describin g th e intensit y o f friendship i n prison , man y prisoners hav e attempte d t o explai n why friendships ten d t o flourish unde r condition s o f penal confinemen t mor e tha n i n freedom. Figner an d Solzhenitsy n cit e th e absence , i n prison , o f thos e relationships tha t ten d t o compet e wit h friendship i n th e outsid e world. Thus , Figne r explain s tha t th e "whol e worl d wa s close d t o [her], al l human tie s broken, " an d he r fello w prisoner s substitute d for "famil y an d society,.. . party , homeland , an d al l humanity." 27 Incarceration impose s a n isolatio n from th e world , bu t thos e wh o share thi s isolatio n se e themselve s a s formin g relationship s o f a n emotional powe r unequale d i n th e worl d outside . Solzhenitsy n

i6

A Thousand Leagues Above

theorizes i n a similar vein: "Me n wit h exceptiona l intellect , educa tion, an d experience , bu t to o devote d t o thei r familie s t o hav e much o f themselve s lef t ove r fo r thei r friends , her e belonge d onl y to friends." 28 H e reiterate s thi s poin t i n a later scene : They drank to friendship. The y drank to love. Rubin praised it: "I have never had any doubts about love. But to tell you the truth, until the front an d prison I didn't believe in friendship, especiall y the 'give-up-your-life-for-your-friend' kind . In ordinary life you have your family, and somehow there's no place for friendship, is there?"29 Other prisoner s hav e explaine d th e passio n o f priso n friendships b y th e frankness tha t characterize s carcera l relationships 30 or th e unusuall y clos e living . A s Blak e writes : "Lockin g togethe r in a joint is like no othe r associatio n I know of , a constant proxim ity an d ubiquit y comparabl e onl y t o tha t o f Siames e twins . A pro found attachmen t ca n ensue." 31 Finally , Eugeni a Ginzbur g offer s an explanatio n centerin g o n th e sharin g o f a uniqu e experience , which impart s a knowledge availabl e onl y to initiates : Oh, the feeling of prison kinship! It is perhaps the strongest of all human relationships. Even now, many years later, as I am writing these memoirs, all of us who have tasted the blood of the lamb are members of one family. Even the stranger whom you meet on your travels, or at a health spa, or at someone else's house, immediately becomes near and dear to you when you learn he was there. I n other words, he knows things that are beyond the comprehensio n of people who have not been there, even the most noble and kindhearted among them. 32 Three idea s serv e t o explai n th e imag e o f priso n a s a refug e from th e trivia l an d mundane . Thi s imag e ma y reflec t (i ) actua l negative characteristic s o f lif e i n freedom; (2 ) personalit y growt h that sometimes occur s under condition s o f penal confinement ; an d (3) impuls e neurosis , whic h cause s som e peopl e t o experienc e a s gratifying a situation wher e the y ar e controlled . Let us consider first th e theory that this pleasant carceral image , prison a s an escap e from th e commonplace , i s in part a reaction t o the unattractiv e aspect s o f lif e i n freedom. 33 Jame s Blak e repeat edly denigrate s lif e outsid e prison , characterizin g i t a s th e "worl d of electri c toothbrushes " an d describin g th e peopl e a s scurryin g

A Thousand Leagues Above

J

7

like whit e rabbit s o r gnomes . Whil e hi s remark s ma y b e attribut able in part to a "sour grapes " reaction, man y civilians would agre e with Blak e tha t materialis m an d careeris m impoveris h contempo rary life . Blake' s observatio n tha t th e "trimming s tha t g o wit h lif e outside . . . [had ] ofte n bee n merel y confusing " t o hi m parallel s the feeling s expresse d b y me n studie d i n a noncarcera l setting , men whos e perception s o f lif e i n freedom canno t b e explaine d away a s a disparagemen t o f wha t the y canno t have . Thus , i n Robert Lane' s stud y o f working-clas s America n men , w e find th e following wistfu l passag e i n a chapte r entitle d "Th e Burde n o f Freedom." T h e speaker , a wholesale-shoe salesman , i s respondin g to th e question : "Wha t doe s th e word freedom mean t o you? " What it makes me think of is a pastoral scene—I don't know why—being soothed by a nice balmy breeze, green pastures, and a girl and a boy romping through the fields. That's what freedom means to m e . . .. I t would suggest to me a closeness to G o d . . . . There are times, I'll say that "What the heck" to my existence, rather that or crying. You're bombarded by so much—ah, pressur e in the present day, pressures of business, pressures of actual dayto-day living—cost of living.. . . There are so many things that you are bombarded with—tiny messages the people are trying to get across to you in their effort to sell you. It's a tough life. / think the recluse has probably got something. And every so often you get a little bit tired; you sort of wish you could get some place and justlead that kind of existence?* Commenting o n thi s passage , Lan e recall s Freud' s observatio n that "[protectio n agains t stimul i i s a n almos t mor e importan t function fo r th e livin g organis m tha n reception o f stimuli." 35 Som e forms o f penal confinemen t ma y affor d suc h protection . T h e ide a tha t positiv e image s o f priso n reflec t actua l negativ e aspects o f lif e i n freedom finds furthe r confirmatio n i n Russia n and Sovie t priso n memoirs . Fo r example , i n Notes from a Dead House, a novel base d o n hi s ow n experience s i n a Siberia n prison , Dostoevsky write s tha t som e peopl e committe d crime s deliber ately "t o ge t int o har d labo r an d thu s escap e liberty , whic h i s harder fo r the m tha n imprisonment." 36 T h e contex t make s clea r that Dostoevsk y i s referrin g no t t o an y psychologica l longin g t o "escape from freedom" bu t rathe r t o th e fac t tha t i n Siberia n

i8

A Thousand Leagues Above

prisons—even i n har d labor—th e wor k wa s easie r an d th e brea d more plentiful. 37 Echoing Notes from a Dead House a littl e ove r a centur y later , Erica Wallac h write s tha t man y wome n prisoner s i n Vorkut a dreaded th e da y o f releas e mor e tha n anothe r ten-yea r sentence . She report s tha t ofte n the y ha d t o b e thrus t ou t o f th e camp s b y the soldiers . A t leas t i n th e camp s th e wome n enjoye d shelter , food, an d security . Onc e released , unabl e t o retur n t o thei r origi nal homes , th e wome n ha d n o choic e bu t t o sta y "i n liberty " i n the Vorkut a area . Consequently , "[f]reedo m fo r mos t o f th e women mean t prostitution, " tha t is , becoming th e wif e o f th e first man wh o coul d offe r the m protectio n an d materia l support. 38 Finally, i n thinkin g abou t objectiv e source s o f th e ide a tha t prisoners liv e lif e o n a higher plane , le t u s conside r th e dissimila r descriptions o f friendship insid e and outsid e prison walls. In totali tarian societies , wher e governmenta l contro l penetrate s eve n inti mate relationships , suspicio n an d atomizatio n characteriz e socia l life. Fo r example , i n he r memoi r o f lif e unde r Stalin , Nadezhd a Mandelstam describe s ho w man y Sovie t civilian s foun d thei r friendships pervade d b y mistrust , becaus e "friends " sometime s betrayed peopl e fo r who m the y ha d professe d affectio n an d loy alty.39 Likewise, i n his autobiographical work , Prisoner of Mao, Ba o Ruo-Wang report s tha t friendshi p blossome d mor e i n priso n tha n in th e suspicion-riddle d societ y outside : "A living hell" is the popular image inevitably conjured u p by the idea of Communist labor camps. There is truth in the image, of course, but it is distorted because it is incomplete. The reality, the most exquisite irony that I discovered as the years slipped by, was the same that had already been testified t o by the survivors of Stalinist camps: Not only is the society within the camps in many ways purer than the larger one outside but it is also freer. It is in the prisons and camps that the notions of friendshipandpersonal freedom are the most highly developed in China. 40 In democrati c societies , a s well, the imag e o f prison a s a catalys t of friendship ca n be explaine d partl y by the loneliness tha t perme ates civilian society . Thus, anthropologis t Rober t Brai n writes :

A Thousand Leagues Above

10

To me it is the strangest thing that in Western Christian society, founded o n the love of God and the fellowship o f mankind, loneliness has become one of the hallmarks.. . . [S]o many of us eke out an existence as loveless and unloved atoms—free individual s in an open society, condemned t o form part of the great grey subculture of the lonely. 41 Brain offer s a n explanatio n fo r thi s isolatio n i n th e cultur e o f chronic change : "Friendshi p i s a basic nee d bu t i n ou r swif t turn over o f jobs, homes , an d eve n marriage s w e ar e constantl y startin g off t o loo k fo r a ne w 'community ' o f friends." 42 I n contras t t o civilians, prisoner s ar e immobilize d and , t o tha t extent , ar e bette r situated t o for m lastin g relationship s characterize d b y affectio n and trust . Moreover , instea d o f goin g throug h lif e a s moder n man does—havin g a n essentiall y uniqu e an d individua l patter n of experiences—prisoner s shar e mos t aspect s o f thei r live s an d experience a more collectiv e existence . A secon d explanatio n fo r th e imag e o f priso n a s a refug e from the quotidia n i s that , i n som e persons , incarceratio n foster s intel lectuality an d spirituality . A stud y b y th e lat e psychoanalys t Edit h Jacobson support s thi s conclusion . Sh e observe d on e hundre d female politica l prisoner s durin g he r tw o years ' confinemen t i n the stat e prison s o f Naz i Germany. 43 Wit h respec t t o stron g an d intelligent persons , Jacobson foun d tha t priso n ofte n se t in motio n a constructiv e development . Fo r example , nearl y al l th e politica l prisoners fel t impelle d t o d o artisti c work , suc h a s writing poetry , and man y embarke d o n a systemati c stud y o f natura l science , history, o r languages . Som e who ha d neve r befor e fel t an y interes t in th e classic s bega n t o lear n th e ancien t poet s b y heart . Analyzing thi s behavior , Jacobson posit s tha t th e experienc e o f imprisonment cause s a regressio n o f th e eg o t o a stat e o f adoles cent dissolution . A s i n adolescence , s o i n prison , a stron g i d con fronts a relativel y wea k ego . T h e deprivatio n an d frustratio n o f confinement produc e aggression , bu t discharg e o f thi s aggressio n is impossible i n th e priso n situation . Similarly , i n priso n a norma l sex lif e i s precluded . T o cop e wit h thi s impasse , th e prisone r develops reactio n formation s an d sublimations. 44

20

A Thousand Leagues Above

As a n exampl e o f thi s process , Jacobson recount s th e stor y o f a thirty-two-year-old woma n wh o ha d live d a s a prostitut e prio r t o her arrest . In priso n "fo r th e firs t tim e i n her life , th e prisone r me t with outwar d barrier s agains t thos e impulse s whic h ha d rule d he r so far." 45 Livin g amon g peopl e wh o wer e well-controlle d an d intellectual, sh e change d greatly . N o t onl y di d sh e gro w t o lov e poetry, bu t sh e als o arrange d fo r course s i n anatom y an d first aid . In addition , sh e bega n t o questio n th e spiritua l basi s o f he r exis tence. Whil e stil l i n priso n sh e obtaine d a divorc e fro m th e pro curer o n who m sh e ha d bee n dependen t an d foun d wor k an d lodgings fo r hersel f i n anothe r region. 46 By contras t wit h thi s example , Jacobson stresse s tha t fo r mos t common criminals , imprisonmen t tend s t o hav e harmfu l effects , aggravating a n alread y infantil e personality. 47 Moreover , sh e be lieves that eve n where sublimation s ar e formed i n prison , the y will not endur e onc e th e situatio n o f extrem e privatio n come s t o a n end. 48 Robert Ja y Lifton' s boo k Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism provides a n extensio n an d partia l confirmatio n o f Jacob son's findings. O n th e basi s o f interview s wit h peopl e imprisone d for year s i n th e People' s Republi c o f China , Lifto n finds tha t th e Western subjects , lon g afte r thei r releas e fro m prison , "consis tently reporte d a sense o f havin g bee n benefitte d an d emotionall y strengthened, o f havin g becom e mor e sensitiv e t o thei r ow n an d others' inne r feelings , an d mor e flexible an d confiden t i n huma n relationships." 49 While acknowledgin g th e difficult y o f explainin g thi s reaction , Lifton believe s i t ha s t o d o wit h th e prisoner s havin g explore d their emotiona l limits , o f havin g "hi t roc k bottom " i n thei r nega tive vie w o f themselves , an d havin g the n reacquire d som e degre e of self-respect. H e analogize s thi s t o th e feelin g o f well-being tha t people exhibi t afte r subjectio n t o sever e stress . I n contras t t o th e limited reboun d euphori a tha t occur s afte r a brief stress , after a n experience as totally disintegrating as prison thought reform, the relief at being put together again is more basic and enduring. In the experience itself, and in the process of recovery and

A Thousand Leagues Above

21

renewal which followed it , these men and women gained access to parts of themselves they had never known existed. 50 Finally, a thir d explanatio n fo r th e imag e o f priso n a s a refug e from th e prosai c lie s i n th e concep t o f impuls e neurosis . Impuls e neurosis i s a for m o f sever e characte r patholog y characterize d by "chronic , repetitiv e eruptio n o f a n impulse. " T h e individua l experiences gratificatio n o f th e impuls e a s highly pleasurabl e dur ing the impulsiv e episod e bu t a s unacceptable a t othe r times. 51 T h e basi c dispositio n fo r thi s disorde r i s th e sam e a s tha t fo r addiction an d depression : impuls e neurotic s ar e fixated o n th e earliest, oral , phas e o f development . Hence , an y tensio n i s experi enced a s a dangerou s trauma , an d sexua l gratificatio n an d th e sense o f securit y ar e no t differentiate d from eac h other . Becaus e they cannot tolerat e tension , impuls e neurotic s direc t thei r action s not s o muc h towar d "th e positiv e ai m o f achievin g a goa l bu t rather mor e towar d th e negativ e ai m o f gettin g ri d o f tension." 52 More specifically , th e unconsciou s purpos e o f mos t impulsiv e act s is t o avoi d depression. 53 Typica l example s o f impuls e neurosi s ar e alcoholism, dru g addiction , kleptomania , an d impulsiv e runnin g away. James Blak e ca n b e understoo d a s a n impuls e neuroti c wh o unconsciously—and eve n t o som e exten t consciously—experi ences incarceratio n a s pleasurable, becaus e i t afford s hi m th e con trol tha t hi s ow n eg o canno t provide . I n th e followin g passag e Blake expresse s hi s awarenes s tha t i n priso n h e i s abl e t o concen trate an d sublimat e i n a way h e finds impossibl e outside : " I wrot e Dr. Algre n abou t a wee k ag o an d a s yet n o reply . I hop e h e isn' t displeased wit h m e . . . . Certainl y th e boo k wil l b e finished i n a shorter tim e tha n i t woul d i f I wer e out , with all the distractions I manage to find." 54 Although her e an d elsewher e Blak e display s considerabl e in sight int o hi s attractio n t o imprisonment , h e fall s shor t o f under standing th e deepes t source s o f thi s fascination . T h e tru e natur e of the distraction s agains t which Blak e feel s h e need s protectio n i s suggested b y th e juxtapositio n o f hi s description s o f homosexua l love affair s an d hi s expression s o f nostalgi a fo r prison . Immedi -

22

A Thousand Leagues Above

ately after describin g a n affai r h e regard s a s demeaning, h e writes : "How man y times I hav e wishe d mysel f bac k i n di e joint , the perfect peace I had and di d no t value." 55 Again , afte r bein g seduce d in a wa y h e consider s humiliating , h e declares : " I wis h no w I' d never lef t th e Roc k i n Florida , bu t thi s mania c [hi s lover ] didn' t come o n lik e a maniac a t first." 56 Significantly , i t is not whe n h e i s in prison , bu t whe n h e i s involve d wit h a sadisti c love r outsid e that Blak e writes : "S o her e I am—trapped , beset , lonely , bored , frightened, an d confused." 57 I n contrast , Blak e describe s hi s ho mosexual affair s i n prison les s in terms o f self-abasement an d mor e in term s o f eithe r pragmatis m o r genuin e passion. 58 As additiona l evidenc e o f th e impulse-controllin g functio n tha t prison perform s fo r Blake , I woul d cit e th e contras t betwee n th e letters Blak e write s from insid e an d outsid e prison . I n prison , h e writes mor e abou t music , books , an d writing , wherea s outsid e h e writes predominantl y abou t hi s obsessiv e infatuation s wit h on e man afte r another—an d abou t hi s longin g t o retur n t o prison . T h e Iris h playwrigh t Brenda n Behan , wh o describe d hi s priso n experiences i n Borstal Boy, provide s anothe r exampl e o f th e im pulse neuroti c wh o unconsciousl y feel s th e nee d t o b e controlle d by a n externa l force . A write r reviewin g a biograph y o f Beha n sums up th e benefit s Beha n derive d from incarceration : He seemed at home in prison. Most of his formative readin g was done in Borstal, and it was in Dublin jail that he learned to read Gaelic and began to write. Prison gave him material for "The Quar e Fellow," the gallowshumor play which brought him world fame. It inspired "Borsta l Boy," which will outlive a swarm of "Papillons." And, what is important, it kept him off the drink. 59 T h e write r continues : "I n retrospec t i t seems od d tha t h e spen t s o many o f hi s year s i n jails , fo r i f ther e wa s anythin g h e wa s not , i t was a revolutionary." 60 Bu t i t i s precisel y becaus e o f th e benefit s prison provide d him , i n term s o f freedo m fro m bein g subjec t t o his alcoholism , tha t Behan , o n som e level , sough t incarceration . Consider als o th e cas e o f Pau l Verlaine , fo r who m priso n wa s "really an d objectively , a solutio n t o a n untenabl e situation : hi s

A Thousand Leagues Above

2

3

murderous impulses , th e alcoholis m whic h stoke d them , th e tor ment o f hi s 'bimetallism ' mad e o f Mon s a refug e int o whic h h e threw himself." 61 T h e objectio n ma y aris e tha t suc h prisoner s a s Behan, Verlaine , and Blak e ar e hardly representative; thei r reaction s ma y not tel l u s anything abou t les s culture d criminals . However , th e notio n o f prison a s a plac e wher e on e i s protecte d fro m onesel f als o finds support i n th e popula r literatur e abou t commo n criminals . A New York Times article , fo r instance , describe s a n America n woman , Terry Broome , imprisone d i n Ital y o n a charg e o f premeditate d homicide. Afte r reportin g o n th e Italian-languag e lesson s an d th e ceramics worksho p i n whic h sh e wa s engagin g a t th e prison , Broome i s quote d a s saying : "Mayb e I neede d t o ge t away , t o b e put away , so I could ge t ou t o f the kin d o f life I was leading, so selfdestructive, an d chang e myself . I hav e change d myself . I a m a different perso n now." 62 A similar observatio n appear s i n a popular magazin e articl e tha t describes a woma n sufferin g fro m irresistibl e impulse s t o spen d money. Sh e was imprisoned fo r embezzlemen t afte r takin g mone y to cove r her spendin g sprees . T he autho r o f the articl e writes that , while in prison, "Sand i fel t fre e fo r th e first tim e in years," becaus e she di d not hav e t o fac e th e temptatio n t o spend. 63 In th e nex t chapte r I continu e wit h th e moti f o f priso n a s a refuge. T h e emphasi s there , however , wil l b e les s o n priso n a s a n escape fro m mundan e preoccupation s an d mor e o n priso n a s a protective an d nurturin g abode . Wherea s th e mos t salien t image s in th e precedin g page s wer e o f priso n a s hig h up , o r a cal m plac e in th e mids t o f motion , i n th e nex t chapte r th e image s wil l b e those o f envelopment : bein g cradled , surrounded , an d embo somed.

CHAPTER 2 Cradled on Who Provides

the Sea: and

Prison

As

a

Mother

Protects

T h e studen t o f priso n memoir s canno t fai l t o b e startle d b y th e repeated characterization s o f priso n a s a peacefu l an d saf e place . In som e instance s th e ide a ca n b e understoo d b y referenc e t o th e relative quietud e o f lif e inside , bu t th e them e i s equall y salien t where ther e i s no suc h basi s in reality . Thus, notwithstandin g tha t he ha d earlie r listene d i n anguis h t o th e sound s o f a gan g rape , during a n interval outsid e o f prison Blak e writes t o a friend: You know what's in my mind? The joint. I thought I was getting off free from that experience. I thought they hadn't managed t o touch me, but it colors every moment and every action of my life. / think always of the peace that I had there—this working to survive and surviving to work seems increasingly like an arrangement I would not have chosen, were it up to me. Those gates, man, they're inviting.l Blake resist s hi s attractio n t o prison , bu t i n th e ver y passag e where h e announce s hi s determinatio n t o sta y outside , hi s choic e of metaphor s reveal s hi s imag e o f freedom a s a battlefiel d an d prison a s a plac e o f safety : "It' s to o eas y t o craw l bac k insid e th e gates. I wan t t o sta y ou t an d d o battle—bu t I nee d a coupl e o f hammers." 2 Her e Blake' s us e o f th e wor d crawl underscore s th e infantile natur e o f th e dependent , passiv e longing s wit h whic h h e is struggling . T h e moti f o f priso n a s a uniquely protecte d plac e i s echoe d i n the autobiographica l accoun t o f a Britis h criminal , Dian a Chris tina. A t 47 , th e ag e whe n sh e wrot e he r memoir , Dian a Christin a had spen t nearl y a third o f her adul t lif e incarcerate d fo r burglary , pimping, an d prostitution . Reflectin g o n he r attractio n t o prison , she says : "After a great dea l o f looking into m y pas t I realize d tha t 24

Cradled on the Sea

2

5

spending thos e year s i n priso n wa s beneficia l t o m e i n a n im portant way : i t had , I wa s convinced , save d m e from bein g mur dered! I ha d ha d s o man y violen t encounter s wit h men , an d som e very near misses." 3 Although her e Christin a write s o f safet y i n a literal sense , else where sh e provide s a glimps e o f a deepe r visio n o f priso n a s a protected abode : " I bega n t o believ e tha t i t wasn' t thievin g tha t was m y natura l bent , i t wa s bein g a gaol-bir d tha t wa s m y natura l disposition.... / began then to have visions of landing in a cell in isolation in prison and of spending the rest of my days there—curled up in a little ball and immersed in dreaming fantasies."* Muc h lik e a fetus i n a womb , th e prisone r i n thi s imag e i s passiv e an d shel tered. B y contras t wit h th e usua l stereotyp e o f priso n a s a jungle , Christina, lik e Blake , view s priso n a s th e peacefu l plac e an d lif e outside a s unremittin g effort : " I tol d myself , you'v e go t t o sto p escaping int o gao l t o hid e awa y from i t all . You'v e go t t o g o forward int o th e struggl e an d com e ou t o n th e othe r side." 5 Christina doe s no t appea r t o recogniz e tha t th e struggl e is , a t least i n part , wit h herself . B y he r ow n admission , sh e ha d bee n attracted t o violen t me n an d ha d initiate d o r acquiesce d i n he r relationships wit h them . I t wa s he r ow n self-destructiv e impulse s against which sh e needed protection . W e se e this still more clearl y in Christina' s decision , durin g a n interlud e o f freedom, t o tak e a job an d residenc e i n a nurses' home , wher e n o me n wer e allowed . Of thi s decisio n sh e observe s tha t i t woul d "mak e lif e fa r easier " for her : " I coul d stil l carr y o n meetin g me n sociall y bu t I coul d also withdra w from the m int o m y nurse' s r o o m — m y ow n littl e cell-in-the-world—whenever I fel t th e nee d to." 6 Malcolm Braly' s autobiography , False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons, provides anothe r variatio n o n th e them e of prison a s the quintessentia l saf e place . Bral y had bee n raise d o n the Wes t Coas t i n a famil y tha t move d frequently. "Th e onl y continuity o f ou r lives, " h e writes , "wa s tha t w e ha d none." 7 Abandoned b y hi s mothe r a t ag e seven , Bral y remember s he r a s a cold perso n wh o ha d expeditiousl y disabuse d hi m o f hi s earl y beliefs i n Santa , th e Easte r Bunny , an d God . H e canno t recal l eve r

26

Cradled on the Sea

feeling lov e fo r her , who m h e ofte n imagine s a s "a n angr y Mede a who murdere d th e norma l lives " they migh t hav e had. 8 Braly does remembe r lovin g his father , a used-car salesma n an d embezzler wh o "alway s trie d t o laug h an d jok e hi s wa y throug h . . . misfortunes." 9 However , th e father , too , abandone d hi m seve n years afte r hi s mothe r did . I n a passag e lackin g i n hi s usua l kee n insight, Bral y write s tha t h e "didn' t care, " a s h e ha d "spen t mos t o f . . . [his ] lif e tryin g t o avoi d him." 1 0 After hi s stepmothe r turne d hi m ove r t o th e count y probatio n officer, Bral y wa s well-treate d b y th e community . H e attende d school, worke d part-tim e a s a reporte r fo r th e loca l paper , an d received a n offe r o f a college scholarship . Nevertheless , partl y ou t of a n identificatio n wit h hi s father , Bral y bega n t o engag e i n regular stealing . H e late r realize d tha t h e mus t hav e wante d t o b e caught, becaus e h e stole clothes from a dry-cleaning establishmen t in a small town , the n proceede d t o wea r th e garment s publicly . I n and ou t o f priso n fo r mos t o f hi s earl y adulthood , Bral y serve d eighteen year s fo r burglar y an d othe r thef t crimes . Toward th e en d o f his autobiograph y Bral y relates a n epiphan y he ha d abou t th e year s h e spen t behin d bars . H e ha d jus t bee n released from priso n an d ha d decide d t o stea l whe n a patro l ca r happened along , an d h e ra n i n a panic. O f thi s momen t h e writes : "I sense d the n i n som e clarit y ho w tha t par t o f m e whic h ha d always been fearfu l wa s onc e agai n tryin g t o retur n m e t o the safest place I had ever found. Som e primitiv e center , som e ur-self , wh o still refuse d t o recogniz e tha t lif e i s alway s a gamble." 11 T o Braly , prison seeme d saf e not becaus e h e encountere d n o physical dange r there, bu t rathe r becaus e i t entaile d n o ris k tha t h e woul d fai l t o meet hi s ow n standards . Thus , h e describe s hi s feeling s immedi ately afte r hi s releas e i n thi s way : " I wa s discharged . Finall y free. Free t o b e lonely . Fre e t o g o broke . Fre e t o fail . Fre e t o dea l wit h the stil l ominou s mysterie s o f m y ow n mos t intimat e nature . Stil l I wa s free." 12 Throug h irony , Bral y expresse s hi s insigh t tha t leaving prison force s th e relinquishmen t o f a childlike status . Elsewhere h e note s a mor e concret e similarit y betwee n th e conditions o f prisone r an d child : "[H]oweve r harshly , th e join t

Cradled on the Sea

27

mothered us—fe d us , kep t u s warm , treate d ou r ailments—an d now, awa y fro m home , I coul d hardl y remembe r t o pa y th e ren t and th e ga s bil l an d th e phon e bill , le t alon e tak e prope r car e o f my teeth." 13 I n th e sam e vein , J . D . Bing , a characte r i n on e o f Braly's novels , expresse s hi s appreciatio n fo r th e "twent y year s o f free food, " th e "clea n sock s ever y night, " an d th e "clea n clothe s three time s a week" tha t h e receive d i n prison. 14 T h e point , o f course , i s no t th e materia l benefit s tha t priso n provides; rather , i t i s th e unconsciou s meaning o f havin g the m provided, an d provide d unconditionally . Tamsi n Fitzgerald , a nineteen-year-old woma n imprisone d fo r he r rol e i n hijackin g a n airplane, make s thi s meanin g explicit : "I n a way, th e les s free yo u are, th e mor e freedom yo u have . With ever y rule an d locke d doo r you hav e on e les s responsibility.... N o worries , n o jo b hassle , n o bother abou t when o r wha t t o eat , what t o wear. Free of responsibility, returned to a form of infancy. "1 5 If on e similarit y betwee n priso n an d idealize d infanc y i s th e dependence o n other s fo r foo d an d shelter , stil l anothe r resem blance i s th e perceptio n o f lif e a s timeless . Dyla n Thoma s ha s lyrically rendere d th e child' s obliviousnes s t o th e passag e o f tim e in thes e lines : Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, Time held me green and dying, Though I sang in my chains like the seas. 16 James Blak e write s wistfull y o f priso n a s a plac e wher e tim e i s virtually infinite : "S o muc h lovel y tim e stretche s ou t befor e you , time t o read , t o write , t o play , t o practice , t o speculate , contem plate." 17 Similarly , Malcol m Bral y experience s imprisonmen t a s being outsid e o f time . Upo n returnin g t o Sa n Quenti n afte r a period o f freedom, h e associate s timelessnes s wit h lac k o f respon sibility: "I n som e way s i t wasn' t awfu l t o b e back. . . . This was not our real life, our real lives were once again projected into the future. . . . We coul d neithe r succee d no r fai l here , we were in stasis, an d preserved agains t failur e an d los s unti l onc e again , w e wer e se t free."18

28

Cradled on the Sea

T h e association s betwee n imprisonment , timelessness , an d childhood ar e elevated t o a symbolic level in Mary Renault' s novel , The King Must Die. Her e sh e describe s Theseus' s thought s a s he i s being take n i n captivit y t o Crete : We victims lived on the afterdeck, an d had an awning to sleep under, just as if we had paid our passage. We belonged t o the god, and had to be brought unspoiled. . .. It was a time of pause with me. I had passed from m y own keeping. I lay in the god's hand, as once in boyhood, cradled on the sea. Dolphins raced along with us, diving under the waves, and blowing 'Phoo!' through their foreheads. I lay and watched them. My life was still.19 Though a particularl y idylli c fantasy , thi s descriptio n resemble s the othe r fictional portrayal s an d th e realisti c priso n memoir s i n equating imprisonmen t wit h a pleasant sens e tha t on e i s no longe r responsible fo r one' s life . T h e imag e o f th e chil d born e u p b y th e waves is reminiscent o f Solzhenitsyn' s prisoner s floating i n th e ar k on th e water . An d th e se a i s a commo n symbo l o f th e mother , a s in Swinburne' s lines : I will go back to the great sweet mother, Mother an d lover of men, the sea. 20 In th e memoir s an d novel s quote d above , priso n i s described a s a plac e tha t i s uniquely safe , a s a n unconditiona l provide r o f foo d and shelter , an d a s a timeles s space . Becaus e thes e qualitie s ar e also identifie d wit h hom e or , mor e exactly , with bein g a child i n a nurturing an d protectiv e home , priso n become s assimilate d t o thi s powerfully charge d symbol . I n psychoanalyti c terms , som e peopl e develop towar d priso n a n institutiona l transference—uncon sciously displacin g ont o priso n th e feeling s the y originall y experi enced towar d th e significan t figures o f their childhood . More specifically , a s w e hav e alread y see n i n th e proliferatio n of wate r imagery , priso n i s associate d wit h th e mother—th e on e who provide s an d protects . A n unusuall y clea r portraya l o f thi s meaning appear s i n Little Dorrit, whe n Dicken s describe s th e rela tionship betwee n Littl e Dorri t an d th e debtors ' priso n wher e he r family dwells : "Th e Marshalse a walls , durin g a portio n o f ever y

Cradled on the Sea 2

9

day, agai n embrace d he r i n thei r shadow s a s thei r child." 21 T h a t the yearning fo r priso n i s unconsciously a yearning fo r a nurturin g mother come s throug h i n th e las t entr y i n Blake' s book , The Joint. Here Blak e describe s hi s abortiv e attemp t t o hol d u p a gourme t food counte r an d hi s subsequen t realizatio n tha t h e want s t o return t o prison : [T]hen at the cash register I showed the piece to the fat lady in charge and told her in menacing tones to put all the bread in the bag. Well. She sagged, a deflating dirigible , slowly toward the floor and lay there like a beached whale, out cold, of no fucking use to anybody, especially me. I couldn't understand th e mechanism of the cash register, and so the money remained out of my reach. There was nothing to do but walk out into the warm Florida evening, into jingle bells jingle all the way. I think it was then I realized I wanted to go back to the tribe, to my people, in the joint. And I said to myself, home is where, when you go there, they can't turn you away. Homesick, how about that? And homesick is where, when you go home, they make you sick. No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus. So dummy up and drink your beer. 22 Blake immediatel y react s t o a woman's failur e t o giv e t o hi m b y experiencing a n impuls e t o ru n away , back t o th e penitentiary . Fo r him priso n i s a plac e wher e love , o r th e materia l good s symboli c of love, ar e provide d unconditionally . T o b e sure , h e quickl y scoff s at his "homesickness," expressin g the othe r sid e of his ambivalenc e toward prison . Bu t hi s penultimate commen t reflect s hi s profoun d disillusionment with , an d repudiatio n of , th e outsid e worl d wher e "there i s no Sant a Claus, " wher e on e i s not "cradle d o n th e sea " — where on e mus t ear n one' s keep . Prior t o th e event s describe d above , Blak e ha d attempte d t o stay outside , fo r a tim e takin g a jo b i n a sanitariu m fo r menta l patients i n th e Westcheste r countryside . Lik e th e nurses ' hom e o f Diana Christina , th e sanitariu m represente d th e tota l institutio n that Blak e unconsciousl y sought. 23 I n th e end , however , Blake' s attraction t o priso n prove d mor e powerfu l tha n hi s goo d inten -

3°

Cradled on the Sea

tions. O n th e sam e da y tha t h e wrot e th e lette r jus t quoted , Blake wa s arreste d outsid e a medica l buildin g afte r a n attempte d burglary there . H e wa s sentence d t o five year s i n th e stat e prison. 24 As I discusse d i n th e precedin g chapter , Blake , a n impulse neurotic an d dru g addict , exhibit s a fixation o n th e ora l leve l o f development. Lik e al l othe r suc h orall y fixated people , h e desper ately need s externa l supplies , i n th e for m o f lov e an d approval , t o maintain hi s self-esteem . I f th e vita l supplie s ar e lacking , w e ca n surmise tha t h e wil l g o int o a sever e depression . However , Blak e acts impulsivel y t o war d of f depressio n b y returnin g t o a plac e where h e ca n perceiv e himsel f a s a loved an d cared-fo r child . Clinical findings sugges t tha t ora l fixation characterize s man y chronic thieve s lik e Blake , Christina , an d Braly . I n thei r classi c study, Roots of Crime, Fran z Alexande r an d Willia m Heal y con cluded tha t thieve s exhibi t a regressiv e longin g t o b e i n a passive , dependent condition— a longin g tha t i s inadmissible t o thei r con scious minds. 25 Withi n thi s context , stealin g function s a s a com promise formation . O n th e on e hand , b y symbolizin g aggressive ness an d independence , i t defend s agains t th e unconsciou s dependent longings . O n th e other , b y allowin g th e thie f t o ge t something withou t workin g fo r it , stealin g gratifie s hi s passiv e yearnings. 26 If thieve s typicall y displa y a n ora l fixation, i t follow s tha t the y may find imprisonmen t deepl y gratifying—gratifying enoug h tha t they woul d eve n i n som e case s commi t crime s t o b e incarcerated . For suc h orall y dependen t people , th e ris k o f imprisonmen t con stitutes, no t a deterrent, bu t a n incentive , t o commi t crimes . We ma y not al l evince a n ora l fixation t o thi s degree , bu t we d o all manifes t les s pronounce d regressiv e yearnings . A s Norman O . Brown ha s pointe d out , ou r dee p childhoo d fixation reflect s a nostalgia fo r th e illusio n tha t tim e doe s no t pas s and , hence , tha t we d o no t die . Thi s wis h t o avoi d deat h i s related t o dependency , for separatio n from th e mothe r i s th e first ste p towar d individua l life, whic h i n tur n mus t lea d t o death. 27 Our unconsciou s feeling s towar d imprisonmen t ar e affecte d b y

Cradled on the Sea

31

this desir e t o retur n t o a period befor e w e cam e t o term s wit h th e reality principle , t o th e womb , t o th e fantas y o f paradise . Hence , on a n unconsciou s level , w e ca n neve r regar d pena l confinemen t as a n unequivoca l evil . Hence , too , th e ill-disguise d env y tha t some civilian s expres s towar d prisoners , who , i t i s felt , ar e "cod dled" whe n the y ar e merel y deprive d o f thei r freedom . Thus , th e universal ora l fixation ma y help t o explai n why ou r prison s remai n places o f grea t brutality : t o th e degre e tha t th e civilia n populatio n unconsciously associate s imprisonmen t wit h a peaceful wom b o r a timeless Arcadia , i t finds th e mer e deprivatio n o f libert y a n insuf ficient punishment . T h e word , paradise, afte r all , i s derive d from the Middle Irania n wor d fo r enclosure . In th e nex t chapte r I examin e a differen t kin d o f positiv e fantas y about incarceration—on e i n whic h priso n i s associated no t wit h a static imag e bu t rathe r wit h a dram a o r allegory , wit h a journe y during which th e travele r undergoe s profoun d change .

CHAPTER 3 To Die and

Become:

Prison

As

a

Matrix

of Spiritual Rebirth

Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground an d die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth muc h fruit . —John 12:24 In The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsy n write s o f prison : "[T]h e day when I deliberatel y le t mysel f sink to the bottom and felt it firm under my feet—the hard, rocky bottom which is the same for all —was the beginnin g o f th e mos t importan t year s i n m y life , th e year s which pu t th e finishin g touche s t o m y character." 1 Solzhenitsy n thus describe s in positive term s th e conditio n o f having lost every thing: th e appea l o f having something firm unde r one' s feet, a s on e can fal l n o farther , an d th e stat e o f equality with one' s fello w man . This passag e illustrate s th e associatio n betwee n priso n an d th e downward, o r chthonic, spatia l dimension. 2 Priso n i s thereb y als o linked wit h eart h an d earth' s tw o principa l mythi c roles : a s th e recipient o f th e dead , an d a s th e mothe r o f al l life. 3 T h e connec tions betwee n prison , descent , an d resurrectio n ar e mad e explici t by Bill Sand s i n hi s autobiography , My Shadow Ran Fast: All I can say for sure is that Warden Duffy wa s looking into my eyes with an expression that few men are privileged to see. The thief on the other cross, the one who repented, must have seen a Face like that when he cried out in his agony. When he spoke, J knew at last that my long descent had ended. My life was not over. It was just beginning. 4 John Cheever' s fictional wor k Falconer also depicts prison a s th e site o f a dram a base d o n th e Christia n story . Thi s nove l concern s a professo r name d Farragut , wh o i s servin g tim e fo r killin g hi s brother wit h a fire iron . A t th e en d o f th e nove l Farragu t escape s

32

To Die and Become

33

from priso n b y takin g th e plac e o f a dea d inmat e i n a burial sack , which h e refer s t o a s "hi s grave. " Farragu t experience s himsel f a s someone i n a n infantile, eve n embryonic , state : He had never, that he remembered, been carried before.... Th e sensation of being carried belonged to the past, since it gave him an unlikely feeling of innocence and purity. How strange to be carried so late in life and toward nothing that he truly knew, freed, it seemed, from his erotic crudeness, his facile scorn and his chagrined laugh.... Ho w strange to be living and to be grown and to be carried. 5 While th e guard s ar e bus y elsewhere , Farragu t slit s th e buria l sack with a razor an d make s his exit into th e free world . A strange r he meet s a t a bu s sto p befriend s him , offerin g t o shar e a n apart ment wit h hi m an d makin g hi m a gif t o f a raincoat. Farragu t the n walks to th e front o f the bu s an d get s of f a t the nex t stop . Cheeve r concludes the book with thes e words: "Steppin g from th e bus ont o the street , [Farragut ] sa w that h e ha d los t his fea r o f falling an d al l other fear s o f that nature. H e hel d hi s head high , hi s back straight , and walked alon g nicely. Rejoice , h e thought , rejoice." 6 These passage s portra y priso n a s th e se t fo r a dram a o f fallin g and rising , dyin g an d bein g reborn . A different imag e link s priso n with rebirt h i n th e followin g passag e b y Malcolm X : For the next years, I was the nearest thing to a hermit in the Nor folk Prison Colony.... I still marvel at how swiftly my previous life's thinking pattern slid away from me, like snow off a roof. It is as though someone else I knew of had lived by hustling and crime. I would be startled to catch myself thinking in a remote way of my earlier self as another person. 7 T h e metapho r o f sno w fallin g of f a roo f capture s Malcol m X' s perception o f the eas e an d naturalnes s wit h whic h th e transforma tion occurred . I n a simila r example , Watergat e convic t Charle s Colson assert s hi s belie f tha t priso n i s a pric e h e ha s t o pa y "t o complete th e sheddin g o f [his ] . . . ol d lif e an d t o b e free t o liv e the new." 8 W h y d o thes e author s vie w priso n a s a vehicl e fo r rebirth ? T h e answe r seem s t o b e that , fo r them , imprisonmen t offer s a n

34

To Die and Become

opportunity t o renounc e arroganc e an d separateness . W e hav e already seen a n example of this view when Lea r happily envisione d prison a s a plac e wher e h e woul d knee l dow n an d as k Cordeli a for forgiveness . Anothe r illustratio n appear s i n Dian a Christina' s memoir. There , sh e write s that , durin g a perio d i n solitar y con finement, sh e forgav e he r mother . Sh e reports : "Magi c happene d to m e t h e n . . . . I wa s completel y transformed . I ha d a feelin g o f complete harmon y an d blis s wit h th e whol e o f creation." 9 Simi larly, i n Kiss of the Spider Woman, Manue l Pui g associate s th e relinquishment o f separatenes s an d superiorit y wit h priso n life . T h e revolutionar y Valentin , wh o a t first despise s homosexual s and consider s persona l relationship s inferio r t o th e revolutionar y cause, come s t o embrac e a fuller visio n o f life throug h hi s lov e fo r his cellmate , Molina. 10 T h e acceptanc e o f equalit y with other s i s also linke d t o impris onment, death , an d persona l transformatio n i n Graha m Greene' s novel The Power and the Glory. Greene's pries t protagonist , travel ing incognit o i n Mexic o durin g a n er a o f religiou s persecution , i s thrown int o jai l fo r bootleggin g whe n h e trie s t o bu y win e fo r Mass. Whil e i n jail , h e tell s th e othe r prisoner s tha t h e i s a pries t and full y expect s them t o betra y him t o the authorities . W h e n on e of th e prisoner s declare s roughly , "Nobod y . . . her e want s thei r blood money, " the priest is "touched b y an extraordinar y affection . H e [is ] jus t on e crimina l amon g a her d o f criminals " an d ha s " a sense o f companionshi p whic h h e ha d neve r receive d i n th e ol d days when piou s peopl e cam e kissin g his blac k cotton glove. " n T h e priest , wh o ha d previousl y hel d himsel f abov e an d apar t from others , whil e the y "kisse d hi s blac k cotto n glove, " no w ac cepts hi s commonalit y wit h them—a s "jus t on e crimina l amon g a herd o f criminals. " S o stron g i s his sens e o f fellowshi p tha t i n th e morning, whe n n o on e betray s him , "[i] n a n od d wa y h e [feels ] abandoned becaus e the y hav e show n n o sig n o f recognition." 12 T h e guilt-ridde n pries t come s t o se e th e nigh t i n priso n a s a turning poin t i n hi s life : "I t wa s th e oddes t thin g tha t eve r sinc e that ho t an d crowde d nigh t i n th e cel l he ha d passe d int o a regio n of abandonment—almos t a s i f h e ha d die d ther e . . . an d no w wandered i n a kind o f limbo." 13

To Die and Become

35

Since priso n i s ofte n imagine d a s a matri x o f spiritua l rebirth , it shoul d no t surpris e u s tha t som e peopl e aspir e t o experienc e imprisonment, embracin g th e opportunit y joyfully whe n i t arrives . Thus, Russia n politica l prisone r Ver a Figne r describe s th e cal m and radianc e o f th e prisone r wh o realize s tha t th e momen t o f he r test ha s come. 14 An d Jawaharlal Nehr u write s o f his wife Kamala' s arrest i n 1931 : " I wa s pleased , fo r sh e ha d s o longe d t o follo w many o f he r comrade s t o prison." 15 I n th e contemporar y Unite d States, stree t youth s ofte n wan t t o g o t o priso n t o prov e thei r toughness. Fo r the same reason, som e o f them prefe r a prison suc h as Attica o r Statevill e t o a "softer" facility. 16 A particularly interestin g exampl e o f priso n a s a rite o f passag e appears i n John Edga r Wideman' s nonfictiona l book , Brothers and Keepers}1 Wideman , a professor an d successfu l author , set s ou t t o understand th e divergenc e betwee n hi s fat e an d th e fat e o f hi s brother Robby , wh o i s servin g a lif e ter m fo r felon y murder . Toward th e en d o f his book, Wideman comment s o n th e prisoner' s grace—a grac e h e attribute s t o hi s brother' s sufferin g behin d th e walls: In prison Robby had achieved an inner calm, a degree of self-suffi ciency and self-reliance neve r apparent when he was running the streets. I didn't know many people, inside or out, who carried themselves the way he did now. Like my mother, he'd grown accustomed to what was unbearable, had named it, tamed it. He'd fallen, but he'd found the strength to rise again. Inch by inch, hand over hand, he'd pulled himself up on a vine he'd never known was there, a vine still invisible to me. . .. T o discover the source of my brother's strength I found mysel f comparing what I'd accomplished outside the walls with what he'd managed inside. The compariso n made me uncomfortable.18 Here, th e successfu l civilia n feel s threatene d b y what h e perceive s to be the prisoner's achievement. T he vine , which Wideman imag ines hi s convict-brothe r climbing , i s a symbo l o f Christianity ; specifically, i n th e Gospe l o f John, th e vin e become s a metapho r for Christ. 19 Insofar a s i t i s perceive d a s a rit e o f passage , incarceratio n confers a statu s o n thos e wh o experienc e it . Imprisonmen t i s thought t o affor d a special insight , attainabl e onl y t o th e initiated .

36

To Die and Become

Thus, Irin a Ratushinskaya , th e poe t an d politica l activis t release d from a Sovie t priso n i n th e autum n o f 1986 , report s tha t priso n taught he r t o "discriminat e amon g people' s souls. " Sh e adds : " I have see n th e revers e sid e o f humanity." 20 He r remar k evoke s th e myth o f Orpheus, whos e ordea l i s not a trial o f strength, requirin g an effor t o f will , bu t rathe r a n ac t o f submission , a descen t int o a fearful realm , a n exposur e o f self to th e darkness. 21 T h e affiliatio n betwee n incarceratio n an d deat h stem s in part fro m the significanc e o f imprisonmen t a s a withdrawal fro m lif e i n th e world. Becaus e it is imagined a s an inward movement , a n entranc e into a grea t container , bein g incarcerate d ma y unconsciousl y sig nify a n entr y int o th e mother' s womb , which , i n turn , implie s th e possibility of being reborn. 22 T h e dialectica l relationshi p betwee n deat h an d rebirt h ha s reli gious origin s a s well . I t i s a salien t them e o f th e Ol d Testament , expressed especiall y i n th e book s o f Job an d Psalms, tha t on e must b e humble d throug h sufferin g i n orde r t o appreciat e one' s dependence o n God . Christianit y teache s tha t sufferin g enable s man t o pu t awa y th e corruptio n o f th e fles h an d t o embrac e th e Kingdom o f Heaven. 23 Moreover , th e central symbo l of Christian ity, the Cross , mean s no t onl y death , bu t als o resurrection . From a psychoanalyti c perspective , th e connectio n betwee n imprisonment an d rebirt h derive s from th e universa l sens e of guil t and th e consequent feelin g tha t on e deserve s to be punished. Sinc e all person s fai l t o liv e u p t o th e requirement s o f th e superego , everyone experience s guilt . Lik e anxiety , guil t feeling s creat e a tension tha t crave s release . T h e primar y mean s o f alleviatin g thi s tension, thi s burde n o f guilt , i s throug h punishment . Thus , al l people experience , t o som e degree , a need t o b e punished—not a s a goo d i n itself , bu t rathe r a s a lesse r evil , a mean s t o th e goa l o f absolution. Thi s largel y unconsciou s belie f tha t throug h sufferin g one ca n placat e a threatening supereg o i s a very archai c one. 24 Clear documentatio n o f thi s psychologica l dynami c i n th e prison contex t i s har d t o obtain ; mos t prisoner s eithe r d o no t consciously fee l guil t o r d o no t writ e abou t thes e feelings . A n

To Die and Become

37

exception i s th e Communis t Part y membe r an d histor y professo r Eugenia Ginzburg , wh o spen t eightee n years in Sovie t prisons an d camps durin g th e Stalinis t era . Since , prio r t o he r incarceration , she ha d bee n a n arden t Bolshevik , sh e fel t responsibl e fo r th e Party's murde r an d imprisonmen t o f he r fello w citizens , eve n though sh e ha d no t take n par t i n suc h action s directly . "Mea culpa," she writes , "an d i t occur s t o m e mor e an d mor e frequently that eve n eightee n year s o f hel l o n eart h i s insufficien t expiatio n for th e guilt." 25 In th e precedin g chapter s I hav e attempte d t o delineat e image s o f prison a s a plac e bette r tha n th e outsid e world . T h e chapte r tha t follows, b y contrast , set s fort h a view o f imprisonmen t a s merel y no wors e tha n lif e i n freedom. T h e reade r ma y questio n jus t ho w positive suc h a perspectiv e is . Bu t compare d wit h th e commo n perception o f penal confinemen t a s horrific, th e notio n tha t priso n is the sam e a s any other plac e ca n b e considere d positive .

CHAPTER 4 Flowers Are Like Any

Flowers:

Prison

As

a

Place

Other

Lately, IVe seen . .. [m y prison] as an English garden because of the flowers that gro w in abundanc e alon g the walks... . Flowers ar e flowers. Walls and fence s hav e no real powe r ove r them. —Busby Crockett, "The Prison Trip" You are still in jail, in the hole or out of the hole. You are in jail in the street or behind bars. It is the same thing. —Claude Brown and Arthur Dunmeyer, "A Way of Life in the Ghetto" While servin g time o n deat h row , Edga r Smit h wa s ofte n aske d t o explain why he rea d an d mad e othe r effort s t o improv e himself . I n his priso n memoir , h e answer s thi s questio n a s follows : "Ther e i s perhaps nothin g mor e frightenin g t o m e tha n th e prospec t o f finding mysel f stuc k fo r th e res t o f m y lif e i n som e drear y smal l town, workin g i n som e ga s statio n o r hardwar e stor e fo r sixt y dollars a week. That would be going from one prison to another, from a cell to a cage, and I have had enough of prisons and cages" 1 Fo r nonprisoners, th e definin g characteristi c o f priso n i s th e depriva tion o f liberty . Bu t th e protea n characte r o f th e concep t liberty permits Smit h t o equat e bein g behin d iro n bar s wit h bein g stuc k in a smal l town , workin g a t a gasolin e statio n fo r sixt y dollar s a week. I n equatin g th e tw o situations , Smit h ma y b e drawin g o n either th e positiv e o r negativ e sens e o f liberty . O n th e on e hand , he ma y b e viewin g hi s imagine d lif e i n a drear y smal l tow n a s prisonlike becaus e h e believe s tha t other s hav e prevente d hi m from obtainin g th e educatio n an d financial resource s t o leave . This reasonin g woul d plac e hi s remar k withi n th e classica l libera l

38

Flowers Are Flowers

39

understanding o f freedom , tha t is , negativ e liberty , o r freedom from constraint . O n th e othe r hand , h e ma y b e drawin g thi s equation becaus e libert y t o hi m mean s no t merel y th e absenc e o f coercion bu t als o th e capacit y fo r self-realization . I n th e latte r case, hi s observatio n woul d dra w upo n th e concep t o f positiv e liberty bes t exemplifie d i n th e work s o f T . H . Gree n an d Jea n Jacques Rousseau. 2 I bega n wit h a n exampl e o f someon e wh o imagine s priso n an d the worl d outsid e (o r som e part s o f it ) t o b e equall y bad , equall y unfree. Thi s sam e them e ofte n appear s i n prisoners ' reflection s o n the similarit y betwee n thei r pligh t an d tha t o f th e guards . Note , for instance , ho w forme r prisone r Thoma s Flyn n empathicall y describes th e constraine d lif e o f a priso n guar d nickname d "Ab surdo": "Absurd o hasn' t ha d muc h freedom , n o tim e t o explore , just school , th e service , marriage , children , an d th e first govern ment jo b tha t require d nothin g mor e tha n a high schoo l diploma . Two week s of f a year, thre e afte r anothe r five o n th e job , Absurd o knows abou t bein g institutionalized, h e know s abou t time." 3 Albie Sachs , a prisone r i n Sout h Africa , als o recognize s a n important similarit y betwee n hi s situatio n an d tha t o f th e guar d who repeatedl y seek s hi m out : "I t occur s t o m e tha t th e statio n commander ma y b e almos t a s lonel y fo r compan y a s I am." 4 And Charle s Colson , i n Born Again, describe s hi s fello w inmate' s "conclusion . .. tha t som e o f th e guard s seeme d mor e imprisone d than th e inmate s themselves." 5 Finally , a n anonymou s prisone r states: "Yo u hav e t o realiz e tha t th e guard s ar e ther e doin g tim e just lik e the inmates. " H e elaborate s wit h thi s vignette : I remember asking a guard how long he had been in Sandstone . "Twelve years." "Do you think that you will be doing all your TIME [sic] here? " "No, I'll finish up in Leavenworth." It blew my mind. He was talking about the next twelve years, which he has to serve in order to be eligible for retirement. I thought to myself — Wow, I am going home in a year, and this guy has twelve more years of this stuff." 6 In thes e example s i t i s unclea r whethe r th e guard s perceiv e themselves a s unfree. Colson' s observation , i n particular , seem s t o

40 Flowers

Are Flowers

draw upon a concept o f freedom a s the absenc e o f even unperceived restraints o n behavior . Thi s sens e o f th e wor d liberty implie s th e possibility o f fals e consciousness , o f bein g unfre e whil e thinkin g one i s free. Anothe r inmate , Julia n Beck , make s hi s analog y be tween priso n an d th e worl d outsid e clearl y dependen t o n thi s sense o f th e word freedom: " I ofte n thin k tha t i f the peopl e o n th e street would realiz e tha t th e worl d w e live in i s a prison, they' d d o more yellin g an d railin g too. T he sad , perhaps tragic , thin g i s tha t people d o not realiz e they'r e no t free." 7 This concep t o f fals e consciousnes s i s als o expresse d i n a pas sage b y th e nineteenth-centur y revolutionar y Ver a Figner . Soo n after learnin g tha t sh e wil l b e release d i n twent y months , Figne r writes th e followin g indictmen t o f th e character s i n Chekhov' s play The Three Sisters: "The Three Sisters" aimlessly wander through life, expecting salvation from moving to Moscow. But it is within himself that man bears corroding melancholy, or the buoyant spirit of creative life; and the "sisters" will wither as fruitlessly in Moscow, as they withered in the provinces.... If such was life, then what difference did it make whether one languished in prison or out of it? One would simply come out from behind the walls of the Fortress to find himself in a larger prison.8 To thi s arden t activist , a dul l an d langui d life , whic h sh e fearfull y anticipates finding outsid e prison , i s not wort h living . I n compar ing a n apatheti c lif e i n freedom t o a larger priso n she , lik e Edga r Smith, draw s upo n a concept o f positiv e liberty—no t th e absenc e of coercion, bu t th e ful l realizatio n o f one's potential . If on e wa y o f perceivin g priso n a s a plac e lik e an y othe r i s t o emphasize th e coerciv e force s i n th e outsid e world , anothe r i s t o affirm th e capacit y t o transcen d one' s physica l environment , t o b e free eve n i n prison . T h e imperviousnes s o f one' s essentia l sel f t o incarceration come s throug h i n th e followin g passag e from War and Peace. T h e scen e occur s whe n th e Frenc h ar e holdin g Pierr e as a prisoner-of-war . "Ha-ha-ha!" laughed Pierre. And he said aloud to himself: "Th e soldier did not let me pass. They took me and shut me up. They hold me captive. What, me? Me? My immortal soul? Ha-ha-ha ! Ha-ha-ha! . . ." an d he laughed till tears started to his eyes. .. .

Flowers Are Flowers

41

Pierre glanced up at the sky and the twinkling stars in its faraway depths. "And all that is me, all that is within me, and it is all I!" thought Pierre. "And they caught all that and put it in a shed boarded up with planks!" He smiled, and went and lay down to sleep beside his companions. 9 Pierre i s a character i n a work o f fiction, bu t hi s reflections resem ble thos e o f Tamsin Fitzgerald , th e youn g woma n imprisone d fo r hijacking a plane. Sh e write s tha t ther e ar e tw o kind s o f freedom : the "outer " an d th e "inner. " Consequently , on e ca n "b e i n priso n and ye t b e free. " I t i s futile an d absurd , sh e concludes , t o imagin e that on e ca n tak e awa y a person's freedom. 10 A simila r observatio n occur s i n Rober t Bolt' s play , A Man for All Seasons. W h e n Thoma s Mor e i s imprisoned i n th e Towe r an d his family come s t o visit him, th e followin g dialogu e ensues : ROPER: Thi s is an awful place ! MORE: Excep t it's keeping me from you, my dears, it's not so bad. T h e n h e adds , i n a mil d tone , on e fancies , an d wit h a twinkl e i n his eye : Remarkably like any other place. 11 For More , wh o ha d wante d t o b e a monk , priso n an d lif e i n freedom wer e essentiall y th e same , becaus e neithe r wa s th e King dom o f God . Besides , a s a scholar, h e probabl y believe d i t was th e life o f the mind , th e inne r life , tha t mattered . One explanatio n fo r th e imag e o f priso n a s a plac e lik e an y othe r place i s tha t thi s perceptio n constitute s a "sou r grapes " reaction : the disparagemen t o f wha t on e canno t have . Thi s theor y coul d explain no t onl y remark s mad e b y prisoner s whil e the y ar e con fined—as a means of easing the trauma o f incarceration—but als o observations mad e b y ex-prisoners , afte r th e fact—a s a wa y o f justifying th e wasted years . From a psychoanalyti c poin t o f view , th e notio n tha t th e "grapes ar e sou r anyway"—tha t civilian s to o ar e entrapped , o r that on e ca n b e freer i n priso n becaus e th e rea l lif e i s th e lif e o f the mind—represent s th e us e o f a primitiv e defens e mechanism : denial. I n denial , th e eg o avoid s becomin g awar e o f a painfu l

42

Flowers Are Flowers

aspect o f realit y b y creatin g a fantasy tha t obliterate s th e unpleas ant fact. 12 Thus , th e reasonin g would go , " I am not confined ; I a m free," o r alternatively , " I ma y b e confined , bu t nonprisoner s ar e also incarcerated i n a different way " Doubtless ther e i s som e trut h i n thi s theory . A s a complet e explanation o f thi s positiv e image , however , i t i s inadequate . T h e sour-grapes theor y doe s no t explain , fo r example , th e numerou s instances o f ex-prisoner s committin g crime s i n orde r t o retur n to prison . Recidivism , o f course , ha s man y dimensions , bu t on e explanation ma y be th e positiv e image s o f prison I have identified . Another approac h t o explainin g th e imag e o f priso n a s a plac e like an y othe r lie s i n recognizin g tha t peopl e car e no t onl y abou t negative liberty , o r freedo m from constraints , bu t als o abou t posi tive liberty , o r th e capacit y for self-master y an d self-realization . A s Isaiah Berli n discusse s i n hi s classi c essay , throughou t histor y i t has prove d impossibl e t o limi t th e concep t liberty t o it s Wester n sense o f "a n are a withi n whic h th e s u b j e c t . . . i s o r shoul d b e lef t to d o wha t h e i s abl e t o d o o r be , withou t interferenc e b y othe r persons." 13 Rather , th e positive , o r idealist , notio n o f libert y ha s persisted—reflecting th e idea that a person ma y be divided agains t himself, o r ma y suffe r from fals e consciousness . W e hav e see n numerous instance s o f thi s perspectiv e o n libert y i n th e prisoners ' writings. Still anothe r sourc e o f th e ide a tha t imprisonmen t represent s a difference onl y in degree from norma l lif e lies in the inevitable ga p between man' s effort s t o conceptualiz e realit y an d th e complex , differentiated natur e o f realit y itself . Dostoevsk y make s thi s poin t in his prison memoir, Notes from a Dead House: "Reality is infinitel y varied compare d wit h eve n th e subtles t working s o f abstrac t thought an d doe s not tolerat e broad , clear-cu t distinctions . Realit y strives fo r infinit e graduation . W e to o ha d a life o f ou r own , poo r though i t may hav e been . B y this I mea n no t th e outward , bu t th e inner life." 14 Erica Wallac h provide s anothe r commentar y o n th e sam e theme in her memoir o f her five years in Sovie t prisons an d camps . She describe s a dialogue with a friend i n a camp i n Vorkuta, a t th e

Flowers Are Flowers

43

beginning o f thei r workin g day . A s the y watc h thei r black-cla d fellow-prisoners marc h ahea d o f the m throug h th e snow , th e tw o women remar k o n wha t a movin g scen e i t woul d mak e i n a film . Wallach an d he r frien d agre e tha t anyon e watchin g th e film woul d feel terribl y sorr y fo r them , wherea s they , th e prisoners , woul d b e "laughing an d jokin g o r jus t thinkin g abou t takin g th e nex t step , protecting . . . [their ] faces , keepin g th e circulatio n going." 15 Wal lach goe s o n t o tel l he r frien d tha t whe n sh e rea d Dostoevsky' s description o f th e condition s h e live d i n a s a prisoner , sh e ha d thought sh e coul d neve r stan d it . Ye t ther e sh e is , i n condition s she deem s muc h wors e tha n thos e o f Dostoevsky' s time , toleratin g and eve n joking abou t them. 16 In th e Introduction , I quote d anothe r remarkabl e passag e fro m this memoir— a passag e showin g th e contras t betwee n th e stereo typed vie w o f imprisonmen t an d th e prisoners ' joyou s respons e t o Siberia's grea t beauty . Beauty , I suggested , i s a positiv e aspec t o f life tha t i s unaffecte d b y pena l confinement . An d her e I ma y expand th e poin t t o summariz e on e thesi s o f thi s book—tha t happiness itsel f bear s n o necessar y correlatio n t o eithe r confine ment o r freedom .

CHAPTER 5 Methodological Issues

Before considerin g th e implication s o f th e foregoin g analysi s fo r criminal law , it is important t o discus s tw o questions : (i ) give n th e elusive relationshipHbetwee n tex t an d meaning , ho w ca n w e b e sure that th e interpretation s presente d her e ar e legitimate? an d (2 ) are th e author s whos e work s w e hav e examine d representative — either o f criminals o r o f people generally ? T H E PROBLEMATI C RELATIONSHI P BETWEE N T E X T AN D M E A N I N G

There is , o f course , som e ris k i n assumin g tha t a writer mean s what h e say s i n an y straightforwar d sense . W h e n h e writes , fo r example, "Thos e gates , man , they'r e inviting, " o r "[H]er e on e i s a thousand league s abov e th e pettinesse s an d wickednesse s whic h occupy u s dow n there, " ther e i s alway s th e possibilit y tha t th e writer i s speakin g ironically , o r merel y expressin g a nostalgia tha t would neve r lea d t o action. 1 Without denyin g tha t iron y an d nostalgi a ma y partl y underli e the positiv e image s delineate d above , I submi t tha t thes e image s represent somethin g mor e significan t tha n suc h explanation s would suggest . Severa l o f th e priso n memoirist s quote d i n th e preceding page s appea r t o hav e committe d crimes , o r bungle d their escapes , i n orde r t o g o t o prison . I hav e alread y referre d t o this patter n i n th e cas e o f Blake, who realize d h e wanted t o retur n to priso n afte r hi s failur e t o hol d u p th e gourme t foo d counter , and late r tha t da y wa s arreste d outsid e a medica l buildin g h e ha d attempted t o burglarize . Similarly, Malcol m Bral y report s severa l incident s whic h sug gest tha t a yearnin g fo r priso n ma y hav e motivate d hi s crimina l acts. In on e suc h incident, h e was walking alon g the street , search -

44

Methodological Issues

45

ing fo r a place t o burglarize , whe n wha t h e call s "hi s voice" spok e to him , saying : "Whe n you'r e bac k i n Quentin , you'l l hav e tim e to paint." 2 Braly's intuition warne d hi m anothe r tim e just afte r h e commit ted a burglar y wit h hi s friend George . H e an d Georg e ha d gon e through a suit e o f medica l an d denta l offices , whic h the y lef t carrying a stole n briefcas e filled wit h money , drugs , an d denta l gold. Onc e ou t o n th e street , Bral y becam e anxiou s because , i n their dirty , unshave n state , the y wer e conspicuou s i n th e colleg e town. Bral y urge d Georg e t o hid e wit h hi m somewher e unti l morning, whe n i t woul d b e saf e t o travel , bu t Georg e insiste d o n going home . O n thei r wa y t o th e edg e o f town , Georg e spotte d an all-nigh t coffe e shop . Bral y recount s wha t happene d the n a s follows: George said, "Let's get some coffee. It'l l pick us up." "It's not a good idea." "I don't care if I have to do ten years in San Quentin, I want a cup of coffee. " That should have told me what forces were at work here, but I didn't hear precisely. I said, "Okay, but maybe we should leave the briefcase outside. " George looked at me sharply. "What's the matter with you?" My intuition was screaming, but I was so easily led I simply followed him into the shop and we ordered coffe e an d bearclaws. Soon afte r the y lef t th e coffe e shop , polic e officer s stoppe d fo r their ow n brea k a t th e sam e sho p an d hear d tha t "tw o stranger s had jus t bee n ther e wit h a n expensiv e briefcase. " Shortl y after ward, the y picke d u p Georg e an d Braly . Considerin g thes e kind s of "mistakes " i t i s n o wonde r that , a s Bral y late r observes , h e "served mor e tim e fo r a handful o f inept burglarie s tha n mos t me n would hav e serve d fo r killin g a police officer." 3 These example s ar e no t atypical ; priso n memoir s ar e replet e with instance s o f criminal s deliberatel y actin g i n a way tha t lead s to thei r arres t an d incarceration. 4 Ofte n i t i s apparent , t o th e criminals themselve s o r t o fello w inmates , tha t the y no t onl y wanted t o b e caugh t afte r committin g th e crime , bu t als o commit -

46

Methodological Issues

ted th e crim e i n orde r t o b e caught . Fo r example , Thoma s Flynn , author o f Tales for My Brothers' Keepers, describe s hi s friend Al' s illfated interlud e i n freedom: "A s tim e passe d h e continue d t o find too subtl e th e worl d h e ha d yearned t o join when withi n th e walls . Wearied b y repeated gaffes , judgin g himsel f unfi t fo r freedom, h e committed a smal l an d forlornl y unsuccessfu l burglar y an d wa s returned inside." 5 O r again , th e Britis h woma n Josi e O'Dwyer , unsure o f how t o cop e with lif e outside , describe s hersel f a s "actu ally . . . breakin g an d enterin g wit h th e ful l intentio n o f gettin g . . . [herself ] nicked." 6 Example s suc h a s thes e serv e t o confir m the rea l feelin g behin d th e textua l passages . T H E PROBLE M O F REPRESENTATIVENES S

We tur n no w t o th e secon d questio n raise d above : whethe r th e writers o f thes e text s ar e representativ e o f prisoner s i n general . Most o f the prisoner s cite d her e ar e gifte d an d articulate . Many o f them ar e no t commo n criminal s bu t rathe r politica l prisoners. 7 Some, suc h a s Tolstoy , Stendhal , an d Graha m Greene , di d no t experience incarceration . Moreover , man y o f th e work s quote d were writte n i n othe r culture s an d eras . Wha t relevanc e ca n thes e writings hav e for pena l policy or crimina l la w in twentieth-centur y America? Impressionisti c evidenc e o n thi s poin t come s from Ken neth Lamott , autho r o f Chronicles of San Quentin an d a teache r a t that prison . I n reviewin g Braly' s book , False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons, Lamott comment s o n th e typicalit y of Braly's attraction t o imprisonment: "Ou r prison s ar e full o f me n who (whateve r the y ma y tel l th e parol e board ) ar e i n fac t i n headlong flight from th e uncertaintie s an d outrigh t terrors — women an d jobs , fo r instance—o f lif e outside . I'v e listene d t o dozens o f the m and , mutatis mutandis, Braly' s stor y is , u p t o a point, thei r story." 8 Lamott's impression s ar e supporte d b y clinica l findings sug gesting tha t certai n kind s o f criminal s typicall y exhibi t a personal ity syndrom e suc h tha t on e woul d expec t the m t o find imprison ment gratifying . I a m referrin g agai n t o th e classi c study , Roots of Crime, b y Fran z Alexande r an d Willia m Healy . Base d o n seve n

Methodological Issues

47

detailed cas e studie s o f youn g criminals , al l bu t on e o f the m men, th e boo k present s th e result s o f a n unusua l enterprise : th e individual psychoanalyti c treatmen t o f crimina l offenders . T h e study doe s no t clai m t o represen t a scientific sampl e o f adolescen t offenders; rather , th e author s deliberatel y exclude d mildl y psy chotic peopl e a s wel l a s thos e exhibitin g pronounce d neuroti c o r psychotic symptoms . The y als o selecte d offender s whos e crimina l behavior seeme d t o flow from inne r conflicts , rathe r tha n externa l circumstances. Mos t o f th e peopl e the y studie d wer e habitua l thieves. What i s mos t fascinatin g fo r ou r purpose s i s th e finding tha t chronic thieve s exhibi t a regressiv e longin g t o b e i n a passive , dependent state— a longin g tha t i s inadmissible t o thei r consciou s minds. A s I mentione d earlier , th e ac t o f stealin g function s a s a compromis e formation , simultaneousl y gratifyin g th e passiv e longings an d defendin g agains t them . We woul d expec t tha t individual s wit h th e characteristic s Alex ander an d Heal y describ e woul d unconsciousl y enjo y bein g incar cerated. And , indeed , t o th e exten t tha t thei r stud y treat s thi s topic, i t bear s ou t thes e expectations. 9 I therefor e conclud e tha t chronic thieves , a t leas t thos e wh o stea l becaus e o f interna l con flicts an d no t externa l forces , ar e particularl y likel y t o experienc e imprisonment a s gratifying. 10 In additio n t o impressionisti c an d clinica l evidence , ther e i s a t least on e othe r reaso n t o believ e tha t th e writer s considere d her e represent man y people beside s themselves . I n th e preceding pages , I hav e adduce d positiv e image s from a wide spectru m o f times an d places—tsarist Russi a an d 1950 s Florida , Elizabetha n Englan d and modern-da y Sout h Africa , exemplar y federa l penitentiarie s and notoriou s stat e prisons . T h a t w e find th e sam e theme s recur ring acros s suc h a rang e o f culture s an d institutiona l setting s suggests that the positive meanings o f incarceration d o not depen d on particula r condition s bu t rathe r expres s somethin g deep-seate d about th e wa y human being s experienc e th e world .

CHAPTER 6 Positive Images

of

Prison and

Theories

of Punishment

This study , which thu s fa r ha s focuse d o n th e prisoner' s subjectiv e experience o f imprisonment , wil l no w underg o a shift o f perspec tive. I t endeavor s t o explor e som e implication s o f th e precedin g analysis fo r th e thre e traditiona l theorie s o f punishment : deter rence, retribution , an d rehabilitation. 1 Thes e theories , whic h ar e really justifications fo r punishment , ar e necessaril y advance d fro m the viewpoint o f society rather tha n th e prisoner. 2 D E T E R R E N C E T H E O R I E S AN D TH E P O S I T I V E IMAGE S

Deterrence theorie s ar e base d o n th e ide a tha t fea r o f a threat ened punishmen t ma y dissuade a person fro m committin g a crime . Legal theorist s customaril y distinguis h betwee n specifi c deter rence, whic h i s th e effec t o f a punishmen t o n th e perso n bein g punished, an d genera l deterrence , whic h refer s t o th e effec t o f a punishment o n everyon e else. 3 T h e positiv e meaning s o f incarceratio n bea r o n bot h type s o f prevention, no t merely , a s it migh t see m a t first blush , o n specifi c deterrence. I f th e favorabl e image s o f pena l confinemen t wer e solely th e resul t o f institutionalization , the n w e migh t infe r tha t the positiv e meaning s applie d onl y t o individual s wh o ha d pre viously bee n incarcerated. 4 Bu t w e hav e n o reaso n t o tak e fo r granted tha t thi s i s th e case . Rather , peopl e wit h a longin g t o perceive themselve s i n a cared-for, controlle d situatio n migh t rec ognize th e affinit y betwee n thei r need s an d incarceratio n prio r t o experiencing prison . Fo r example , befor e h e ha d an y experience i n prison, Malcol m Bral y attempte d t o joi n th e navy . Announcin g his decisio n t o hi s favorit e teacher , h e explained : " I nee d t o b e somewhere wher e I a m mad e t o d o things." 5 H e wa s consciousl y 48

Positive Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment 4

9

looking fo r a place wher e h e woul d b e controlled . I t make s sense , then, t o assum e tha t th e attractio n t o priso n migh t appl y bot h t o those wh o hav e bee n penall y confine d an d t o thos e wh o hav e not . In thos e individual s fo r who m th e attractio n t o priso n override s the aversio n t o it , th e ris k o f incarceratio n i s no t a deterrent , bu t an incentive, t o engag e i n crimina l acts . This i s no t t o sa y tha t th e unconsciou s yearnin g fo r priso n i s the only motive fo r antisocia l behavior , eve n i n thos e individual s for who m i t i s a motive . T h a t is , eve n fo r chroni c thieves — people with a personality typ e that may incline the m t o find priso n gratifying—we ca n isolat e severa l othe r reason s fo r stealing . I n some cases , theft ha s com e t o hav e a masturbatory meanin g an d i s associated wit h intens e sexua l excitement. 6 Stealin g ma y als o sig nify a n identificatio n wit h a belove d crimina l parent , o r reveng e against a parent wh o i s hated. 7 Give n th e multidetermine d natur e of an y crimina l act , i t i s impossible t o sa y precisely t o wha t exten t that ac t is caused b y the desir e t o g o t o prison . Wha t w e can say is this: fo r th e subgrou p o f criminals wh o confor m t o m y model , th e risk of imprisonment constitute s on e incentiv e t o commi t crimes . T h e possibilit y tha t incarceratio n migh t functio n a s a motive t o commit crime s ha s receive d littl e attentio n from moder n lega l scholars. 8 Although th e deterrent theor y of punishment ha s gener ated a large , conflictin g bod y o f literature , th e controvers y ha s centered o n whethe r criminal s ar e rationa l i n th e sens e tha t the y tend t o engag e i n cost/benefi t analysis . Scholar s hav e assume d that if criminals ar e rational, an d henc e capabl e o f being dissuade d by th e threa t o f a sanction , the y wil l b e dissuade d b y imprison ment. M y analysi s make s plai n tha t th e orthodo x economist s an d others who adop t a choice-analysis paradig m ar e confoundin g tw o questions: (1 ) ar e criminal s deterrabl e a t all ? an d (2 ) whic h mea sures d o criminal s regar d a s punitive? 9 Nothin g i n m y stud y points t o a finding tha t criminal s ar e undeterrable . M y analysi s does sugges t th e nee d t o adop t a mor e comple x vie w o f crimina l motivation, a vie w tha t take s int o accoun t th e existenc e o f inne r conflict an d o f prison's sometime s poten t allure . Could thi s allure be diminishe d i f prisons were made eve n mor e

50 Positive

Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment

horrible tha n the y alread y are? A few reader s o f earlier versions o f my work hav e draw n suc h a n inference . Bu t thi s idea i s based o n a misunderstanding o f m y findings. Fo r i t i s not th e objectively posi tive characte r o f priso n tha t produce s th e positiv e image s deline ated above . As we hav e seen , James Blak e remembere d priso n a s a peaceful plac e eve n thoug h h e ha d painfull y listene d t o a gan g rape on e nigh t i n hi s cell . Similarly , Brenda n Beha n experience d prison i n a predominantl y favorabl e wa y althoug h hi s chum s ha d to serv e a s hi s bodyguards , an d a fello w inmat e ha d hi s buttock s razored unti l the y were river s o f blood , a s a punishment fo r steal ing cigarette butts . T he image s of prison a s an attractiv e abod e ar e by n o mean s unmediate d reflection s o f externa l circumstances . Rather, ther e i s a n affinit y betwee n prison s an d previou s lov e objects, o r curren t psychologica l needs , an d tha t partia l resem blance lead s th e individua l t o perceiv e priso n i n a positive light . RETRIBUTIVIST T H E O R I E S AN D TH E P O S I T I V E IMAGE S

T h e retributivis t theor y o f punishmen t depend s upo n th e ide a that a tribute, o r price , mus t b e pai d t o vindicat e th e la w (genera l retribution) o r aveng e th e victim (specia l retribution). 10 Thi s vie w of what justifie s societ y in punishin g ca n b e characterize d a s back ward-looking i n tha t i t look s bac k towar d th e wrongfu l ac t rathe r than forwar d towar d th e consequence s o f th e punishment. 11 I n H . L . A. Hart's words, th e "applicatio n t o th e offende r o f th e pai n of punishment i s itself a thing o f value." 12 How d o ou r findings o n th e positiv e image s o f priso n bea r o n retributivist theories ? O n th e on e hand , th e precedin g analysi s undermines an y formulation o f retributivist theor y which require s that th e offende r himsel f experienc e priso n a s a privation, evil , o r pain. 13 Wher e th e prisone r says , wit h Solzhenitsyn , "Than k you , prison, fo r havin g bee n i n m y life, " o r wit h Sa n Quenti n inmat e Fernando Jackson , "I' m almos t read y t o than k the m fo r sendin g me t o prison," 14 incarceratio n ma y b e realizin g othe r purposes , but i t is not effectin g th e goa l o f retribution i n thi s narrow sense . On th e othe r hand , othe r version s o f retribution theor y ma y b e

Positive Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment 5 compatible wit h th e positiv e meaning s o f imprisonment . Emil e Durkheim, fo r example , maintaine d tha t th e primar y purpos e o f punishment wa s neithe r intimidatio n no r cur e bu t rathe r th e maintenance o f socia l cohesio n i n th e civilia n population . Socia l solidarity, h e argued , woul d brea k dow n i f a violatio n o f th e common conscienc e wer e no t me t wit h a compensatory emotiona l reaction. Specifically , th e commo n moralit y mus t b e affirme d b y expressing th e extrem e repulsio n whic h th e crim e inspire s b y inflicting sufferin g upo n th e criminal. 15 From thi s perspective , i t doe s no t matte r wha t meaning s incar ceration ha s fo r th e inmates , s o lon g a s th e civilia n populatio n believes tha t th e criminal s ar e sufferin g i n proportio n t o thei r crimes. 16 Thi s bring s u s bac k t o th e questio n whethe r th e positiv e images o f priso n necessaril y appl y exclusively , o r wit h specia l force, t o individual s wh o hav e alread y bee n incarcerated . I n th e discussion abov e w e answere d thi s questio n i n th e negative . I t remains t o b e added , however , tha t perhap s a disproportionat e number o f peopl e wh o ar e orall y fixated o r ten d t o regres s t o th e oral level are t o b e found i n prison . I f this is true, the n th e positiv e meanings o f incarceratio n ma y b e mor e eviden t t o inmate s tha n to civilian s wh o hav e neve r bee n incarcerated . Tha t woul d mea n that th e Durkheimia n functio n o f incarceratio n coul d b e fulfille d even thoug h som e peopl e wer e committin g crime s t o g o t o prison—provided th e genera l publi c di d no t lear n o f th e affirma tive meaning s tha t pena l confinemen t ha d fo r th e inmates . REHABILITATIVE T H E O R I E S AN D TH E P O S I T I V E IMAGE S

Like deterrenc e theory , rehabilitativ e theorie s view punishmen t not a s a n en d i n itself , bu t rathe r a s a means t o a beneficial result . While ther e ar e man y definition s o f th e rehabilitativ e ideal , it s core i s the notio n tha t th e sanction s o f th e crimina l la w shoul d b e used t o effec t a transformatio n i n th e offender , wit h th e two-fol d aim o f protectin g societ y an d o f enhancin g th e offender' s well being. 17 More tha n deterrenc e o r retribution , th e rehabilitativ e idea l

1

52 Positive

Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment

exhibits a consonanc e wit h th e affirmativ e meaning s o f incarcera tion tha t w e have examined . I t i s altogether fitting tha t thi s shoul d be so , fo r a positiv e visio n o f priso n i s embedde d i n th e origina l rehabilitative model , th e mode l espouse d b y man y priso n advo cates in th e lat e eighteent h an d earl y nineteenth centuries . Image s of prison a s a refuge from th e hurly-burly , a n academy , a matrix o f spiritual rebirth , eve n a nurturin g mother , al l pervad e th e earl y prison refor m literature . Thus , th e followin g passag e fro m Joh n Brewster's The Use of Solitude in Prisons portrays priso n a s a plac e of religiou s retreat : "I t ha s bee n recommended , bot h b y th e prac tice an d precep t o f holy men, i n al l ages, sometime s t o retir e from scenes o f publi c concourse , fo r th e purpos e o f communin g wit h our ow n hearts , an d meditatin g o n heaven." 18 I n it s purit y an d optimism, thi s passag e resonate s wit h th e word s spoke n b y Solz henitsyn's character , Alyoshka : "Rejoic e tha t yo u ar e i n prison . Here yo u ca n thin k o f your soul." 19 Consider als o th e followin g statement , b y nineteenth-centur y prison advocate s i n Pennsylvania , whic h present s a mental pictur e of th e priso n a s a n academ y an d a refuge : "I n wha t manne r ca n man b e placed , wher e th e word s o f th e gospe l woul d b e mor e impressive tha n i n thei r situatio n sittin g alon e . . .; nothin g t o distract thei r thoughts , o r diver t them , fro m th e truth s delivere d to them." 2 0 Her e w e se e th e ide a tha t book s carr y a heightene d emotional impac t whe n encountere d i n a priso n setting— a vie w that Malcol m X an d Eugeni a Ginzbur g woul d espous e later , from their perspectiv e a s inmates . A mor e elaborat e conceptio n o f th e priso n a s a refug e an d academy appear s i n th e followin g statemen t b y th e Inspector s o f the Western-Pennsylvania Penitentiar y i n thei r Annua l Repor t fo r i854: If hungry, he is fed; if naked, he is clothed; if destitute of the first rudiments of education, he is taught to read and write.. . . Shut out from a tumultuous world, and separated from those equally guilty with himself, he can indulge his remorse unseen, and find ample opportunity for reflection.. . . [H]e has books to read, and ink and paper to communicate with his friends a t stated periods ;

Positive Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment 5 and weekly he enjoys the privilege of hearing God's holy word expounded by a faithful an d zealous Christian minister . Thus provided, and anxiously cared for by the officers o f the prison, he is in a better condition than many beyond its walls guiltless of crime. 21 Among th e affirmativ e aspect s o f penal confinemen t mentione d here, th e imag e o f priso n a s a catalys t o f friendshi p betwee n prisoners i s significantl y absent . Man y o f th e earl y priso n advo cates, fearin g tha t prisoner s woul d corrup t eac h other , preache d and implemente d solitar y confinement. 22 T h e passag e quote d abov e implie s tha t th e prisoner' s earlie r existence i n freedo m ma y hav e bee n lackin g i n som e essential s o f life. Anothe r repor t fro m th e sam e perio d present s a n explicitl y negative pictur e o f th e typica l prisoner' s lif e i n th e worl d prio r t o entering th e penitentiary . Not e ho w thes e Pennsylvani a officials ' words reverberat e wit h James Blake' s vision o f the harrie d gnome s on Ne w Yor k streets , "scuttlin g an d scurryin g int o subway s lik e apprehensive Whit e Rabbits" : Let us look for a moment at the condition of the majority o f those who become subject to . . . [the prison's] regulation. We find them living a hurried an d thoughtless life of hourly excitement, and shuddering at the possibility of a pause which could let in (to them the demon) reflection. We see them wanting the ordinary comfort s of clothing and cleanliness, without home save that afforded b y chance companionship. We find them in the brothel and the ginshop, giving up to all manner of excesses, indulging in every extreme of vice, self-degraded an d brutal. 23 By contrast , withi n th e priso n walls , th e prisoner s ar e restore d to dignity : "The y ar e take n t o th e bat h an d cleanse d o f outwar d pollution, the y ar e new-cla d i n war m an d comfortabl e garments , . . . the y ar e lifte d gentl y from thei r stat e o f humiliation ; self degradation i s removed, an d self-estee m inducted." 24 Remarkably simila r i s the vision o f a state-prison warde n speak ing a centur y an d a hal f later . I n a telephon e intervie w i n th e summer o f 1987 , I spok e wit h Jame s Garvey , Jr. , th e warde n o f New Yor k City' s Correctiona l Institutio n fo r Me n ("Riker s Is -

3

54 Positive

Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment

land"). I aske d hi m t o elaborat e o n a n observatio n h e ha d mad e t o the New York Times t o th e effec t tha t peopl e "hav e t o com e bac k to jai l t o regai n thei r self-respect." 25 Warde n Garve y replie d tha t he would answe r my question o n th e basis of his earlier experienc e at a women' s prison ; however , h e late r state d tha t everythin g h e had sai d would appl y to th e men' s priso n a s well. In prison , h e observed , th e correctiona l personne l must liste n to th e prisoners . The y mus t mak e sur e th e prisoner s ge t thei r special diet : Moslem , Kosher , salt-free , o r low-calorie . T h e pris oners hav e a righ t t o a jo b an d t o pic k ou t th e commissar y the y want. The y hav e a righ t t o spen d tw o hour s a da y i n th e la w library eve n i f the y ar e illiterate . I f a woma n ha s a cold , sh e ha s the righ t t o g o t o a doctor , eve n i f sh e i s a hypochondriac . Thus , when the y leav e prison , th e wome n ar e clean , thei r clothe s ar e clean, the y hav e money , the y weig h more . Onc e the y hi t th e streets, the y begi n sellin g themselve s an d the y ar e treate d wit h disrespect b y everyone , includin g th e housin g authoritie s an d other authorities . T h e warde n the n remarked : "The confusion is that jail to them is freedom and society is the jail They canH operate in society because society has turned its back on them. "2 6 T he poin t here , of course, is not the objective veracity of Warden Garvey' s descrip tion, bu t rathe r th e wa y h e imagines th e offende r an d th e priso n experience. Like th e nineteenth-centur y priso n advocates , Garve y exhibit s the typica l libera l belie f i n th e environmen t a s causative : a poo r environment foster s criminality , a benevolen t environmen t over comes it . Als o lik e th e earl y priso n reformers , h e see s th e priso n as providin g a benevolen t an d transformativ e environment . But , in Garvey , libera l optimis m i s alloye d wit h twentieth-centur y de spair. Hi s word s contai n n o hop e o f a permanen t transformation . T h e rebirt h h e envision s fo r th e prisoner s i s no t i n th e Western , Judeo-Christian mod e o f a one-tim e salvation , bu t rathe r i n th e Eastern religiou s style— a cyclica l proces s o f deat h an d rebirth , and the n agai n deat h an d rebirth . "The y hav e t o com e bac k t o prison t o regai n thei r self-respect. " I aske d Warde n Garve y whethe r h e wa s implyin g tha t peopl e

Positive Images of Prison and Theories of Punishment 5

5

committed crime s fo r th e purpos e o f returnin g t o prison . H e answered tha t h e though t i n som e case s thi s happened . I f i t does , this i s an eventualit y tha t wa s anticipate d b y th e priso n reformers . For s o attractiv e wa s th e priso n depicte d b y th e priso n advocate s that thei r opponent s feare d peopl e migh t commi t crime s t o gai n entry. T h e priso n advocate s responde d b y emphasizin g th e pain fully asceti c and solitar y characte r o f carceral existence. 27 My analysi s o f th e positiv e image s corroborates , fro m th e pris oners' ow n perspective , th e priso n advocates ' affirmativ e carcera l vision. I t thu s highlight s th e tensio n betwee n th e rehabilitativ e model, o n th e on e hand , an d th e deterrenc e an d retributiv e mod els, o n th e other . I t als o suggest s tha t ther e ma y b e a tensio n between tw o goal s withi n th e rehabilitativ e ideal . T h e rehabilita tive idea l aim s a t bot h th e happines s o f th e prisone r an d th e prisoner's abilit y t o liv e a crime-fre e lif e outsid e o f prison. 28 Yet, my analysi s o f th e positiv e image s demonstrate s tha t ther e ar e individuals fo r who m priso n i s rehabilitativ e i n th e forme r sens e but no t th e latter—peopl e whos e newl y acquire d serenit y an d happiness i s conditional o n thei r remainin g i n prison .

Epilogue to

Part One

But there is no such thing as a simple response to reality. External reality has to be "acquired." To deny that there is anything other than external reality . .. i s a denial of the unconscious. —Juliet Mitchell At one point in her prison memoir, when describin g her friendship with "Sunshine, " nineteen-year-ol d hijacke r Tamsi n Fitzgeral d writes: "W e talke d abou t a farmhous e wit h field s an d wood s an d about ho w strang e happines s is . Sh e alway s says , 'Bu t i f I hadn' t come t o prison , the n I neve r woul d hav e me t you. ' " l A s thi s quotation suggests , th e positiv e image s o f priso n ar e bu t on e manifestation o f th e strangenes s o f happiness . An d yet , i t i s no t really so strange afte r al l that man y have found contentment , eve n joy, in penal confinement. Fo r "[m]a n lives , not nakedl y or directl y in natur e lik e th e animals , bu t withi n a mythologica l universe. " T h e image s o f priso n a s a desirabl e abod e deriv e partl y from actual negative aspect s of life i n the world outside . Bu t much mor e basically, the y ar e a n expressio n o f man' s essentiall y psychologica l and mythopoei c nature , o f hi s tendenc y t o transcen d hi s immedi ate circumstances , transformin g the m i n th e ligh t o f his past expe rience an d o f his present needs .

56

Prologue to

Part Two

From belove d prisons , w e tur n no w t o romanti c outlaws . A s w e do, ou r perspectiv e change s from convicte d criminal s describin g punishment t o law-abidin g citizen s describin g criminals . Lik e th e beloved-prisons them e o f Par t One , th e subjec t o f romanti c out laws represent s a paradox , fo r th e la w regard s th e felo n a s igno minious; i t assume s th e convic t wil l b e hel d i n dishonor . Indeed , the stigm a tha t i s believe d t o flow fro m convictio n o f a particula r offense i s one facto r court s conside r i n determinin g whethe r mens rea ( a guilt y mind ) shal l b e require d fo r tha t crime . Yet , crimi nals—even seriou s offenders—ar e no t invariabl y th e object s o f opprobrium. Noncriminal s ofte n enjoy , love , eve n admire , crimi nals. The y admir e the m no t i n spit e o f thei r criminalit y bu t be cause o f it—o r a t leas t becaus e o f qualitie s tha t ar e inextricabl y linked t o thei r criminality . Tha t the y sometime s d o s o wonder ingly, agains t considerabl e inne r resistance , serve s onl y t o high light th e strengt h o f the attraction . From a psychoanalyti c perspective , thi s attractio n t o criminal s is not surprising . O n a n unconscious level , the law, which exercise s authority ove r th e citizen , represent s th e parent , wh o exercise s authority ove r th e child . T h e la w thu s serve s a s a repositor y o f powerful feeling s from earl y childhood—comple x feeling s o f lov e and hatred , o r ambivalence , an d concomitan t attitude s o f submis sion an d defiance . T h e negativ e sid e o f ou r ambivalenc e towar d th e la w finds expression i n variou s ways . Som e peopl e becom e revolutionarie s or anarchists , fighting t o transfor m o r abolis h th e law . Stil l other s avoid flagrant crimina l conduc t themselves , whil e identifyin g wit h criminals an d vicariousl y participatin g i n thei r illega l deeds . Among thi s las t grou p ar e thos e wh o watc h outlaw s an d liste n t o 59

6o

Prologue to Part Two

their stories , admiring , repudiating , persecuting , an d endeavorin g to rescu e criminals . Each chapte r i n Par t Tw o adopt s a differen t approac h t o th e subject o f admiratio n fo r criminals . Chapte r 7 , "Reluctan t Admi ration," sets the stage by presenting evidence that such admiration , and conflic t ove r it , ar e pervasive . Chapter s 8 an d 9 presen t tw o quite differen t strategie s tha t noncriminal s emplo y t o cop e wit h their inne r conflic t ove r criminality . Thus , chapte r 8 , "Rational ized Admiration, " depict s noncriminal s wh o expres s undisguise d enjoyment in , an d reverenc e for , criminals . Thes e noncriminal s justify thei r attractio n t o th e lawbreake r b y attributin g i t t o con sciously acceptable values , suc h a s justice o r freedom. By contrast, th e noncriminal s i n chapte r 9 , "Repressed Admira tion," energeticall y ba r fro m consciousnes s thei r admiratio n fo r criminals. These noncriminal s dea l with thei r estee m fo r criminal s not onl y b y repressio n bu t als o b y othe r defens e mechanisms : converting admiratio n t o loathing , repudiation , an d persecution . As persecutors , noncriminal s sometime s ste p ove r th e lin e an d commit crime s themselves . The y ar e the n i n th e psychologica l position o f "havin g thei r cak e an d eatin g i t too, " a s the y imitat e criminal behavio r i n th e servic e o f bringing criminal s t o justice . Part Two draw s o n fictional character s rathe r tha n actua l crimi nals o r psychoanalyti c patient s t o illustrat e man y o f it s point s about noncriminals ' attitude s towar d criminals . Whil e no t a tradi tional approac h i n eithe r psychoanalysi s o r law , extrapolation from literature t o lif e i s a method wit h ampl e precedent s i n bot h disci plines. 1 Moreover , thi s approac h offer s a n advantag e ove r th e us e of patient s o r a scientifi c sampl e o f th e nonpatien t population ; namely, reader s o f thi s boo k wil l recogniz e man y o f th e literar y examples an d thu s wil l b e abl e t o for m thei r ow n opinion s o f th e interpretations offered . T H E THEORETICA L LITERATUR E O N TH E "NOBLE BANDIT "

Nonlegal scholar s hav e appreciate d th e parado x o f admiratio n for criminal s an d hav e offere d explanation s fo r it . However , the y

Prologue to Part Two

61

have limited thei r analyse s t o th e "nobl e bandit " o r "socia l bandit " type—a categor y first identifie d b y th e eminen t Britis h historia n E. J . Hobsbawm . O n th e basi s o f hi s researc h o n protes t move ments, Hobsbaw m argue d tha t wha t h e calle d "socia l banditry " is a universal phenomeno n i n peasan t societies. 2 H e define d socia l bandits a s "outlaw s who m th e lor d an d stat e regar d a s crimi nals, bu t wh o remai n withi n peasan t society , an d ar e considere d by thei r peopl e a s heroes , a s champions , avengers , fighters fo r justice." 3 Hobsbawm propose d severa l explanation s fo r th e appea l o f th e noble bandit : "th e longin g fo r los t innocenc e an d adventure, " and "freedom , heroism , an d th e drea m o f justice. " Abov e all , Hobsbawm emphasize d th e appea l o f justice: "Socia l banditr y . . . is little mor e tha n endemi c peasan t protes t agains t oppressio n an d poverty: a cr y fo r vengeanc e o n th e ric h an d th e oppressors , a vague drea m o f som e cur b upo n them , a rightin g o f individua l wrongs." 4 I n a n analysi s simila r t o Hobsbawm's , Pau l Angiolill o attributes th e nobl e bandit' s appea l t o men' s longin g fo r freedom , exciting adventures , heroism , an d fai r treatment. 5 An interestin g variatio n o n th e explanation s offere d b y Hobs bawm an d Angiolill o appear s i n Stephe n Tatum' s book , Inventing Billy the Kid. 6 Notin g tha t th e Ki d an d othe r outla w heroe s ulti mately receiv e punishmen t fro m lega l authorities , Tatu m suggest s that storie s abou t nobl e bandit s mee t ou r twofol d need : (i ) fo r excitement an d unpredictability (throug h th e crimina l adventures) , and (2 ) for orde r an d stabilit y (throug h th e criminal' s defea t b y th e law).7 There i s an element o f truth i n thes e analyses, bu t a s a complet e explanation o f ou r admiratio n fo r criminals , the y ar e inadequate . In th e first place , man y o f th e criminal s who m noncriminal s ad mire fal l outsid e th e genr e o f "nobl e bandits. " Som e o f th e best loved outlaw s i n literature—Mol l Flander s an d Lon g John Silver , to nam e two—d o no t "stea l fro m th e ric h an d giv e t o th e poor " or i n an y sens e behav e a s instrument s o f justice . Thus , Hobs bawm's an d Angiolillo' s centra l explanatio n canno t accoun t fo r their appeal . Furthermore , thes e criminal s d o no t ultimatel y sue -

62

Prologue to Part Two

cumb t o punishmen t a t th e hand s o f th e law . Hence , Tatum' s emphasis o n th e nee d fo r orde r an d stabilit y canno t explai n thei r attraction. Second, th e sam e criminal s who m thes e scholar s identif y a s "noble bandits " ofte n wer e no t generou s an d idealistic , bu t rathe r brutal an d selfish . Eve n Hobsbaw m admit s a t on e point , "I n rea l life mos t Robi n Hood s wer e fa r fro m noble." 8 Thi s suggest s that , in admirin g criminals , noncriminal s ar e no t merel y expressin g appreciation fo r qualitie s tha t ar e objectivel y present ; rather , the y are goin g ou t o f their wa y to perceive criminal s i n a positive light . Third, th e previou s theorie s procee d o n a ver y genera l level , which limit s their explanator y powe r an d sometime s render s the m misleading. Fo r example , Hobsbaw m an d Angiolill o offe r "th e appeal o f freedom " a s one explanatio n fo r ou r attractio n t o crimi nals. State d i n thi s abstrac t way , thei r formulatio n migh t lea d on e to believ e tha t criminal s embodie d a love o f democracy . I n fact , a s I wil l sho w i n a late r section , th e freedo m tha t i s mos t closel y associated wit h criminal s appear s t o b e o f a mor e primitiv e vari ety—either a n anal , oppositiona l kin d o f freedo m tha t i s freedo m against the law , not within it , or freedo m o f movement—a somati c kind o f freedom . Tatum's analysis , too , proceed s o n a n abstrac t plane , wit h it s emphasis o n man' s nee d fo r disorde r an d order , fo r excitemen t and stability . Fro m hi s language , on e migh t easil y forge t tha t Tatum i s writing, no t abou t Carniva l tim e i n Rio , bu t abou t crime. T h e mora l an d lega l dimension s o f th e phenomeno n h e i s ex plaining ar e entirel y missing . More generally , al l of the standar d explanation s fo r ou r admira tion fo r criminal s see m undul y charitabl e t o th e noncriminal . They focu s o n value s w e ca n admir e withou t shame , whil e ignor ing les s nobl e feature s o f criminality , suc h a s violence , greed , sadism, an d anger . Psychoanalysis teache s us to "pa y attention," t o "ignore nothing, " becaus e al l manifestation s o f th e huma n min d have meaning. 9 Fro m thi s perspective , th e mor e sordi d aspect s o f criminality ar e no t accidenta l bu t essentia l t o it s appeal . I a m suggesting tha t i n additio n t o th e yearnin g fo r freedo m an d jus -

Prologue to Part Two

63

tice, th e respec t for courage , an d th e vicariou s pleasur e i n adven ture, ther e i s a dark sid e t o ou r admiratio n for th e criminal . I wil l retur n t o th e questio n o f wh y w e admir e criminal s i n chapter 8 . First , le t u s examin e th e strategie s tha t noncriminal s unconsciously emplo y to resis t awareness o f their estee m fo r crim inals.

CHAPTER 7 Reluctant Admiration: Conflict over

The

Forms

of

Our

Criminals

When I thought to know this, it was too painful fo r me. —Psalms 73:16 In Wilki e Collins' s myster y nove l The Woman in White, th e sobe r and matur e heroine , Maria n Halcombe , finds hersel f deepl y at tracted t o Coun t Fosco , whom sh e ha s known fo r onl y a few days . Although sh e doe s no t ye t realiz e o n a conscious leve l tha t h e i s a psychopathic criminal , he r unconsciou s min d ma y sens e hi s de pravity. This woul d hel p t o explai n why sh e finds he r attractio n t o him perplexin g an d disturbing . A s she writes i n he r journal : " I a m almost afrai d t o confes s it , eve n t o thes e secre t pages . T h e ma n has intereste d me , ha s attracte d me , has forced me to like him." 1 And again : " I ca n onl y repeat tha t I d o assuredl y f e e l . . . a strange, half-willing, half-unwilling liking fo r th e Count." 2 Thus , i n at tempting t o resolv e th e parado x o f he r captivation , Maria n Hal combe attribute s he r "strang e liking " t o a powe r beyon d he r control—a resolutio n tha t w e se e agai n i n Joseph Conrad' s classi c tale, Heart of Darkness. In thi s novel o f self-discovery, Marlo w make s a journey into th e Belgian Cong o t o searc h fo r Kurtz , a ma n wit h a reputatio n fo r uniqueness an d greatness . Gradually , Marlo w learn s tha t Kurtz' s dreams hav e le d hi m t o "ste p ove r th e edge " int o evi l an d crime , including large-scal e thef t o f ivor y an d murde r o f Africans . Yet , even afte r h e has made thi s discovery , Marlow feel s a sympathy fo r Kurtz an d finds himsel f unabl e t o betra y th e man . Lik e Maria n Halcombe, h e perceive s thi s allianc e a s somethin g h e ha s no t totally chosen : "I t i s strange " h e ponders , "ho w I accepte d thi s unforeseen partnership , thi s choic e o f nightmare s forced upon me 64

Reluctant Admiration

65

in th e tenebrou s lan d invade d b y thes e mea n an d greed y phan toms." 3 Marian Halcomb e an d Marlo w ar e character s i n work s o f fiction wh o exhibi t bot h admiratio n fo r criminal s an d resistanc e t o their admiration . I n rea l life , too , w e se e individual s i n conflic t over thei r estee m fo r criminals . Arthu r Penn , directo r o f th e movie abou t th e notoriou s ban k robbers , Bonnie and Clyde, pro vides one suc h exampl e in the followin g excerp t fro m a n interview . Here Pen n oscillate s betwee n hi s id's attraction t o th e lawbreaker s and hi s superego's prohibitio n o n admirin g criminals : INTERVIEWER: What was it in Bonnie and Clyde that firstintrigued you? Any particular aspects? PENN: I suppose I have always been involved with the oudaw to a pretty large extent; I can't say without admiration for them. Although I find myself offended at saying it, because I have a large belief in the law. Immediately h e return s t o th e them e o f admiration , followe d by another repudiation : The history of laws in this country is one of constant change based upon the fact that individuals either spoke out or acted against the oppressive laws.. . . Now I know its absurd to be applying it to Bonnie and Clyde because I don't think of them as being in any sense the noble oudaw of the breed of Robin Hood o r William T e l l . . . . Once mor e h e repeat s th e cycle : I suppose that what intrigued me was the enterprise of Bonnie and Clyde, the bravura with which they decided to assault the system. And I have to say it again and again, /don't mean to suggest that they had heroic character, becaus e I don't believe that they did. Finally, abandonin g hi s attemp t t o merg e th e historica l realit y with his wishes, Pen n expresse s his yearning fo r criminal s he coul d admire withou t guilt : "Bu t i f they didn' t [hav e heroi c character] , / wish that Bonnie and Clyde had had it. "4 Throughout th e excerp t quote d above , Pen n sequentiall y ap peases hi s i d an d hi s supereg o b y alternatel y applaudin g an d de nouncing th e criminal . I t ma y hav e bee n a simila r unconsciou s

66

Reluctant Admiration

conflict tha t le d Newsweek film criti c Joseph Morgenster n t o pub lish tw o review s o f Bonnie and Clyde on e wee k apart , th e first condemning, th e secon d praisin g th e film an d it s casual , illici t violence. 5 Alternating appeasemen t o f the i d an d th e supereg o ca n als o b e seen i n th e behavio r o f parent s i n dealin g wit h thei r delinquen t children. Here , too , w e se e a mos t poignan t expressio n o f th e conflict ove r admiratio n fo r criminals ; t o wit , parents ' uncon sciously fosterin g criminalit y i n thei r childre n t o gratif y thei r ow n unacknowledged crimina l impulses . I n on e o f man y simila r case s reported b y Dr . Rut h Eissler , sh e describe s he r treatmen t o f a twelve-year-old boy , the onl y child o f a widow whose husban d ha d been a n embezzle r an d confidenc e man. 6 Soo n afte r hi s father' s death, whe n h e wa s seven , th e chil d ha d begu n t o steal , lie , mis s school, an d engag e i n rud e an d aggressiv e behavior . Thes e symp toms o f delinquenc y wer e pronounce d a t th e tim e h e entere d treatment wit h Eissler . As the treatmen t progressed , i t becam e apparen t tha t wheneve r the bo y showe d improvement , som e temptatio n occurred , causin g a resurgence o f the delinquen t behavior . Fo r example , hi s mother' s purse woul d b e lef t out , o r a cabine t containin g valuabl e item s would b e lef t unlocked . Hopin g t o gai n understandin g int o thes e incidents, Eissle r sen t th e mothe r t o anothe r psychiatrist . Thi s colleague reporte d tha t wheneve r th e bo y cease d stealing , th e mother becam e depresse d an d create d a situatio n tha t woul d tempt he r so n t o stea l again . I n surrenderin g t o th e temptation , the bo y was not merel y takin g advantag e o f the opportunity ; mor e importantly, h e wa s als o respondin g t o hi s mother' s depressio n and restorin g th e psychologica l balanc e betwee n them . Bot h th e boy an d th e mothe r wer e unconsciou s o f their ow n motives . In case s suc h a s this , th e child' s crimina l behavio r serve s t o satisfy vicariousl y th e parent' s unacceptabl e antisocia l impulses . Moreover, th e sam e parent s wh o unwittingl y tur n thei r childre n into criminal s i n thi s manne r frequentl y g o o n t o denounc e thei r children t o th e authorities. 7 A t thi s poin t the y gratif y thei r super ego's deman d fo r punishment , agai n i n th e vicarious mode. 8 Besides alternatin g gratificatio n o f th e i d an d th e superego ,

Reluctant Admiration

67

another wa y o f copin g wit h ambivalenc e towar d criminalit y i s through negation . A psychoanalyti c concept , negation refer s t o the breakthroug h o f a represse d idea , bu t i n negativ e form. 9 Fo r example, a patient' s word s " I haven' t bee n hatin g m y mothe r today" migh t b e interprete d a s a sign tha t th e patien t had , indeed , been feelin g hatre d fo r hi s mothe r bu t coul d consciousl y admi t this unacceptabl e ide a onl y in th e negative . As Norman O . Brow n writes, "Negatio n . . . i s a dialectica l o r ambivalen t phenomenon , containing alway s a distorte d affirmatio n o f wha t i s officiall y de nied." 1 0 A 198 9 televisio n documentar y entitle d "Gangsters : A Golde n Age" provide s a n exampl e o f thi s techniqu e i n th e contex t o f th e conflict ove r criminality . A t th e beginnin g o f th e film th e word s "This i s no t a tribute " appea r o n th e scree n whil e the y ar e als o spoken o n th e soun d track . Ther e follow s a detaile d auditor y an d visual statemen t emphasizin g tha t th e gangster s wer e evi l people , who inflicte d pai n o n many . T h e statemen t conclude s wit h th e words: "Bu t suc h audacit y . . . must b e saluted. " n Al l the languag e up t o th e final sentenc e function s a s a negation . Fredrich Schiller' s pla y The Robbers furnishes anothe r illustra tion o f a negation tha t implie s represse d admiratio n fo r criminals . In th e preface , Schille r defend s himsel f a t length agains t th e antic ipated charg e tha t h e ha s mad e criminal s praiseworthy . Othe r writers, h e says , hav e foun d i t necessar y t o portra y outlaw s a s laudable i n som e respects : "Th e Mede a o f th e ol d dramatist s is , i n spite o f al l he r crimes , a grea t an d wondrou s woman , an d Shake speare's Richar d II I i s sur e t o excit e th e admiratio n o f th e reader , much a s h e woul d hat e th e reality." 12 Moreover , h e continues , i t is necessar y t o depic t th e criminal' s allure ; otherwis e th e reade r may unknowingl y succum b t o hi s charms : "I f I woul d war n man kind agains t th e tiger , I mus t no t omi t t o describ e hi s glossy , beautifully-marked skin , lest, owin g to thi s omission , th e ferociou s animal shoul d no t b e recognize d til l to o late." 13 T h e pla y itself , with it s glamorou s portraya l o f Charle s Moor , th e outlaw-hero , suggests tha t Schiller' s explanation s ar e bu t a "distorte d affirma tion o f what i s officially denied. " Prohibitions perform , o n a cultura l level , th e rol e tha t nega -

68

Reluctant Admiration

tions pla y o n a n individua l level . That is , interdicts agains t admir ing criminal s disclos e th e presenc e o f th e ver y feeling s bein g enjoined. A n earl y warning o f thi s kin d come s from Proverbs: "Be not tho u enviou s agains t evi l men, neithe r desir e t o b e with them . For thei r hear t studiet h destructio n an d thei r lip s tal k o f mis chief." 14 Prohibitions o n "envyin g evi l men " reache d a peak i n Englan d after th e publicatio n o f Joh n Gay' s The Beggar's Opera i n 1728 . Preachers gav e sermon s an d publicist s wrot e tract s protestin g th e play's idealizatio n o f th e criminal. 15 Amon g thos e condemnin g Gay's glamorou s depictio n o f criminal s wa s Charle s Dickens , wh o observed tha t i n The Beggar's Opera thieve s lea d " a lif e whic h i s rather t o b e envie d tha n otherwise, " wit h th e crimina l protagonis t Macheath enjoyin g "al l th e captivation s o f command , an d th e devotions o f th e mos t beautifu l girl." 16 Dicken s conclude s tha t anyone wit h a crimina l ben t wil l se e nothin g i n th e pla y "bu t a flowery an d pleasan t road , conductin g a n honorable ambition—i n course o f time—t o Tybur n Tree." 1 7 A more subtl e condemnatio n of th e sam e pla y fo r encouragin g criminalit y appear s i n Willia m Hogarth's serie s o f etching s entitle d A Harlot's Progress. Plate 3 depicts th e protagonis t abou t t o b e arreste d a s a whore. Enjoyin g pride o f plac e o n he r wal l i s a portrait o f Gay' s highwayman-her o Macheath. 18 Injunctions agains t admiratio n fo r criminal s continu e i n th e present era . Consider , fo r example , a magazin e articl e publishe d in 196 7 an d ironicall y entitle d "Crook s Ar e S o 'Romantic. ' " T h e author, who ha d studie d criminals ' live s as a journalist an d biogra pher, urge s hi s reader s t o "b e adul t an d sa y tha t crim e i s a dirty , squalid, tragicall y futil e business " engage d i n b y "fundamentall y unhappy people. " "Th e romance , thril l an d adventure, " he asserts , "are largely fake." Earnestly , he points ou t that burglars sometime s defecate o n th e floors o f th e place s the y ro b i n orde r t o reliev e tension. Suc h sordi d facts , h e believes , ar e littl e know n becaus e they would no t correspon d t o ou r romanti c imag e o f criminals. 19 Another moder n injunctio n agains t admiratio n fo r criminal s appears i n a well-regarde d textbook , The Psychiatric Interview, b y

Reluctant Admiration

69

Roger MacKinno n an d Rober t Michels . T h e author s war n tha t beginning psychiatrist s ma y "experienc e unconsciou s admiratio n or eve n envy " o f psychopathi c patients—peopl e whos e diagnosi s is base d partl y o n a histor y o f immora l o r illega l behavior. 20 Al though the y kno w tha t psychopath s lac k th e capacit y fo r som e o f life's greates t joys , clinician s ma y find themselve s envyin g th e psychopath's abilit y t o "ge t awa y with " behavio r tha t i s internall y prohibited fo r norma l people . I n th e absenc e o f self-knowledge , the author s caution , psychiatrist s ma y expres s thi s admiratio n i n damaging ways , includin g inadverten t encouragemen t o f th e psy chopathic acts. 21 Tha t thes e writers , lik e other s throug h th e ages , entreat peopl e t o desis t fro m thei r "env y o f evi l men " show s th e continuing pervasivenes s o f this very attraction . T h e conflic t ove r admiratio n fo r criminal s take s man y forms — denial of responsibility for one' s attraction t o criminals, alternatin g gratification o f the i d and th e superego , negations , an d injunction s against worshippin g criminals . T h e ver y plethor a o f mechanism s for strugglin g agains t attractio n t o criminal s underscore s th e depth o f th e attraction . I t als o raise s th e questio n wha t ar e th e sources o f thi s profoun d captivation , thi s wonderin g estee m fo r those wh o brea k th e law . I n th e nex t chapter , w e tur n t o a direc t exploration o f this topic .

CHAPTER 8 Rationalized Admiration:

Overt

Delight

in

Camouflaged Criminals

AN HONORABL E K I N D O F THIEVERY : T H E CRIMINAL A S A N INSTRUMEN T O F JUSTIC E

For the foreigner an d the rich . . . the cangaceiro is an outlaw who should be punished. For the true Brazilian, he is a man of justice, a liberator. —Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz A courageou s idealist , a n instrumen t o f fairnes s an d right , an d at th e sam e tim e a violen t outlaw—suc h i s th e typ e o f admire d criminal tha t w e wil l conside r first. Unlik e th e criminal s w e wil l examine i n late r sections , thes e lawbreaker s evok e admiratio n from peopl e wh o despis e th e law , whic h the y vie w a s crue l an d oppressive. Unde r wha t circumstance s ar e noncriminal s likel y t o perceive th e la w a s illegitimat e and , consequently , t o experienc e conscious admiratio n fo r th e lawbreaker ? I n th e stor y o f th e ad mired crimina l pa r excellence , The Adventures of Robin Hood, on e condition tendin g t o diminis h th e law' s legitimac y i s foreig n rule . Set i n twelfth-centur y England , thi s well-know n stor y depict s a n outlaw ban d tha t commit s crime s agains t th e evi l ric h an d power ful, an d use s it s ill-gotte n gain s t o hel p th e poo r an d oppressed . Throughout th e tale , Robi n an d hi s me n associat e evi l wit h th e Norman conquerors , righ t an d goodnes s wit h thei r Saxo n sub jects. Ou r admiratio n fo r Robi n i s rendere d al l th e mor e accept able t o ou r conscience s becaus e Robi n approximate s th e politica l revolutionary, fighting agains t hi s countrymen' s foreig n oppres sors.1 T h e reade r ma y protes t m y characterizatio n o f Robi n Hoo d a s a criminal . Fo r Robi n Hood , s o thi s argumen t woul d go , wa s 70

Rationalized Admiration

7i

always loya l t o th e tru e king , Richar d th e Lion-hearted , wh o wa s away fighting i n th e Crusades . Robin' s crime s wer e committed , not agains t th e representativ e o f th e highes t la w o f th e land , bu t against loca l authorities , suc h a s th e Sherif f o f Nottingham , o r against th e usurper , Kin g John. Thus , Robi n wa s no t reall y fighting the law—onl y th e inauthenti c expression s o f law . Armed wit h a psychoanalyti c perspective , on e ca n rebu t thi s objection a s follows: whe n th e criti c says that Robi n i s not fighting the tru e law , h e presuppose s a psychological stat e o f affair s tha t i s too simple . I n fact , Robin' s divergen t attitude s towar d th e usurping kin g an d th e tru e kin g ar e bot h aspect s o f hi s emotiona l stance toward law , which i s best describe d a s one o f ambivalence — love an d hate , submissio n an d defiance . A s portraye d i n th e leg end, Robi n cope s with hi s internal conflic t ove r la w by externaliz ing it; more specifically , h e split s th e law' s representatives int o tw o people an d expresse s hi s positiv e feeling s towar d one , hi s negativ e feelings towar d th e other . T h e poin t ma y b e mad e cleare r i f w e consider th e paralle l situatio n i n fair y tales , wher e i t i s conven tional t o spli t th e mothe r int o a hate d an d feare d stepmothe r an d a belove d bu t absen t mother . I n fair y tales , thi s spli t i s thought t o reflect th e chil d listener' s difficult y i n dealin g wit h he r negativ e feelings towar d th e mother. 2 Similarly , i n Robin Hood, the outlaw' s loyalty t o Kin g Richar d reflect s th e reader' s difficult y i n acceptin g her negativ e feeling s towar d th e law . B y th e sam e token , th e outlaw's loyalt y t o th e "true " Kin g serve s t o camouflag e hi s crimi nal status , s o that th e reade r ma y admir e hi m withou t guilt . Robert Loui s Stevenson' s nove l Kidnapped provide s a variatio n on th e them e o f admiratio n fo r a crimina l resultin g from th e foreign-ruled state' s illegitimacy . T h e nove l i s se t i n th e year s following th e event s o f 1745 , whe n th e Jacobit e Scot s rebelle d against Englis h rul e an d attempte d t o restor e Stuar t rul e i n Scot land. I t portray s th e comple x relationshi p betwee n a boy , Davi d Balfour, whos e cla n i s allie d wit h England , an d Ala n Breck , a Jacobite terrorist . Thoug h initiall y attracte d t o th e glamorou s Breck, Davi d repudiate s hi m afte r witnessin g a murde r fo r whic h he blame s th e outlaw : "[M] y onl y friend i n tha t wil d countr y wa s

72

Rationalized Admiration

blood-guilty i n th e first degree ; I hel d hi m i n horror ; I coul d no t look upo n hi s face ; I woul d rathe r hav e lai n alon e i n th e rai n o n my col d isl e than i n tha t warm woo d besid e a murderer." 3 Notwithstanding thes e word s o f deepes t rejection , Davi d soo n comes t o se e the crimina l i n a more favorabl e light : "Alan' s moral s were al l tail-first ; bu t h e wa s read y t o giv e hi s lif e fo r them , suc h as the y were." 4 Upo n reachin g thi s conclusion , Davi d seek s a reconciliation wit h th e terrorist : " 'Alan,' sai d I, 'I'l l not sa y it's th e good Christianit y a s I understan d it , bu t it' s goo d enough . An d here I offe r y e m y han d fo r a secon d time. ' " 5 Althoug h Davi d does no t shar e Alan' s politica l views , h e ca n admir e th e terroris t for hi s willingnes s t o di e fighting wha t Ala n perceive s t o b e a n unjust state . T h e them e o f respec t fo r a criminal' s idealisti c fight agains t foreign encroachmen t o n indigenou s value s appear s i n rea l lif e a s well. Consider , fo r example , a 198 9 sentencin g opinio n b y a dis trict judg e i n Alaska. 6 T h e defendant , a n Inupia t whalin g captai n named Perc y Nusunginya , stand s convicte d o f hunting whale s ou t of season . I n explainin g wh y h e feel s tha t a n appropriat e sentenc e should b e a t th e botto m leve l o f th e guidelines , Judg e Kleinfel d repeatedly expresse s hi s regar d fo r Nusunginya' s courag e i n th e service o f principles . Fo r example , h e describe s Nusunginy a a s " a man o f seriou s an d hones t convictions " an d on e wh o "i s entitle d to respect " fo r havin g "honestl y an d forthrightl y engage d i n civi l disobedience." 7 Rejectin g a n analog y t o marijuan a an d alcoho l violations tha t h e ha d draw n previously , th e judg e empathicall y reflects tha t Nusunginya' s illega l actio n i s probabl y close r t o a draft violatio n durin g th e Vietna m Wa r "i n term s o f th e kin d o f conviction tha t Mr . Nusunginy a bring s t o th e matter." 8 Finally , addressing th e defendan t directl y i n th e opinion , h e tell s him : " I have n o doub t . . . tha t you r positio n i s a principle d on e an d that yo u sincerel y believ e tha t yo u are , b y engagin g i n thi s civi l disobedience, preservin g wha t yo u believ e t o b e th e righ t o f th e Inupiat people , sinc e time immemorial , t o hunt whales." 9 Lik e th e fictional Davi d Balfour , Judg e Kleinfel d respect s th e lawbreake r because h e recognize s that , t o thi s criminal , th e la w appear s un just, sinc e i t is imposed b y a foreign power .

Rationalized Admiration

73

John Steinbeck' s nove l The Grapes of Wrath als o depict s venera tion fo r th e crimina l a s a functio n o f th e law' s illegitimacy , bu t here th e ruler s ar e domestic . T h e character s i n th e nove l perceiv e the la w a s unjus t becaus e i t i s impossibl e t o obe y th e la w an d survive wit h an y self-respect . T h e stor y begin s a s To m Joad , jus t paroled afte r servin g fou r year s i n priso n fo r manslaughter , hitch hikes hi s wa y hom e t o Depression-ridde n Oklahoma . Upo n ar rival, To m finds tha t hi s famil y an d mos t o f hi s neighbor s hav e left, drive n of f th e lan d b y large , faceless , farawa y companie s that d o no t eve n provid e thei r victim s wit h th e satisfactio n o f confronting a visible enemy . Onl y Muley , a man half-craze d from frustration an d poverty , remain s behin d t o tel l To m wha t ha s happened: "Well, the guy that came aroun' talked nice as pie. 'You got to get off. It ain't my fault.' 'Well, ' I says, 'whose fault is it? I'll go an' I'll nut the fella.' 'It' s the Shawnee Lan' an' Catde Company. I jus' got orders.' 'Who's the Shawnee Lan' an' Cattle Company?' 'I t ain't nobody. It's a company.' Got a fella crazy. There wasn't nobody you could lay for." 10 While thi s excerp t doe s not focu s o n th e evi l of the la w in particu lar, i t doe s soun d th e them e o f alienatio n from a syste m tha t i s perceived a s remot e an d unfair . Sinc e th e la w facilitate d th e trag edy tha t ha s befalle n peopl e lik e Muley , thes e earl y event s pav e the wa y for th e novel' s subsequen t attac k o n th e law . Before elaboratin g o n thi s theme , Steinbec k establishe s th e other motif , tha t o f admiration fo r criminals—a n ide a h e develop s partly throug h th e reactio n o f noncriminals t o Tom . Fo r example , as old friends an d famil y member s gree t th e returne d convict , the y repeatedly as k Tom whether h e has "buste d ou t o f jail," sometime s with th e implie d gleefu l hop e tha t th e answe r will be affirmative. 11 Tom's grandfathe r doe s no t as k but delightedl y assume s tha t To m has lef t priso n illegally : " 'Jus' lik e I said , the y ain' t a gonn a kee p no Joad i n jail . I says , 'Tommy'l l com e a-bustin ' out a tha t jai l lik e a bul l throug h a corra l fence. ' An ' yo u don e it. ' " 1 2 To m allow s the ol d ma n t o kee p hi s excitin g fantasy , bu t whe n h e disabuse s others o f thei r expectatio n tha t h e i s stil l a n outlaw , the y canno t hide thei r disappointment .

74

Rationalized Admiration

Although h e i s no w a law-abidin g citizen , To m continue s t o elicit hero-worship becaus e o f his criminal past . Fo r instance, her e is Tom's brothe r A l responding t o th e prisoner' s return : Cockily, he walked close before h e recognized Tom; and when he did, his boasting face changed, and admiration and veneration shone in his eyes, an d his swagger fell away. His stiff jeans, with the bottoms turned up eight inches to show his heeled boots, his threeinch belt with copper figures on it, even the red arm hands on his blue shirt and the rakish angle of his Stetson hat could not build him up to his brothers stature; for his brother had killed a man; and no one would ever forget it. 13 Such i s th e aw e i n whic h To m i s hel d tha t thos e clos e t o hi m partake o f hi s glory : "A l kne w tha t eve n h e ha d inspire d som e admiration amon g boy s o f hi s ow n ag e becaus e hi s brothe r ha d killed a man . H e ha d hear d i n Sallisa w ho w h e wa s pointe d out : That's Aljoad . Hi s brothe r kille d a fella wit h a shovel.' " 1 4 Like Al , th e younge r Joad childre n loo k u p t o thei r brothe r i n part becaus e h e ha s bee n a criminal : "[T]he y stoo d apar t an d watched hi m secretly , th e grea t brothe r wh o ha d kille d a man an d been i n prison . The y remembere d ho w the y ha d playe d priso n i n the chicke n coo p an d fough t fo r th e righ t t o b e prisoner." 15 I n this phas e o f th e novel , th e crimina l i s admired simpl y a s a larger than-life figure, bu t a s th e stor y proceeds , To m wil l increasingl y become a crimina l wh o i s admire d a s a n instrumen t o f justice . Before thi s evolutio n occurs , Steinbec k enriche s th e othe r theme , that o f the law' s association wit h injustic e an d oppression . T h e subjec t o f the divergenc e betwee n th e la w and fairnes s first arises whe n th e Joa d famil y i s o n th e roa d t o Californi a t o find work. M a Joa d worrie s alou d abou t Tom' s ac t o f breakin g parol e by crossin g th e stat e line . Attemptin g t o reassur e her , To m say s that th e authoritie s wil l no t car e a s long a s he commit s n o crime , but M a replies : " 'Well, I' m scair t abou t it . Sometime s yo u d o a crime, an ' you don' t eve n kno w it' s bad . Maybe the y go t crime s i n California w e don' t eve n kno w about . Maybe you gonn a d o some pin an ' it' s al l right , an ' i n Californi a i t ain' t al l right.' " 1 6 Becaus e the la w is divorced from morality , on e canno t predic t what th e la w requires o r b e sur e o f staying within it s bounds .

Rationalized Admiration

75

T h e them e o f th e law' s arbitrarines s reappear s whe n Grandp a dies o n th e journe y an d th e famil y mus t decid e whethe r t o bur y him illegally . I f the y d o wha t th e la w requires , the y wil l hav e t o pay fort y dollar s fo r a decen t buria l o r le t Grandp a b e burie d a pauper. Mullin g ove r th e problem , P a nostalgicall y recall s th e past, whe n i t wa s lega l t o bur y you r ow n kin . W h e n Uncl e Joh n reminds hi m tha t th e la w has changed , P a replies : "Sometimes the law can't be foller'd n o way.. . . Not in decency, anyways. They's lots a times you can't. When Floy d [Prett y Boy Floyd] was loose an' goin' wild, law said we got to give him up— an' nobody give him up. Sometimes a fella go t to sift the law. I'm sayin' now I got the right to bury my own pa. Anybody got somepin to say?" 17 T h e preacher , Casy , confirm s Pa' s judgment : " 'Law changes, ' h e said, 'bu t 'go t to's ' g o on . Yo u go t th e righ t t o d o wha t yo u go t t o do.' " 1 8 T he law' s prohibition o n privat e burial s become s a symbo l of the disparit y between th e la w and morality , fo r Grandpa' s buria l is the first o f thre e suc h illega l deed s tha t th e Joad famil y wil l fee l compelled t o do . If, thu s fa r i n th e novel , th e la w ha s bee n portraye d a s merel y arbitrary an d unpredictable , a s tim e goe s on , th e la w i s mor e an d more associate d wit h evi l an d oppression . Thus , afte r th e Joa d family ha s reache d California , w e se e a dishonest labo r contracto r accompanied an d assiste d b y a polic e officer . W h e n on e o f th e migrants, Floy d Knowles , speak s up , insistin g o n fairnes s an d trying t o war n th e othe r men , th e contracto r use s th e policema n to suppres s him . Lying , th e policema n claim s t o hav e see n Floy d in th e vicinit y o f a thef t an d tell s Floy d t o ge t i n th e polic e car . Tom trip s th e policeman , an d Reveren d Cas y kick s th e office r unconscious, enablin g Floy d t o escape . Sometim e afte r thi s inci dent, Tom's secon d crime , we lear n o f Ma Joad's view that thi s so n is special : " 'There's Al, ' " sh e observes , " 'he's jus ' a youn g fell a after a girl. You wasn't neve r lik e that , Tom . . . . Ever'thing you d o is more' n you . Whe n the y sen t yo u u p t o priso n I knowe d it . You're spok e for. ' " 1 9 Significantly , i t was society' s ac t o f brandin g Tom a s a crimina l tha t confirme d hi s mother' s belie f i n Tom' s specialness.

76

Rationalized Admiration

Eventually, To m commit s hi s thir d and , arguably , hi s mos t serious offense : killin g a ma n i n retaliatio n fo r Casy' s murder . A s the boo k ends , To m i s leading th e lif e o f a fugitive, an d th e famil y has just buried yet another person , a baby, absent the authorizatio n of law. I hav e recounte d th e event s o f The Grapes of Wrath a t som e length t o emphasiz e th e clos e relationshi p betwee n admiratio n for th e crimina l an d contemp t fo r unjus t laws . Whil e th e causa l connection i s rarely made explicit , it seems clear that th e noncrim inals i n th e boo k admir e Tom' s criminalit y largel y becaus e the y cannot respec t th e law s he i s breaking . Like The Grapes of Wrath, Sophocles ' pla y Antigone portray s a state whos e law s ar e problemati c becaus e the y ar e unfai r an d oppressive. Moreover , Sophocles—agai n lik e Steinbeck—em ploys a conflict ove r a burial t o tel l a story abou t a criminal wh o i s an instrumen t o f justice . Just befor e th e actio n o f thi s classi c tal e begins, Antigone' s tw o brother s hav e bee n killed . One , Eteocles , has receive d a stat e burial , whil e th e other , Polynices , ha s bee n declared a traito r an d hi s bod y lef t t o b e tor n an d devoure d b y birds an d beasts . T h e ruler , Creon , ha s ordere d tha t n o on e ma y perform buria l rite s fo r Polynices , upo n pai n o f death . As th e pla y opens , Antigon e i s tellin g he r sister , Ismene , o f he r plan t o def y Creon' s mandate , whic h sh e believe s violate s th e higher law s o f th e gods . Ismen e entreat s Antigon e no t t o embar k on her darin g enterprise , arguin g that she is too weak to g o agains t the mighty . Nevertheless , Antigon e twic e scatter s dus t ove r he r brother's bod y an d perform s sacre d rite s ove r him . Afte r Creo n decrees tha t sh e mus t di e fo r disobeyin g hi s laws , Creon' s so n comes forwar d t o tel l hi s fathe r tha t th e peopl e ar e sidin g wit h Antigone: . .. bu t I secretly can gather this, how the fol k mourn this maid, 'Who of all women most unmeriting, For noblest acts dies by the worst of deaths,

Rationalized Admiration

11

Who her own brother battle-slain — unburied— Would not allow to perish in the fang s Of carrion hounds or any bird of prey; And' (so the whisper darklin g passes round) 'Is she not worthy to be carved in gold?' 20 "Worthy t o b e carve d i n gold" : thi s i s hig h prais e indee d fo r a criminal, eve n a noble criminal . T he noncriminals ' admirin g reac tion t o Antigon e ca n b e explaine d no t onl y b y he r courage , bu t also b y th e particula r crim e sh e committed , fo r i n th e ancien t Greeks' religion , th e soul s o f th e unburie d wer e doome d t o wan der forever , withou t rest . I t was , therefore , a sacre d dut y t o bur y any dea d on e encountered , whethe r stranger s o r kin. 21 Mor e gen erally, th e phenomeno n o f deat h i s apt t o evok e a n awarenes s tha t the ruler s o f this realm hav e bu t limite d power , limite d legitimacy . N o t onl y in fictional portrayals , bu t als o i n life , law s infringing o n the right s o f th e dea d ma y foste r a consciousnes s o f th e positiv e law's illegitimacy . Thus , i n th e 1950s , whe n impoverishe d share croppers forme d th e first o f wha t woul d late r becom e th e radica l Peasant League s o f Northeas t Brazil , thei r origina l goa l wa s th e right t o b e burie d i n a coffin. 22 If w e sometime s admir e criminal s becaus e th e stat e i s tyranni cal, a t othe r time s w e admir e the m becaus e th e stat e i s weak . Insofar a s w e experienc e hat e a s wel l a s lov e fo r authority , w e derive pleasur e fro m act s tha t rende r th e stat e ridiculou s o r high light it s vulnerability . Interestingly , th e ver y wor d outlaw, whic h we no w us e t o mea n a notorious o r habitua l criminal , reflect s th e weakness o f th e state . I n medieva l times , a n outla w wa s on e who , because o f his bad acts , had bee n banishe d fro m societ y and place d outside th e protectio n o f th e law. 23 Thi s origina l concep t o f th e criminal ca n als o b e see n i n th e wor d bandit whic h derive s from the Italia n wor d fo r banish. 24 B y declarin g someon e a n outlaw , a banished person , th e stat e wa s acknowledgin g it s inabilit y t o pun ish someon e wh o ha d violate d it s laws. 25 T h e impotenc e o f th e state tha t coul d cop e wit h it s unrul y element s onl y throug h ban -

78

Rationalized Admiration

ishment i s conveye d b y th e ligh t ton e o f thi s outla w son g i n Robert Loui s Stevenson' s adventur e story , The Black Arrow: "The n up an d spak e th e master , th e kin g o f th e outlaws : 'Wha t mak e y e here, my merry men, amon g the greenwoo d shaws? ' And Gamely n made answer—h e looke d neve r adown : 'O , the y mus t nee d t o walk in woo d tha t ma y no t wal k in town. ' " 2 6 N o wonde r tha t th e common peopl e ofte n venerate d thos e who , b y thei r ver y exis tence, pu t th e stat e t o shame . T h e sentenc e o f outlawry cease d t o b e used afte r th e en d o f th e Middle Ages , whe n state s becam e powerfu l enoug h t o enforc e their law s throughou t thei r territories . Nevertheless , admiratio n for criminal s a s a function o f the state' s weakness continue s t o be a striking featur e o f some societies . I n Sicily , for example , successfu l bandits ar e honore d an d describe d a s men wh o "mak e themselve s respected." 27 Accordin g t o historia n Anto n Blok , th e preoccupa tion wit h honor , alon g wit h it s particula r meanin g centerin g o n forcible contro l o f resources , flows fro m th e weaknes s o f th e state i n Mediterranea n societies : "I n th e absenc e o f stabl e centra l control ove r th e means o f violence, people could not rely for protection on State institutions. Wit h respec t t o shee r physica l survival , the y were largel y dependen t o n thei r own , o r o n th e protectio n o f more powerfu l persons . Successful bandits inspire fear and respect. Hence the fascination they radiate." 28 In highl y industrialize d societies , a s well, admiratio n fo r crimi nals ma y aris e ou t o f contemp t fo r th e state' s weakness. Fo r exam ple, i n 198 9 a front-page articl e i n th e Wall Street Journal de scribed a ma n charge d wit h murde r wh o becam e a romanti c fol k hero t o resident s o f Missour i afte r h e manage d t o elud e th e la w for fifty-nine days. 29 This , th e longes t an d larges t manhun t i n Missouri's history , inspire d songs , stories , an d a lin e o f T-shirts . Explaining th e public' s reaction, on e loca l resident observed , "De fiance o f authorit y tend s t o dra w admiratio n i n rura l place s lik e this." 30 T h e publi c respons e t o subwa y vigilant e Bernhar d Goet z i s another exampl e o f admiratio n fo r a crimina l tha t reflect s disdai n for th e law' s weakness. T he basi c facts o f this cas e ar e well-known :

Rationalized Admiration

79

in 1984 , Goetz , a whit e man , wa s seate d i n a subwa y ca r i n Ne w York Cit y whe n four blac k youth s approache d hi m an d aske d for five dollars. 31 Ther e wa s conflictin g testimon y a s t o th e subse quent events , bu t al l agre e tha t Goet z dre w a pisto l an d fired a t the youths , leavin g on e paralyze d an d brain-damage d for life . Many lega l scholar s believ e that , unde r th e mos t credibl e versio n of th e facts , Goet z faile d t o mee t th e imminenc e requiremen t fo r self-defense, becaus e a reasonable perso n woul d no t hav e though t that th e fourt h victi m pose d a n immediat e dange r t o Goetz. 32 Nevertheless, th e jur y acquitte d Goet z o n al l th e charge s excep t illegal possessio n o f a handgun . What i s interesting fo r ou r purpose s i s not s o much th e verdict , which ca n b e explaine d i n a variety o f ways , bu t rathe r th e wide spread admiratio n fo r Goet z an d it s meaning. 33 T h a t th e positiv e response t o Goetz' s crim e reflect s scor n fo r th e state' s ineptitud e can b e see n i n th e lyric s o f thi s son g recorde d b y Ronn y an d th e Urban Watchdogs : He's the subway vigilante The brav e subway vigilante Where law and order canh he showed us how to take a stand He had enough and came out fightin' Drove the rats back into hidin' Let's cheer the subway vigilante He's one special kind of man. 34 Interpreting th e popula r celebratio n o f Goet z i n a simila r vein , George Fletche r writes : "Th e grou p tha t fear s finally foun d it s folk her o i n Bernhar d Goetz. . . . Goetz demonstrated the impotency of law enforcement. A singl e individual , wel l arme d an d properl y trained, ca n d o a better jo b o f thwarting crim e tha n al l the me n i n blue." 35 From th e perspective I am suggesting, Goet z ca n be understoo d as a camouflage d criminal . H e i s a crimina l i n tha t h e acte d illegally whe n h e fired th e shots ; however , hi s criminalit y i s cam ouflaged i n tha t som e ca n se e hi m a s a n instrumen t o f legitimat e vengeance agains t evi l an d dangerou s people . Thi s camouflag e

8o

Rationalized Admiration

enables noncriminals t o admire Goet z without guilt . Nevertheless , the unconsciou s sourc e o f admiratio n ma y be , no t tha t h e i s a n instrument o f justice , bu t rathe r tha t h e expresse s th e noncrimi nals' ow n hostilit y t o authorit y an d t o limitation s o n thei r instinc tual freedom. On th e basi s o f th e precedin g examples , w e ar e no w i n a posi tion t o distinguis h betwee n tw o type s o f criminal s wh o ar e ad mired a s instruments o f justice: the vigilante an d th e nobl e bandit . Those, lik e Goetz , who m w e cal l vigilante s commi t illega l act s against othe r criminals ou t o f contemp t fo r th e law' s weakness an d frustration a t its inefficiency. B y contrast, those , lik e Robi n Hood , whom w e conside r nobl e bandit s typicall y commi t illega l offense s against evi l / ^ c r i m i n a l s — t h e Sherif f o f Nottingha m o r th e greedy vicars an d bishops . Unlik e th e vigilantes , nobl e bandit s ac t out o f oppositio n t o th e state' s tyrann y an d it s unfairnes s t o th e poor. Correlatively , thos e wh o admir e eithe r typ e o f crimina l ma y do s o on a conscious leve l because the y shar e tha t type' s attitude — whether i t be impatienc e wit h th e slownes s o f the lega l process, o r outrage a t the cruelt y an d oppressio n tha t th e la w embodies . Of course , som e may object t o my interpretations o f noble bandit s and vigilante s o n th e groun d tha t the y ar e criminal s i n nam e only . Their storie s sho w mora l inversion , wher e th e la w represents evil , or inefficiency , an d thos e wh o brea k th e la w stan d fo r virtue , or effectiv e la w enforcement . Naturally , w e woul d regar d suc h criminals highly ; tha t w e d o s o say s nothing abou t ou r estee m fo r the crimina l i n more norma l situation s where th e la w and moralit y converge. T h e proble m wit h thi s commonsens e vie w lie s i n it s failur e t o take int o accoun t psychoanalyti c findings abou t huma n nature — more specifically , th e clinica l findings tha t peopl e harbo r sadisti c trends (sexua l pleasure i n another' s pain ) an d ambivalenc e (hat e a s well a s love) towar d authority. 36 T h e existenc e o f these tendencie s renders it more plausible than not tha t noncriminals deriv e uncon scious satisfactio n from th e cruelt y an d aggressio n tha t character ize crimina l exploits .

Rationalized Admiration

81

It i s importan t t o stres s that , fo r mos t noncriminals , th e grati fication receive d from th e crimina l act s i s trul y wzzconscious ; i t i s not accessibl e to awareness. Indeed, o n a conscious level, noncrim inals ma y strongl y objec t t o th e ide a tha t criminalit y ha s an y attraction for them . This objection , too , i s consistent with psycho analytic theory , whic h emphasize s th e universalit y o f repressio n and o f a n unwillingnes s t o kno w th e unpleasan t truth s abou t ourselves. 37 In th e fac e o f th e psychoanalyti c evidence—bot h o f uncon scious drive s an d o f a n aversio n t o becomin g awar e o f thos e drives—it seem s naiv e t o suppos e tha t w e admir e criminal s fo r their nobl e qualitie s alone . I propos e a n alternativ e explanation — an explanatio n tha t i s alread y implici t i n thi s chapter' s title , "Ra tionalized Admiration : Over t Deligh t i n Camouflage d Criminals. " Briefly, m y hypothesi s i s a s follows : w e admir e criminal s o n man y levels an d fo r man y reasons—reason s tha t w e fee l comfortabl e acknowledging t o ourselve s an d reason s that , a s th e Psal m ha s it , are "to o painfu l t o know. " W h e n a give n crimina l seem s t o hav e no redeemin g features , w e will not consciousl y hono r tha t person , although w e may estee m hi m unconsciousl y an d expres s th e admi ration i n a distorted form , suc h a s loathing o r persecution . If, however , a s i s tru e o f th e example s i n thi s section , th e criminal ha s som e feature s w e ca n appreciat e withou t guilt , w e may consciousl y respec t hi m fo r thos e features , whil e uncon sciously als o enjoyin g an d laudin g th e greed , sadism , o r anti authoritarian aggression . I n thi s view , th e explanation s w e offe r ourselves fo r bein g attracte d t o criminal s serv e a s rationalizations , not i n th e sens e tha t the y pla y no role i n ou r attraction , bu t tha t they serve to disguis e other , les s acceptable reasons . T h e remainde r o f thi s chapte r wil l examin e criminal s wh o ar e not perceive d a s instrument s o f justic e an d wh o d o no t liv e i n societies wher e th e la w i s viewe d a s evil ; nevertheless , the y ar e greatly admired . I tur n no w t o th e first categor y o f suc h crimi nals—those whos e violent , illega l act s ar e camouflage d b y thei r embodiment o f freedom.

82

Rationalized Admiration T H E HIGHWAYMA N CAM E RIDING : T H E CRIMINA A s A SYMBO L O F FREEDO M

L

The urge for freedom, therefore, i s directed against particular forms and demands of civilization or against civilization alto gether. —Freud, Civilization And Its Discontents Banditry is freedom, but in a peasant society few can be free. —Hobsbawm, Bandits T h e novell a Carmen, b y Prospe r Merimee , depict s a crimina l whose appea l i s tha t o f freedom. Carmen , wh o belong s t o a gan g of smugglers , regularl y provide s informatio n t o he r fello w thieve s about an y traveler s wh o woul d b e goo d prospect s fo r robbery . Overtly, boldl y sexual , Carme n i s irresistibl y attractive . H e r law less way s ar e a par t o f he r appea l an d a n essentia l aspec t o f he r being. 38 W e se e the centra l role o f freedom i n her characte r i n he r response t o he r suitor , Do n Jose, whe n h e forbid s he r t o spea k t o the picador Lucas: "Beware! " sh e retorts . "I f an y on e defie s m e t o do a tiling, it' s very quickly done." 3 9 Her e w e se e the anal , opposi tional meanin g tha t freedom ha s fo r Carmen. 40 Sh e i s a rebe l rather tha n a revolutionary; sh e is still reacting t o authority , albei t in a negative way 4 1 Charles Moor , th e her o o f Schiller' s The Robbers, embodies a similar notio n o f freedom. A s h e talk s himsel f int o becomin g a criminal, Moo r associate s criminalit y wit h freedom, an d freedom with lif e outsid e th e law : "A m I t o squeez e m y bod y int o stays , and straightlac e m y will in th e trammel s o f law? What migh t hav e risen t o a n eagle' s flight ha s bee n reduce d t o a snail' s pac e b y law . Never ye t ha s la w forme d a grea t man ; 'ti s libert y tha t breed s giants an d heroes." 42 Thus , law , instea d o f bein g th e necessar y condition fo r liberty , is seen her e a s an obstacl e t o liberty . In additio n t o freedom a s a n oppositiona l struggl e agains t au thority, criminalit y is often linke d with freedom o f movement. Thi s association appear s i n th e followin g dialogu e from th e operati c version o f Carmen, wher e th e gyps y femmefatale trie s t o convinc e her suito r tha t he shoul d b e gla d t o join th e ban d o f thieves :

Rationalized Admiration

83

CARMEN: Ar e you on e o f us now ?

D o N j o s E (with resignation): I have to be! CARMEN: Ah ! That's not very complimentary! But what's the dif ference? Come—you'l l ge t used to it when you see how finelife on the road is, with the world for your country; an d for law, what you want to do! And most of all what makes you alive: Freedom! Freedom! 43 Freedom o f movement als o plays a n important rol e i n th e origina l story b y Merimee . Her e Do n Jos e explain s wha t entice d hi m t o the crimina l life : " I ha d ofte n hear d tal k o f certai n smuggler s wh o travelled about Andalusia each riding a good horse, with hi s mistres s behind hi m an d hi s blunderbus s i n hi s fist. Alread y / saw myself trotting up and down the world, wit h a prett y gyps y behin d me." 4 4 T h e gypsy , a quintessentia l symbo l o f th e wanderin g life , height ens th e associatio n her e betwee n criminalit y an d a somatic kin d o f freedom. T h e imag e o f th e gyps y perform s a simila r functio n i n Alfre d Noyes's poe m The Highwayman, wher e th e roa d ove r whic h th e robber gallop s i s described a s "a gypsy' s ribbon." Throughout thi s poem, rapi d movemen t i s expresse d i n bot h th e conten t an d th e rhythm o f the lines . Consider , fo r example , th e first stanza : The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees. The moon was a ghosdy galleon tossed upon cloudy seas. The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding— Riding—riding— The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door. 45 As i n Carmen, her e th e sensatio n o f spee d serve s t o rende r th e abstract concep t freedom mor e immediat e an d concrete . A particularl y interestin g exampl e o f admiratio n fo r criminal s who ar e associate d wit h spee d o f movement come s from Harriso n Ainsworth, autho r o f th e popula r nineteenth-centur y nove l Rookwood. At on e poin t i n th e novel , Ainswort h reproduce s highway -

84

Rationalized Admiration

man Dic k Turpin' s fame d 220-mil e rid e fro m Londo n t o York . Describing ho w h e wrot e thi s par t o f th e book , a tota l o f on e hundred pages , i n les s tha n twenty-fou r hours , Ainswort h stresse s his admirin g identificatio n wit h th e robbe r an d hi s swiftness : Well do I remember the fever into which I was thrown during the time of composition. My pen literally galloped over the pages. So thoroughly did I identify mysel f with the highwayman, that, once started I found i t impossible to halt.... I n his company I mounted the hillside, dashed through the busding village . .. an d kept an onward course, without fatigue. With him I shouted, sang, laughed, exulted, wept. 46 Psychoanalytic theor y help s t o explai n th e powerfu l attractio n that rapi d movemen t exerts . Freu d suggeste d tha t th e eg o (use d here t o mea n th e menta l self ) originall y "include s everything. . . . T h e ego-feelin g w e ar e awar e o f no w i s thu s onl y a shrunke n vestige o f a fa r mor e extensiv e feelin g . . . o f limitles s extensio n and onenes s with th e universe—th e sam e feelin g a s that describe d . . . as 'oceanic.' " 4 7 Exemplifyin g th e pleasur e tha t come s fro m a n extension o f eg o boundaries , anothe r psychoanalys t offer s thes e descriptions o f a child : I. A little boy of one and a half years was taken to an ocean beach for the first time. His sudden view of the tremendous expanse of sand and water, an almost unlimited o r infinite expanse , was met with tremendous excitement, one might almost say intoxication. The moment he got on the beach, he ran and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, his arms outstretched, shrieking with delight. He did not stop running until he was exhausted. In his running one could see how he tried to encompass this tremendous expanse of what must have appeared to him as limitless space, and how his ego seemed to identify with it. II. Th e same boy at the age of four an d a half was walking in the woods with his father an d others. They came to a kind of clearing where the trees were far apart down a large clear hill. He brok e away from th e group and ran gleefully dow n the hill singing, "I' m free, I' m free, I' m free lik e a bird." 48 In th e sam e vein , a smal l bo y o f m y ow n acquaintanc e use d t o exhort m e i n tone s o f joy and awe : "Kick th e bal l s o it touche s th e

Rationalized Admiration

85

sky!" Simila r t o th e childre n i n thes e vignettes , grown-up s ma y undergo a feelin g o f eg o expansio n whe n the y vicariousl y partici pate i n th e rapi d journey s o f the highwaymen . If freedo m o f movemen t i s a n importan t reaso n fo r ou r at traction t o th e criminal , thi s woul d hel p t o explai n wh y highway men wer e extolle d mor e tha n an y othe r criminal s i n eighteenth and nineteenth-centur y England . Evidenc e o f th e highwaymen' s popularity come s fro m th e memoir s o f the Abbe L e Blanc . Durin g his travels in Englan d i n 1737 , th e Abbe wrote tha t h e was contin uously meetin g Englishme n "wh o wer e no t les s vai n i n boastin g of th e succes s o f thei r highwayme n tha n o f th e braver y o f thei r troops." Everyone , h e continued , ha d a stor y t o tel l o f th e high waymen's generosit y an d "cunning " an d " a note d thie f wa s a kin d of hero." 4 9 I n keepin g with L e Blanc' s impressionistic accoun t i s a historian's conclusio n tha t highwa y robber y "wa s a kin d o f thiev ery that seem s t o hav e been considered fitfora gentleman" 50 In th e nineteent h century , too , outla w "gentleme n o f th e road " attracted grea t interes t an d admiration . T h e nove l Rookwood, which idealize d th e highwayma n Dic k Turpin , wa s immediatel y successful, whil e sale s o f Jack Sheppard, a tal e abou t th e highway man o f th e sam e name , outnumbere d thos e o f Oliver Twist. 51 Ye t another sig n o f th e endurin g glamou r associate d wit h thi s kin d o f criminal i s the us e o f the ter m highwayman t o describ e fashionabl e clothes. Fo r example , i n 1901 , th e Daily Chronicle described Sara h Bernhardt a s looking "ver y strikin g i n a wonderful gow n . . . half concealed b y a lon g paleto t o f whit e silk , mad e i n th e 'highway man' shape , wit h a number o f natty littl e capes. " O r again , a 196 6 issue o f Vogue contains th e caption : "Vogue' s adventurer s wea r . . . highwaymen' s coats." 52 Tha t garment s shoul d becom e mor e appealing b y virtue o f thei r connectio n t o highwayme n i s remark able i n vie w o f th e historica l fact s abou t thi s typ e o f criminal : i n reality, man y highwayme n wer e viciou s rapist s an d murderers. 53 Like th e Englis h robber s o n fas t horses , th e famou s America n outlaws o f th e 1930 s ar e associate d wit h freedo m and , mor e spe cifically, wit h spee d o f movement . O n th e moder n highway s tha t emerged i n th e earl y thirties , bandit s suc h a s Bonni e Parke r an d

86

Rationalized Admiration

Clyde Barro w coul d ro b a ban k an d b e tw o hundre d mile s awa y by nightfall. Car s tha t were faste r tha n eve r before , car s that coul d travel u p t o ninet y mile s pe r hour , no t onl y contribute d t o th e flourishing o f thes e criminals ; the y ar e als o a n intrinsi c par t o f their illustriou s image. 54 Another variatio n o n th e associatio n o f criminalit y wit h freedom i s the moti f o f the crimina l a s child. We se e thi s ide a embod ied i n th e pirat e Lon g Joh n Silve r i n Rober t Loui s Stevenson' s novel Treasure Island. Lik e othe r criminal s w e hav e considered , Long John ca n b e understoo d i n relatio n t o a t leas t tw o admirin g noncriminals: th e reade r an d a fictional character , th e cabi n bo y and narrator , Ji m Hawkins . Upo n first meetin g Lon g John , Ji m describes hi m positively : " I though t I kne w wha t a buccaneer wa s like—a ver y differen t creature , accordin g t o me , from thi s clea n and pleasant-tempere d landlord." 55 Concludin g tha t Silve r i s no t a pirate , Ji m become s friends wit h hi m an d finds Silve r t o b e "unweariedly kind " an d "th e bes t o f men." 5 6 Later , afte r learnin g of Silver' s schem e t o tak e ove r th e boa t an d kil l man y goo d men , Jim react s with revulsio n t o hi s former friend : " I had, b y this time , taken suc h a horro r o f hi s cruelty , duplicity , an d power , tha t I could scarc e concea l a shudde r whe n h e lai d hi s han d upo n m y arm." 5 7 Upo n overhearin g Silve r knif e a ma n t o death , Ji m de scribes th e buccanee r a s a "monster " an d "murderer, " obliviousl y "cleansing hi s blood-staine d knif e th e whil e upo n a whis p o f grass." 58 Jim no w resist s Silver' s charm s bu t canno t hel p noticing , "He wa s brave an d n o mistake." 59 Stevenson's Treasure Island neve r full y resolve s th e tensio n be tween Jim's attractio n t o Silve r an d hi s disapprova l o f him . I n th e movie version s o f thi s story , however , Jim's lov e fo r Silve r prove s stronger tha n hi s moral scruples . For example , in the 193 4 produc tion directe d b y Victo r Fleming , Ji m enable s Silve r t o escap e prosecution, accept s hi s parro t a s a partin g gift , an d weep s upo n separating fro m hi s pirat e friend. 60 T h e Disne y versio n als o sug gests tha t th e positiv e sid e o f Jim' s ambivalenc e towar d Silve r prevails in the end . Nicely epitomizin g Jim's psychological conflic t in th e final scene , th e film depict s Silve r sailin g awa y from th e

Rationalized Admiration

87

honest men , wavin g good-by e t o them . Ji m hesitates , the n put s his hand u p quickly , halfway, meetin g Silver' s wave. 61 T h e typica l noncrimina l reader' s respons e t o Silve r ca n b e gauged b y th e summar y o n th e bac k cove r o f th e Banta m Classi c Edition. I n a n amusin g no n sequitur , th e editor s describ e Lon g John a s "th e merr y unscrupulou s buccanee r rogu e whos e greed y quest fo r gol d canno t hel p bu t wi n th e hear t o f ever y sou l wh o ever longe d fo r romance , treasure , an d adventure." 62 Unscrupu lousness an d gree d ar e no t usuall y though t o f a s lovable traits , ye t here th e editor s sugges t tha t the y may be th e very basis for Silver' s appeal. Indeed , th e essenc e o f hi s char m seem s t o li e i n a n utte r obliviousness t o th e mora l code , togethe r wit h a childlike assump tion tha t peopl e wil l no t hol d hi m accountabl e fo r hi s evi l deeds . T h e followin g exchange , whic h occur s nea r th e en d o f th e book , throws thes e qualitie s int o relief : At the top, the squire met us.. . . At Silver's polite salute he somewhat flushed. "John Silver," he said, "you're a prodigious villain and imposter—a monstrou s impostor, sir. I am told I am not to prosecute you. Well, then, I will not. But the dead men, sir, hang about your neck like millstones." "Thank you kindly, sir," replied Long John, again saluting. "I dare you to thank me!" cried the squire. "It is a gross dereliction of my duty." 63 Notwithstanding th e humorou s effec t o f suc h passages , i t i s important t o not e tha t Lon g Joh n i s n o innocuou s outla w bu t rather a thoroughly immora l crimina l wh o commit s deed s tha t ar e heinous b y anyone' s standards . Yet , suc h i s hi s appea l that , i n addition t o th e origina l boo k an d th e movies , a t least on e pla y an d a children' s boo k hav e bee n writte n celebratin g Silve r an d hi s exploits. 64 Shakespeare's thief , Si r John Falstaff , exert s a n attractio n o n a similar basis , bot h fo r th e noncrimina l playgoe r an d fo r Falstaff' s fictional friend Princ e Hal . Princ e Hal' s lov e fo r hi s crimina l friend come s throug h i n th e speec h h e make s whe n h e believe s Falstaff t o b e dead . Significantly , h e allude s to Falstaff' s immoralit y in th e ver y sentenc e wher e h e stresse s hi s abidin g affection :

88

Rationalized Admiration

"What, ol d acquaintance ! Coul d no t al l thi s flesh kee p i n a littl e life? Poo r Jack , farewell . I coul d hav e bette r spare d a bette r man." 6 5 Althoug h som e critic s hav e denie d tha t Falstaff' s appea l lies i n hi s criminality , Rober t Hapgoo d seem s righ t i n sayin g tha t this view understates ou r ow n guilt , fo r Falstaff' s stealin g is centra l to hi s personality. More specifically , a s Hapgood notes , "hi s thiev ing i s o f a piec e wit h hi s lying : bot h ar e appealingl y childlik e i n their uninhibite d expansiveness." 66 Althoug h Falstaf f i s a n ol d man, h e i s associate d bot h wit h childlik e qualitie s an d wit h yout h itself. Fo r example , i n on e scen e whe n h e an d hi s cohort s ro b some travelers , h e exclaims : "Han g ye , gorbellie d knaves , ar e y e undone? No , y e fa t chuffs ; I woul d you r stor e wer e here . On , bacons, on ! What, ye knaves, young men must live." 67 Lik e a child , Falstaff allow s othe r people , specificall y Princ e Ha l an d th e taver n hostess, t o provid e fo r hi s needs . W h e n th e hostes s endeavor s t o collect he r debt , Falstaf f preemptivel y charge s tha t someon e ha s picked hi s pockets. T he hostes s replies : "No , Si r John, yo u d o no t know me , Si r John; I kno w you, Si r John. Yo u owe m e money , Si r John, an d no w you pic k a quarrel t o beguil e m e o f it. I bought yo u a doze n o f shirt s t o you r back." 68 Sh e goe s o n t o charg e tha t Falstaff als o owe s he r fo r food , drink , an d mone y previousl y loaned t o him. 69 Falstaf f thu s represent s freedo m i n th e sens e o f a childlike irresponsibility . Princ e Hal , a noncriminal, i s attracted t o Falstaff i n part because he knows that eventually , when h e become s king, h e will have t o pu t awa y childish things . Prince Hal' s affectio n fo r Falstaf f ha s bee n share d b y th e play going public . Henry IV, Part I wen t throug h si x editions i n it s first twenty-five years . Moreover , contemporar y author s referre d t o Falstaff mor e tha n t o an y othe r Shakespearea n character . Ac cording t o tradition , Quee n Elizabet h hersel f wa s s o please d wit h the rogu e tha t sh e aske d t o se e Falstaf f i n love . I n respons e t o he r request, s o th e traditio n continues , Shakespear e wrot e th e Merry Wives of Windsor. 70 Yet another dimensio n o f the freedom tha t the criminal symbol izes is freedom from socia l pressures. Danie l Defoe' s heroin e Mol l Flanders, i n hi s nove l b y th e sam e name , attract s ou r admiratio n

Rationalized Admiration

89

by embodyin g thi s kin d o f freedom. 71 A chroni c thief , prostitute , and convicte d felon , Mol l ha s bee n describe d b y on e criti c a s "immoral, shallow , hypocritical, heartless." 72 Yet, the sam e schola r continues, "Mol l i s marvellous." 73 Thi s ver y positiv e assessmen t of Moll—and th e reason s fo r it—ar e widel y share d b y readers o f the novel . Virgini a Wool f speak s fo r man y i n rejectin g Defoe' s self-declared purpos e i n writin g th e book , whic h wa s t o provid e a negative exampl e t o hi s readers . "Defoe, " sh e asserts , "di d no t pronounce mor e tha n a judgment o f th e lip s upo n . . . [th e crimi nals'] failings . Bu t thei r courag e an d resourc e an d tenacit y de lighted him." 7 4 Woolf point s ou t tha t Mol l enjoye d "th e freedom o f th e out cast," becaus e sh e ha d broke n th e law s o f societ y ver y young. 75 Other reader s hav e note d Moll' s hig h valuatio n o f independence . They hav e confirme d Moll' s assessmen t o f the option s ope n t o he r as a n eighteenth-centur y woman : t o b e a crimina l an d maintai n her independence , o r t o b e a maidservan t an d los e al l hop e o f individual freedom an d development. 76 Becaus e w e sens e tha t these ar e Moll's onl y choices, we appreciate he r decisio n t o b e free as a crimina l rathe r tha n enslave d a s a n hones t person . I n th e words o f Moll' s admirer : "Wha t make s he r splendid— a grea t heroine—is tha t sh e want s he r independence , t o wor k fo r hersel f in freedom. Sh e i s . .. determine d t o b e a huma n being , no t a servant, an d th e feelin g o f wha t i t mean s t o b e a servan t i s wha t generates th e impulse s whic h carr y he r throug h mos t o f th e book." 77 A simila r conceptio n o f th e crimina l a s a her o wh o i s free from socia l pressure s pervade s th e detectiv e novel s o f Patrici a Highsmith. Highsmit h portray s a societ y wher e mos t peopl e ar e trapped withi n families , organization s an d othe r collectivities . Criminals, b y contrast, lea d lives outside o f these structures . Ofte n the criminal s ar e th e heroe s o f he r novels : the y ar e no t onl y th e central protagonist s bu t als o th e mos t likeabl e character s i n th e books. 78 Highsmit h hersel f cite s thei r embodimen t o f freedom t o explain th e appea l o f her criminal-heroes : "Criminal s ar e dramati cally interesting, becaus e fo r a time a t leas t the y ar e active , free i n

Rationalized Admiration

po

spirit, an d the y d o no t knuckl e dow n t o anyone." 79 Significantly , in The Talented Mr. Ripley, th e boo k tha t man y o f Highsmith' s readers lik e best , th e protagonist , a murdere r an d thief , goe s fre e in th e end. 80 In th e nex t section , I tur n fro m th e criminal' s associatio n wit h freedom t o th e criminal' s associatio n wit h greatness . Her e I tak e up th e powerfu l lin k betwee n criminalit y an d pride , especiall y overweening pride , o r hubris . A FUNCTIO N O F H I S VIRTUE : T H E CRIMINA L A S AN E M B O D I M E N T O F G R E A T N E S S

For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked .

.................

Pride is their necklace; violence covers them a s a garment.

..........................................................................

They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongu e struts through the earth. Therefore th e people turn and praise them; And find no fault with them. —Psalms 73:3-10 T h e crimina l a s a dreame r o f dreams , a s on e wh o aspire s t o immortality, a s a characte r large r tha n life , albei t wit h fee t o f clay—such i s th e typ e o f admire d crimina l t o b e considere d first under th e rubri c o f "greatness. " Rober t Pen n Warren' s nove l All the King's Men portray s suc h a crimina l i n th e characte r Willi e Stark, wh o commit s felonie s t o retai n politica l powe r an d t o real ize hi s sometime s idealisti c ends . Afte r h e i s assassinated , hi s wif e names he r grandso n fo r Willie . I n a conversatio n wit h Jack Bur den, Willie' s loya l ma n Friday , sh e explain s tha t sh e ha s don e s o "because Willi e wa s a grea t man." 8 1 Sh e goe s on : " 'Oh, I kno w he mad e mistakes, ' sh e said , an d lifte d u p he r chi n a s thoug h facing something , 'ba d mistakes . Mayb e h e di d ba d thing s lik e they say . Bu t inside—i n here , dee p down— ' an d sh e lai d he r hand t o he r bosom—'h e wa s a grea t man. ' " 8 2 Jac k comment s that, i n th e end , h e cam e t o believ e tha t too. 83 Fo r Jack , Lucy , and Willie' s othe r admirers , th e magnitud e o f Willie' s deed s an d

Rationalized Admiration

91

aspirations outweighe d th e evi l o f th e mean s h e employed . Bu t more tha n that , perhap s th e crimina l mean s wer e a n inseparabl e part o f his greatnes s an d thu s a n essentia l basi s o f his appeal . This associatio n i s clearer in Jack's relationship t o another crim inal, Judg e Irwin . A s th e stor y unfolds , Jac k discover s tha t th e judge, no w a n uprigh t citizen , committe d a crim e man y year s earlier, coverin g u p a felon y t o kee p hi s house . Reflectin g tha t h e himself would no t commi t a crime t o sav e the house , Jack observe s that perhap s thi s i s merel y becaus e h e doe s no t lov e th e hous e a s much a s th e Judg e ha d love d it , "an d a man' s virtu e ma y b e bu t the defec t o f hi s desire , a s hi s crim e ma y b e bu t a functio n o f hi s virtue." 84 T h e paradoxica l moti f o f crim e a s a "functio n o f one' s virtue " also runs throug h Pete r Shaffer' s moder n play-fz/ra-detective-stor y Equus. T he pla y focuses o n th e relationshi p betwee n a psychiatrist , Martin Dysart , an d hi s patient , Ala n Strang , a seventeen-year-ol d stableboy wh o plunge d a steel spik e int o th e eye s o f si x horses. I n the followin g passage , Dysar t struggle s wit h hi s fea r that , i n treat ing th e bo y an d renderin g hi m les s dangerous , h e wil l depriv e Alan o f a rare an d value d quality : Look,... t o go through life and call it yours—your life —you first have to get your own pain. Pain that's unique to you. You can't just dip into the common bin and say, That's enough! ' .. . He's done that. All right he's sick. He's full of misery and fear. He was dangerous and could be again.... Bu t that boy has known a passion more ferocious tha n I have felt in any second of my life. And let me tell you something: I envy it.85 By contras t wit h Alan , wh o ha s create d a religio n centerin g o n horses an d characterize d b y emotional , secret , nighttim e rituals , Dysart believe s tha t h e himsel f lead s a paltr y existence . A s h e confesses t o his frien d Hesther : " I shran k m y own life. N o on e ca n do i t fo r you . I settle d fo r bein g palli d an d provincial , ou t o f m y own eterna l timidity." 86 T h e ide a tha t crimina l behavio r ma y b e entwine d wit h th e criminal's greates t qualitie s als o appear s i n Joseph Conrad' s nove l Heart of Darkness. Lik e Luc y Star k i n relatio n t o he r husband , an d

92

Rationalized Admiration

Martin Dysar t i n relatio n t o Alan, Marlow finds himsel f overlook ing Kurtz' s crime s becaus e the y pal e i n relatio n t o th e man' s grea t gifts: "Hadn' t I bee n tol d i n al l th e tone s o f jealous y an d admira tion tha t h e [Kurtz ] ha d collected , bartered , swindled , o r stole n more ivor y tha n al l th e othe r agent s together ? That was not the point. The point was in his being a gifted creature"* 1 Mor e importan t even tha n th e magnitud e o f hi s talen t i s th e grandeu r o f Kurtz' s vision: "Bette r hi s cr y ["Th e horror!"]—muc h better . I t wa s a n affirmation, a mora l victor y pai d fo r b y abominabl e terrors , b y abominable satisfactions . Bu t i t wa s a victory! T h a t i s why I hav e remained loya l to Kurt z t o th e last." 88 Like othe r noncriminal s i n relationship s wit h criminals , Mar low acknowledge s Kurtz' s transgressions : "True , h e ha d mad e tha t last stride , h e ha d steppe d ove r th e edge." 89 But , fo r Marlow , Kurtz's "abominabl e terrors " (includin g murderin g native s an d displaying thei r head s o n posts ) wer e outweighe d b y his profoun d understanding. Marlow' s descriptio n o f hi s reactio n t o Brussel s upon returnin g fro m th e Belgia n Cong o highlight s th e natur e o f Kurtz's appeal : I found mysel f back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each other, to devour their infamous cookery , to gulp their unwholesome beer, to dream their insignificant an d silly dreams.... I felt so sure they could not possibly know what I knew. Their bear ing, which was simply the bearing of commonplace individuals . . . was offensive t o me like the outrageous flauntings of folly in the face of a danger it is unable to comprehend. 90 To thes e noncrimina l bu t trivia l an d ignoran t lives , Marlo w im plicitly opposes his own life based on superior knowledge—knowl edge h e gaine d from th e criminal , Kurtz . T h e them e o f the crimina l a s one who see s beyond th e obvious , who i s i n touc h wit h a true r o r mor e significan t realm , als o run s through Coli n Maclnnes' s nove l Mr. Love and Justice. T h e boo k concerns th e evolvin g relationshi p betwee n a policeman , Edwar d Justice, an d a pimp, Franki e Love . A t on e point , whil e Mr. Justice is stil l learnin g hi s job , a n informe r endeavor s t o teac h hi m som e fundamental truths :

Rationalized Admiration

93

"The fact is this," the nark 91 continued,.. . "Yo u may not approve of what I say, but you and me have one big thing in common: neither of us is mugs: both of us sees below the surface of how things seem." "Yeah," Edward said. "And I'll tell you something more," the nark went on. "It's even the same between you and the criminals, as you'll discover. Neither they nor you belong to the great world of the mugs; you know what I mean: the millions who pay their taxes by the pea-ehwhy-ee, read their Sunday papers for the scandals, do their pools on Thursdays, watch the jingles on the telly, travel to and fro t o work on tubes and buses in the rush hour, take a fortnight's annua l holiday by the sea, and think the world is just like that." 92 Removed from th e routinize d an d benighte d domai n o f ordinar y people, criminal s lea d elevate d lives ; t o borro w a phras e from another nove l abou t criminals , the y belon g t o th e "th e Realm." 93 Like Heart of Darkness an d Mr. Love and Justice, Schiller' s pla y The Robbers contrasts criminals ' importan t undertaking s wit h th e inglorious activitie s o f thei r noncrimina l contemporaries . Nea r the beginnin g o f th e play , th e protagonist , Charle s Moor , reflect s on th e pettines s o f men' s enterprise s i n hi s time : " I a m disguste d with thi s ag e o f pun y scribbler s whe n I rea d o f grea t me n i n m y Plutarch." 94 Significantly , hi s thought s fal l o n th e ancien t god thief, Prometheus , wh o stol e fire an d gav e it t o man : The glowin g spark of Prometheus is burnt out, and now they substitute for it the flesh of lycopodium, a stage fire which will not so much as light a pipe. . . . . . . Fie! Fie upon this weak, effeminate age , fit for nothing but to ponder over the deeds of former times. 95 In thi s mood , Charle s turn s a receptiv e ea r t o th e exhortation s o f an acquaintance , Spiegel , wh o promise s greatnes s i f Charle s wil l join i n formin g a band o f robbers : Cowards, cripples, lame dogs are ye all if you have not courag e enough to venture upon something great. . . . . . . My plan will exalt you the most, and it holds out glory and immortality into the bargain. 96 T h e moti f o f th e crimina l a s a n embodimen t o f greatnes s als o pervades Arthur Cona n Doyle' s shor t stor y "The Adventur e o f th e

94

Rationalized Admiration

Final Problem. " Here , too , w e se e a variatio n o n thi s motif : th e criminal a s a worthy opponent . Sherloc k Holmes ' hig h estee m fo r the criminal , Professo r Moriarty , come s throug h i n th e followin g passage: He is the Napoleon o f crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. 97 N o t onl y doe s Holme s tak e vicariou s pleasur e i n Moriarty' s power an d ability ; mor e specifically , h e delight s i n havin g foun d an enem y h e ca n respect . Speakin g t o Dr . Watson , h e exults : " 'Yo u kno w m y powers , m y dea r Watson , an d ye t a t th e en d o f three month s I wa s force d t o confes s tha t I ha d a t las t me t a n antagonist wh o was my intellectua l equal . My horro r a t his crime s was los t i n m y admiratio n a t hi s skill. ' " 9 8 Elaboratin g o n thi s theme, Holme s tell s o f th e enjoymen t h e derive d fro m pursuin g the criminal : " I tel l you , m y friend , tha t i f a detaile d accoun t o f that silen t contes t coul d b e written , i t woul d tak e it s plac e a s the mos t brillian t bi t o f thrust-and-parr y wor k i n th e histor y o f detection. Neve r hav e I rise n t o suc h a height , an d neve r hav e I been s o har d presse d b y a n opponent." 9 9 Thus , th e magnitud e o f the criminal' s talen t mad e hi m a matc h fo r th e hero , enlivenin g the hero' s existenc e an d challengin g hi m t o hi s bes t efforts . Afte r Holmes an d Moriart y mee t violent , conjoine d deaths , Watso n equates th e tw o men , pronouncin g tha t ther e i n th e wate r woul d "lie fo r al l time th e mos t dangerou s crimina l an d th e foremos t champion o f the la w of their generation. " 10 ° In subsequen t stories , afte r Holmes , bu t no t Moriarty , ha s bee n restored t o life , Holmes' s nee d o f a grea t crimina l become s eve n more apparent . I n "Th e Adventur e o f th e Norwoo d Builder, " w e find th e detectiv e complaining , "Londo n ha s becom e a singularl y uninteresting cit y sinc e th e deat h o f th e lat e lamente d Professo r Moriarty." 101 H e add s that with Moriarty alive , the mornin g pape r had "presente d infinit e possibilities, " b y contras t wit h it s sorr y

Rationalized Admiration

95

state i n th e criminal' s absence. 102 I n a stil l late r story , Holme s wistfully observe s t o Watso n tha t a certai n physicia n woul d mak e a wonderfu l crimina l opponent : " 'Dr . Lesli e Armstron g i s cer tainly a ma n o f energ y an d character, ' sai d he . ' I hav e no t see n a man wh o i f he turne d hi s talent s tha t way , wa s mor e calculate d t o fill the ga p left b y the illustriou s Moriarty.' " 1 0 3 Her e w e have, no t the usua l mitigatio n o f a criminal' s sordi d qualitie s t o allo w fo r guiltless admiration , bu t rathe r th e fantas y tha t a noncrimina l might becom e a great crimina l t o allo w for th e pleasure s o f pursu ing a worthy opponent . Like Sherloc k Holmes , Porfir y Petrovich , th e inquisito r i n Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment appreciate s th e greatnes s o f his crimina l counterpart , Raskolnikov . Porfir y speak s truthfull y a s well a s manipulatively whe n h e tell s th e murderer : " I loo k o n yo u as a mos t honourabl e ma n an d one , indeed , wit h element s o f greatness i n you." 1 0 4 Moreover , Porfiry , agai n lik e Holmes , i s comfortable acknowledgin g th e similarit y between himsel f an d th e criminal. I n th e final dialogu e betwee n th e tw o men , Porfir y confesses t o Raskolniko v tha t h e to o ha s committe d excesses , deeds o f questionabl e morality , i n th e proces s o f seekin g th e trut h about th e murde r o f th e ol d pawnbroke r an d he r sister . H e ha s covertly searche d Raskolnikov' s roo m an d ha s sprea d fals e rumor s through Raskolnikov' s friend i n a n effor t t o confus e hi s prey. 105 Unlike Javert, th e persecutiv e polic e office r i n Les Miserables, Por firy doe s no t nee d t o se e th e crimina l a s utterl y differen t from himself t o maintai n hi s self-esteem. 106 We hav e see n tha t noncriminal s associat e criminal s wit h great ness i n th e followin g senses : (i ) carin g wit h passionat e intensit y (All The King's Men an d Equus); (2 ) knowing thing s tha t noncrimi nals canno t kno w (Heart of Darkness an d Mr. Love And Justice); (3 ) dwelling i n a higher , mor e significan t real m tha n noncriminal s (Mr. Love And Justice an d The Robbers); and (4 ) servin g a s gifte d adversaries wh o enric h th e live s o f thei r noncrimina l opponent s (the storie s abou t Sherloc k Holme s an d Crime and Punishment). It i s no w tim e t o as k wha t constitute s th e appea l o f greatness . Or, t o pu t i t mor e precisely , wha t need s ar e noncriminal s gratify -

96

Rationalized Admiration

ing whe n the y choos e t o perceiv e th e crimina l a s great ? T h e psychoanalytic concep t o f narcissis m throw s som e ligh t o n thi s question. T h e theor y o f narcissis m take s a s it s startin g poin t cer tain findings base d o n observation s o f childre n durin g th e earl y years o f life . Thes e observation s sugges t that , a s junio r toddlers , from th e ag e o f abou t te n o r twelv e month s t o sixtee n o r eightee n months, w e believ e i n ou r ow n omnipotence . I n thei r semina l study The Psychological Birth of The Human Infant, Margare t Mah ler an d he r co-author s describ e thi s phas e a s follows: "[T]h e chil d seems intoxicate d wit h hi s ow n facultie s an d wit h th e greatnes s o f his ow n world . Narcissis m i s a t it s peak ! . .. H e i s exhilarate d b y his ow n ability , continuall y delighte d wit h th e discoverie s h e makes i n hi s expandin g worl d an d quasi-enamore d wit h th e worl d and hi s ow n grandeu r an d omnipotence." 107 Ther e come s a time , however, late r i n th e secon d yea r o f life , whe n w e realiz e tha t w e are not all-powerfu l bu t highl y vulnerable t o th e man y insult s an d injuries lif e ha s t o offer. 108 Alon g wit h thi s discover y come s th e acute realizatio n tha t w e are , i n fact , separat e from ou r parents — that thei r wishe s ar e no t necessaril y ours , an d our s ar e no t invari ably theirs. 109 This twofol d disappointment , thi s recognitio n o f ou r essentia l helplessness an d aloneness , i s a blo w from whic h w e neve r full y recover. 110 Throughou t life , w e ma y a t time s defen d agains t thi s narcissistic woun d b y th e mechanis m o f denial—b y creatin g a fantasy tha t obliterate s th e unpleasan t reality . Thi s fantas y ma y take eithe r o f tw o forms : " I a m perfect, " o r "Yo u ar e perfect , bu t you ar e par t o f me." 1 1 1 I t i s th e latte r kin d o f fantasy , terme d "narcissistic investment, " tha t seem s t o characteriz e noncriminals ' relationships wit h criminal s who m the y perceiv e a s great . Thus , when Luc y Star k insist s that , i n spit e o f everything , Willi e wa s a "great man, " o r whe n Marlo w choose s th e crimina l bu t godlik e Kurtz ove r th e "commonplace " Belgian s wit h thei r "insignifican t and sill y dreams, " Luc y an d Marlo w ar e narcissisticall y investin g Willie an d Kurtz , respectively ; tha t is , the y ar e idealizin g an d identifying wit h th e criminal s t o den y their ow n natur e a s limited , mortal creatures . Similarly , whe n Sherloc k Holme s waxe s elo -

Rationalized Admiration

97

quent abou t th e omnipotenc e o f Professo r Moriarty , w e ca n un derstand thi s a s a techniqu e fo r "self-aggrandizemen t an d subtl e self-delusion tha t . . . [he , lik e al l people ] finds necessar y t o as suage th e insul t o f his tru e being." 112 T h a t criminal s shoul d serv e as narcissistically investe d object s fo r noncriminal s i s not acciden tal. Criminal s readil y len d themselve s t o th e categor y o f greatnes s because the y are, by definition, peopl e who refus e t o b e limite d b y the rule s an d scruple s tha t circumscrib e norma l lives . I tur n no w from th e crimina l wh o manifest s greatnes s t o th e criminal wh o attract s u s b y virtu e o f bein g different , wh o repre sents ou r yearnin g fo r th e lon g ag o an d fa r away . I hav e alread y anticipated thi s them e wit h th e example s o f th e respecte d adver sary—the crimina l wh o i s opposit e ye t th e same . T h e crimina l who attract s u s b y his exoti c qualitie s als o embodie s a n intriguin g mix of difference an d similarity .

PEOPLE O FA FOREIG N COUNTRY : T H E CRIMINA AsA

L

GLAMOROU S STRANGE R

In a beautifu l essay , Geor g Simme l ha s define d th e strange r a s the "potentia l wanderer, " explaining : "Althoug h h e ha s not move d on, h e ha s not quit e overcom e th e freedom o f coming an d going. " Simmel point s ou t tha t t o b e a stranger i s actually a "ver y positiv e relation." T h e inhabitant s o f a distan t star , b y contrast , "ar e no t really stranger s t o us , a t leas t no t i n an y sociologicall y relevan t sense: the y d o no t exis t fo r u s a t all ; they ar e beyon d fa r an d near . T h e stranger , lik e th e poo r an d lik e sundr y 'inne r enemies, ' i s an elemen t o f th e grou p itself. " Mor e specifically , th e strange r represents th e "unit y o f nearnes s an d remoteness, " o f wanderin g and fixation: "[I] n th e relationshi p t o him , distanc e mean s tha t he , who i s clos e by , i s far , an d strangenes s mean s tha t he , wh o i s als o far, i s actually near." 113 T h e associatio n betwee n th e crimina l an d th e strange r i n Sim mePs sens e appear s nea r th e beginnin g o f Prospe r Merimee' s no vella Carmen, whe n th e narrator finds himsel f travelin g with a man who seem s t o frighten hi s guide , Antonio : "Antonio' s mysteriou s

98

Rationalized Admiration

signals, hi s eviden t anxiety , a fe w word s droppe d b y th e strange r . . . ha d alread y enable d m e t o for m a n opinio n o f th e identit y o f my fellow-traveller. " Bu t th e narrato r remain s unperturbe d an d even take s pleasur e i n th e knowledg e tha t h e i s travellin g wit h a n outlaw: I had no doubt at all that I was in the company of a smuggler, and possibly a brigand. What cared I? . .. I was very glad to know what a brigand was really like. One doesn't come across such gentry every day. And there is a certain charm about finding oneself in close proximity to a dangerous being, especiall y when one feels the being in question to be gentle and tame. 114 T h e narrato r view s th e brigan d a s representin g a "unit y o f near ness an d remoteness, " nearnes s b y virtu e o f bein g "gentl e an d tame" an d remotenes s b y virtu e o f bein g " a dangerou s being" — thus epitomizin g th e qualitie s o f the stranger . Like th e narrato r o f Carmen, th e narrato r o f Stevenson' s Kidnapped perceives th e crimina l a s a glamorous strange r whos e com pany h e seeks . T h e relevan t scen e occur s whe n Davi d Balfour , who ha s bee n abducte d an d force d t o serv e aboar d th e bri g Covenant, first encounter s Ala n Breck , th e notoriou s Jacobite terrorist . David, th e narrato r o f the novel , explain s t o th e reade r tha t "ther e were many exile d gentleme n comin g back at the peri l o f their live s . . . [running ] th e gauntle t o f ou r grea t navy " in th e aftermat h o f a failed Scottis h uprisin g agains t Englis h rule . H e continues : All this I had, of course, heard tell of; and now / had a man under my eyes whose life was forfeit o n all those counts and upon one more, for he was not only a smuggler of rents, but had taken service with King Louis of France.And as if all this were not enough, he had a belt full o f golden guineas round the loins. Whatever my opinions, I could not look on such a man without a lively interest. Although Brec k represents everythin g tha t Davi d ha s bee n taugh t to abhor , th e yout h canno t resis t a ma n "unde r [hi s own ] eyes, " who i s associate d wit h danger , wealth , an d a foreig n country . I n the nex t line , hi s fascinatio n lead s t o a n overture : " 'And s o you'r e a Jacobite?' sai d I , a s I se t meat befor e him." 1 1 5 F. Scot t Fitzgerald' s nove l The Great Gatsby provide s anothe r example o f a ma n wh o attract s other s b y hi s embodimen t o f

Rationalized Admiration 9

9

criminality an d exoticism . T o tak e u p th e them e o f criminalit y first, Ja y Gatsby' s caree r a s a bootlegger , hi s involvemen t wit h a hit an d ru n accident , an d hi s associatio n wit h othe r criminal s pla y only a mino r rol e i n th e plo t o f th e novel . Nevertheless , hi s connection t o crim e i s an importan t par t o f his allure , a s we se e i n the followin g passag e wher e Gatsby' s dinne r guest s speculat e about thei r host' s identity : The two girls and Jordan leaned together confidentially . "Somebody told me they thought he killed a man once." A thrill passed over all of us. The thre e Mr. Mumbles bent for ward and listened eagerly . After furthe r debat e abou t Gatsby' s background , th e guest s retur n to th e them e o f homicide : "You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody's looking at him. I'll bet he's killed a man." She narrowed her eyes and shivered. Lucille shivered. We all turned an d looked around for Gatsby. It was testimony to the romantic speculation he inspired that there were whispers about him from those who had found litd e that it was necessary to whisper about in this world. 116 T h e fantas y tha t thei r hos t ha s take n a life arouse s thes e jaundice d guests t o a n unaccustomed leve l o f excitement. 117 Gatsby inspire s interes t no t onl y b y bein g a probable kille r bu t also b y bein g a stranger , a n embodimen t o f nearnes s an d remote ness. I n a passag e tha t exemplifie s thi s theme , th e narrator , Nic k Carraway, refer s t o "thos e wh o accepte d Gatsby' s hospitalit y an d paid hi m th e subtl e tribut e o f knowin g nothin g whateve r abou t him." I n th e followin g exchang e betwee n Nic k an d hi s date , w e see eve n mor e clearl y tha t Gatsby' s allur e i s base d o n hi s associa tion wit h th e unknown : "Who is he?" I demanded. "Do you know?" "He's just a man named Gatsby. " "Where is he from, I mean? And what does he do?" "Nowyou're starte d on the subject," she answered with a wan smile. . .. .. . Something in her tone reminded me of the other girl's "I think he killed a man," and had the effect o f stimulating my curios-

IOO

Rationalized Admiration

ity.... [Y]oun g men didn't. . . drift cool y out of nowhere and buy a palace on Long Island Sound. 118 T h e them e o f th e crimina l a s a n admire d strange r als o appear s in a memoi r entitle d Within Prison Walls, b y Thoma s Mot t Os borne. 119 T h e boo k i s a n accoun t o f Osborne' s week-lon g volun tary incarceratio n i n th e stat e priso n a t Auburn , Ne w York . Os borne's vie w o f th e prisoner s i s centrall y informe d b y th e concep t of th e crimina l a s stranger . Consider , fo r example , thi s excerp t from a speech he makes to the inmates befor e becomin g a prisone r himself: "Whe n a ma n wishe s t o understan d a s full y a s possibl e the tempe r an d characte r o f th e people of a foreign country —England o r F r a n c e , . . . h e wil l no t b e satisfie d unti l h e ha s mad e a personal visi t t o th e countr y itself." 120 Late r i n th e sam e speech , he make s clea r tha t hi s goa l i s to attai n a n intimat e understandin g of thes e me n wh o ar e nea r an d ye t far : " I hav e th e feelin g tha t after I hav e reall y live d amon g yo u . . . an d no t unti l then , ca n I feel th e knowledg e whic h wil l brea k dow n th e barrier s betwee n my sou l an d th e soul s o f m y brothers." 121 Her e on e sense s Os borne's elatio n a t th e prospec t o f intimacy wit h th e ver y different . Throughout th e book , h e describe s hi s priso n sojour n a s a "grea t adventure." 122 Osborne i s no t onl y attracte d t o thes e crimina l strangers ; h e also holds them i n high regard, a s we see in the following passages : • Describin g a prisoner , h e writes : "H e himsel f i s a clean-cut , fine-looking fellow , with honest blue eyes and a good face—no t a single trace o f the 'Criminal ' abou t him. " • O f anothe r inmat e h e writes : " A pair o f hones t gra y eye s ligh t up with a smile." • H e characterize s the next prisoner a s "a slightly built, pleasantl y smiling young man. " • An d again : "M y workin g partner , Murphy , ha s a lif e t e r m . . . . He seem s lik e suc h a goo d fellow , an d th e Chaplai n ha s jus t spoken o f him most highly. "

Rationalized Admiration

101

• An d yet again : "Marchin g t o breakfas t I find mysel f b y the sid e of a young fellow... . H e i s tal l an d good-looking , wit h a n ai r of refinement whic h is appealing." 123 Osborne's characterization s o f th e prisoner s ar e overwhelm ingly positive, suggestin g idealization . Idealizatio n o f inmates ma y reflect a n unconsciou s hostilit y towar d th e authoritie s wh o ar e punishing thes e men . Indeed , w e catc h a glimps e o f th e rebe l i n Osborne whe n h e comment s o n th e gif t o f suga r tha t h e ha s clandestinely receive d from a prisoner: " I find mysel f wondering i f the suga r I' m eatin g ha s bee n honestl y com e b y . . . . I a m quit e sure tha t i n m y presen t stat e o f min d I shoul d enjo y i t bette r i f I knew i t ha d bee n stolen." 124 Osborne' s admiratio n fo r criminal s came to play a central role in his life. As chairman o f the New Yor k State Priso n Refor m Commission , h e initiate d self-governmen t among th e inmate s o f Auburn penitentiary. 125 Later , a t th e Nava l Prison a t Portsmouth , h e handle d som e si x thousan d inmate s without usin g an y guards within th e priso n compound. 126 Like Osborne , th e fictional characte r Nekliudo v i n Tolstoy' s novel Resurrection associate s criminal s wit h th e strang e an d fa r away. Travelin g t o Siberi a i n a n effor t t o redee m Maslova , a prostitute convicte d o f murder, h e look s abou t hi m a t th e worker s on th e train : "Yes, this is quite a new and different world, " thought Nekli udov. .. . . .. And he felt the joy of a traveller discovering a new, unknown and beautiful world. 127 If noncriminal s ofte n admir e criminal s fo r thei r exoti c glamor , their free, audaciou s life , an d thei r pursui t o f fairnes s an d right , a t other times , noncriminal s recoi l fro m criminal s wit h disgust — feeling themselve s t o be unbearably polluted b y the criminals ' ver y nearness. I n th e nex t chapter , I examin e th e feelin g o f loathin g that som e noncriminal s manifes t towar d criminals . Specifically , I will sugges t tha t thi s sens e o f revulsio n represent s a defens e against unconscious admiratio n fo r th e criminal .

CHAPTER 9 Repressed Admiration: Vicissitude of

Loathing

Attraction to

As

a

Criminals

NEWGATE I N M Y BREATH : ADMIRATION , LOATHING, AN D REPUDIATIO N

In Gu y d e Maupassant' s novell a Ball-of-Fat, a grou p o f me n and wome n ar e travelin g b y stagecoac h throug h occupie d France . Among the m i s a prostitut e nickname d "Ball-of-Fat." 1 Earl y i n the novella , sh e win s th e othe r passengers ' grudgin g respec t fo r her arden t patriotism . Whe n th e passenger s sto p fo r th e night , a Prussian arm y office r threaten s t o detai n the m indefinitel y unles s Ball-of-Fat wil l shar e hi s bed . Fiercel y anti-German , a t first Ball of-Fat i s adamant i n her refusal—a stanc e which som e o f the othe r travelers fai l t o comprehend . On e woma n remark s t o another : "Since it is the trade of this creature to accommodate herself to all kinds, I fail to see how she has the right to refuse on e more than another.. . . Fo r my part, I find that this officer conduct s himself very well.... And we must remember too that he is master. He has only to say, 'I wish,' and he could take us by force with his soldiers." The two women had a cold shiver. Pretty Madame Carre Lamadon's eyes grew brilliant and she became a litde pale, as if she saw herself already taken by force by the officer. 2 As Maupassan t present s it , th e ide a o f engagin g i n se x wit h a stranger is , i n fantasy , a n excitin g notio n t o thes e bourgeoi s women. Moreover , on e o f th e wome n i s portraye d a s attracte d t o the officer : "Th e gentee l Madam e Carre-Lamado n seeme d t o think tha t i n he r [Ball-of-Fat's ] place , sh e woul d refus e thi s on e less than som e others." 3 Eventually, wor n dow n b y the self-servin g cajolin g o f th e othe r passengers, Ball-of-Fa t agree s t o th e officer' s demand . Durin g th e act o f intercourse , th e passenger s jok e abou t wha t i s happening , I02

Repressed Admiration

103

and th e atmospher e amon g the m i s charge d wit h sensuality. 4 While the y wait , occasionall y listenin g fo r sound s from th e floor above, on e woma n tell s her husban d tha t Carre-Lamado n i s gree n with env y o f th e prostitute. 5 Afte r i t i s al l over , th e othe r passen gers repudiat e Ball-of-Fat , treatin g he r wit h utte r contempt . So beautifully doe s Maupassant write thi s story, and s o naturall y do th e event s unfold , tha t th e travelers ' behavio r seem s quit e predictable. I t ma y no t occu r t o u s t o questio n th e basi s o f thei r repudiation an d contempt . W hy d o the passengers mak e a n about face regardin g th e prostitute , afte r sh e ha s don e th e ver y thin g that the y ha d aske d he r t o do ? Fro m th e hint s droppe d i n th e story, th e bes t explanatio n seem s t o b e tha t th e othe r passenger s identify wit h Ball-of-Fa t an d he r ac t o f self-abasement . Precisel y because the y resonat e t o he r behavior , whil e als o regardin g i t a s immoral, the y canno t consciousl y accep t Ball-of-Fat ; the y repudi ate he r a s a way o f avoidin g awarenes s tha t they , too , ar e capabl e of prostitution . Indeed , sinc e i t wa s the y wh o persuade d he r t o sacrifice he r principles , the y ar e he r accomplice s i n th e ac t o f harlotry. Another portraya l o f a noncrimina l who , a t on e stage , repudi ates a crimina l appear s i n Charle s Dickens' s nove l Great Expectations. I n th e openin g pages , th e smal l bo y Pip , alon e o n th e marshes, encounter s a n escape d convict , who , w e subsequentl y learn, i s name d Magwitch . T h e convic t demand s tha t Pi p obtai n some foo d an d a file for him . Terrified, Pi p steal s the wanted item s from hi s siste r an d brother-in-la w an d return s t o th e marshes , where h e nearl y stumble s upo n anothe r convic t befor e turnin g over th e provision s t o Magwitch . During thi s phas e o f th e story , Dicken s repeatedl y refer s t o Pip's guilt-ridde n identificatio n wit h Magwitch . Fo r example , Pi p feels lik e a thief , becaus e h e i s stealin g from hi s sister : " I fel t fearfully sensibl e o f th e grea t convenienc e tha t th e Hulk s wer e handy fo r me . I wa s clearl y o n m y wa y there . I ha d begu n b y asking questions , an d I wa s goin g t o ro b Mrs . Joe." 6 Projectin g his sens e o f guil t ont o th e worl d aroun d him , h e imagine s th e cows h e passe s callin g ou t t o him : " A bo y wit h somebod y else' s

104

Repressed Admiration

pork pie ! Sto p him ! Hallo a youn g thief!" 7 Whil e runnin g bac k t o the marshes , Pi p compare s th e col d rivete d t o hi s feet, "a s the iro n was riveted t o th e le g of the ma n I was running t o meet." 8 In a later scene , whe n Pi p an d hi s brother-in-la w participat e i n a searc h fo r th e escape d criminals , Pi p refer s t o Magwitc h wit h the word s "m y convict." 9 Ostensibly , h e employ s thi s phras e t o distinguish th e ma n h e ha d talke d to , whos e nam e h e doe s no t know, from th e othe r felon . However , th e expression , whic h i s repeated a s ofte n a s nin e time s i n tw o pages , als o convey s a n affectionate an d proprietar y attitud e towar d th e escape d felon . Pip's sympath y is , indeed , wit h th e criminals , fo r h e whisper s t o Joe tha t h e hope s th e part y doesn' t catc h th e men . Nevertheless , they ar e caught , and , i n wha t wil l b e th e las t communicatio n between Pi p an d "hi s convict " fo r man y years , Pi p trie s t o signa l to Magwitch tha t h e ha s not betraye d him . Thus fa r in the story, we have seen onl y empathy and identifica tion i n Pip' s attitud e towar d th e criminal . Hi s reactio n i s markedl y different th e nex t tim e h e meet s Magwitch . No w a young gentle man, Pi p ha s rise n i n th e worl d thank s t o a n unknow n benefacto r whom h e alway s assume d t o b e Mis s Havisham , guardia n o f th e beautiful Estella . On e night , alon e i n hi s flat, Pi p receive s a visitor he quickl y recognizes: th e convic t h e ha d aide d o n th e marshe s s o many year s before . I t become s clea r tha t i t wa s Magwitc h wh o financed Pip' s advancement , an d no w th e ol d ma n ha s returne d t o delight i n th e creatur e h e ha s made . At thi s stage , Pi p describe s hi s feeling s towar d Magwitc h i n th e language o f loathing ; fo r example : "Th e abhorrenc e i n whic h I held th e man , th e drea d I ha d o f him , th e repugnanc e wit h whic h I shran k fro m him , coul d no t hav e bee n exceede d i f h e ha d bee n some terribl e beast." 10 Significantly , th e criminal' s affectio n fo r Pip onl y increase s Pip' s disgust : Pi p "recoile d from hi s touc h a s if he ha d bee n a snake," 11 an d whe n Magwitc h kisse s Pip' s hands , "the bloo d ra n cold" 12 withi n Pip . S o intens e i s Pip' s revulsio n that on e nigh t h e experience s th e impuls e t o leav e th e countr y t o get awa y from him : Every hour so increased my abhorrence of him, that I even think I might have yielded to this impulse . .. bu t for the knowledge that

Repressed Admiration

105

Herbert [hi s friend] mus t soon come back. Once, I actually did start out of my bed in the night, and begin to dress myself in my worst clothes, hurriedly intending to leave him there with everything else I possessed, and enlist for India as a private soldier. 13 In thi s phas e o f th e novel , th e disguste d youn g ma n present s a powerful contras t t o th e empathi c littl e bo y h e ha d been , a s w e see in th e grow n Pip' s descriptio n o f Magwitch eating : "H e at e i n a ravenous way that was very disagreeable , an d al l his action s wer e uncouth, nois y an d greedy . Som e o f his teet h ha d faile d hi m sinc e I sa w hi m ea t o n th e marshes , an d a s h e turne d hi s foo d i n hi s mouth, an d turne d hi s hea d sideway s t o brin g hi s stronges t fang s to bea r upo n it , h e looke d terribl y lik e a hungr y ol d dog." 1 4 A s a child, Pi p ha d als o employe d th e metapho r o f a do g t o describ e Magwitch's wa y o f eating . Bu t where , a s a child , Pip' s descriptio n was neutral , fre e o f disgust , her e i t i s pervade d b y a profoun d repugnance. W h y doe s Pip , wh o formerl y exhibite d empath y an d identifica tion wit h th e convict , no w sho w suc h extrem e loathing—t o th e point wher e h e actuall y consider s leavin g everythin g an d runnin g off t o India ? T o b e sure , th e discover y tha t th e convic t ha s bee n his benefacto r i s a disappointment ; i t mean s tha t hi s suppose d patron, Mis s Havisham , ha d not , a s he ha d thought , bee n groom ing hi m al l thos e year s t o b e Estella' s mate . Moreover , Pi p mus t acknowledge th e painful trut h tha t his rise in life has been contam inated becaus e i t wa s financed b y a convict . Finally , Pi p finds Magwitch's booris h way s mor e appallin g no w tha t h e i s a gentle man. However , non e o f thes e explanation s seem s adequat e t o account fo r th e exaggerate d qualit y o f Pip's reactions . In psychoanalysis , an y extreme tren d i n on e directio n i s consid ered a n indicatio n tha t th e perso n ma y b e defendin g agains t awareness o f th e opposit e impulse. 15 T h e prototypica l exampl e o f this defens e mechanism , terme d a "reaction-formation, " i s th e adult's disgus t a t feces , whic h fascinat e smal l children . I n thi s case , it is Pip's extreme disgus t tha t seem s exaggerated , an d th e opposit e of disgus t i s identificatio n o r fascination . W h a t evidenc e i s ther e that Pi p is , indeed , defendin g agains t a feelin g o f kinshi p wit h Magwitch? Apar t fro m th e indication s tha t Pi p powerfull y identi -

io6

Repressed Admiration

fied wit h th e crimina l a s a child , anothe r manifestatio n o f Pip' s now-largely represse d fascinatio n wit h Magwitc h appear s i n th e following passage : "Word s canno t tel l wha t a sens e I h a d , . . . o f the dreadfu l myster y tha t h e wa s t o me . W h e n h e fel l aslee p o f a n e v e n i n g , . . . I woul d si t an d loo k a t him , wonderin g wha t h e ha d done, an d loadin g him wit h al l the crime s i n th e Calendar." 16 That Pip' s disgus t fo r Magwitc h represent s a disgus t fo r hi s own prison-imbue d lif e ca n b e see n i n th e followin g excerpt s describing hi s thought s afte r h e ha s visited Newgat e prison : I consumed the whole time in thinking how strange it was that I should be encompassed by all this taint of prison and crime; that in my childhood out on our lonely marshes on a winter evening I should have first encountered it ; that, it should have reappeared o n two occasions, starting out like a stain that was faded bu t not gone; that it should in this new way pervade my fortune an d advancement.17 Pip goe s o n t o wis h tha t h e ha d no t chance d t o ente r th e priso n on tha t particula r day , when h e was to mee t Estella' s coach , so that, of all days in the year on this day, I might not have had Newgate in my breath and on my clothes. I beat the prison dust off my feet as I sauntered to and fro, an d I shook it out of my dress, and I exhaled its air from m y lungs. So contaminated di d I feel, remembering who was coming, that the coach came quickly after all , and I was not yet free from th e soiling consciousness. 18 In thes e passage s w e se e th e typica l motif s o f anality : taint , stain , dust, contamination , an d soil . Pip' s preoccupatio n wit h thes e themes, thoug h couche d i n th e languag e o f disgust , reflect s a n underlying attraction—a n attractio n tha t i s inadmissibl e t o hi s conscious mind . Rathe r tha n acknowledg e hi s fascinatio n wit h criminals an d prisons , Pi p develop s a quasi-paranoi d fantas y tha t Newgate priso n ha s gotten insid e o f him, into hi s very breath, an d has becom e a part o f his being. 19 T h e meanin g o f Pip' s attractio n t o criminal s become s stil l clearer i f w e loo k a t th e image s o f th e crimina l i n th e lif e o f hi s creator, Dickens . A s al l Dickens-lover s know , Charle s Dickens' s father wa s confine d i n th e Marshalse a priso n fo r inabilit y t o pa y

Repressed Admiration

107

his debts . Unquestionably , thi s wa s a traumati c experienc e fo r Dickens, who , whil e h e di d no t resid e i n th e priso n himself , often visite d hi s famil y ther e an d crie d wit h hi s fathe r ove r thei r frightening rol e reversal. 20 Addin g t o th e pai n an d th e lastin g effects o f thi s perio d wa s Dickens' s ow n simultaneou s immure ment i n a blacking factory—" a crazy , tumble-dow n ol d hous e . . . literally overru n wit h rats." 21 Workin g a t hi s parents ' behes t t o alleviate th e famil y penury , Dicken s spen t hi s day s monotonousl y pasting label s o n pot s o f past e blacking . A s a n adult , h e woul d describe "th e secre t agon y o f hi s soul " durin g thi s time whe n h e felt hi s "earl y hope s o f growin g u p t o b e a learne d an d distin guished man , crushe d i n [his ] breast." 22 Significantly , h e believe d that onl y goo d fortun e ha d prevente d hi s becomin g a crimina l himself: " I kno w that , bu t fo r th e merc y o f God , I migh t easil y have been , fo r an y car e tha t wa s take n o f me , a littl e robbe r o r a little vagabond." 23 Thus, i n Dickens' s childhood , th e them e o f criminalit y appear s in tw o forms : hi s father' s punishmen t fo r indebtedness , an d Dick ens's fantas y abou t th e thie f tha t h e himsel f migh t hav e become . In addition , Dickens' s materna l grandfathe r wa s an embezzle r wh o fled t o th e Isl e o f Ma n t o avoi d imprisonmen t fo r hi s crime. 24 Occurring onl y tw o year s prio r t o Dickens' s birth , thi s even t ma y have cas t a tain t ove r Dickens' s earl y years— a tain t lik e th e on e that Pi p describe s a s "pervadin g hi s fortun e an d advancement. " These fact s sugges t tha t underlyin g Pip' s revulsio n a t th e ver y presence o f Magwitc h i s Dickens' s profoun d consciousnes s tha t the crimina l was , indeed , his convict—his father , hi s grandfather , and himself . I hav e argue d tha t som e peopl e experienc e repugnanc e towar d criminals, proclaimin g thei r disgus t an d loathing , avoidin g physi cal contact , fearin g contaminatio n b y th e criminal' s ver y presenc e or affection ; yet , o n th e unconsciou s level , thi s revulsion function s to defen d th e noncriminal s agains t thei r ow n fascinatio n wit h criminals, wh o ar e perceive d a s self-indulgen t (Ball-of-Fat ) an d free t o dwel l i n th e pleasure s o f ana l messines s an d instinctua l greed (Magwitc h an d th e othe r convict s i n Great Expectations).

io8

Repressed Admiration

If, i n som e people , admiratio n fo r criminal s i s transmute d int o loathing an d avoidance , i n others , i t undergoe s a differen t trans formation: bein g change d int o loathin g an d persecution . N o n criminals i n th e latte r categor y may attemp t t o punis h criminal s i n a one-time inciden t o r buil d live s centering o n th e rol e o f avenger . Whereas thos e wh o shu n criminal s emplo y a reaction-formation , defending agains t attractio n throug h avoidance , thos e wh o buil d lives aroun d punishin g criminal s exhibi t a compromise-forma tion. 25 The y simultaneousl y gratif y bot h thei r attractio n t o an d their revulsio n fro m criminals—th e attractio n throug h thei r on going involvemen t wit h lawbreakers , an d th e revulsio n throug h the persecutor y natur e o f thei r involvement . I n th e nex t sectio n I will examin e thi s improbabl e an d comple x vicissitud e o f admira tion fo r criminals . A COPPE R NEED S CRIME : ADMIRATION , LOATHING, AN D PERSECUTIO N

They say that coppers suppress crime. My own belief is that they create it: they spread a criminal atmosphere where none existed. . .. A soldier to succeed needs wars.... I n just the same way as a copper, to get on, needs crime. —C. Maclnnes, Mr. Love and Justice For ou r first illustratio n o f thi s theme , le t u s retur n t o Wilki e Collins's myster y nove l The Woman in White. A s we hav e seen , th e heroine, Maria n Halcombe , initiall y feel s a stron g attractio n fo r the psychopathic villain, Coun t Fosco . To her journal sh e confides : "In tw o shor t day s he ha s made hi s way straight int o m y favorabl e estimation—and ho w h e ha s worke d th e miracle , i s mor e tha n I can tell." 26 As with Nico l Jarvie i n Rob Roy and Marlo w i n Heart of Darkness, Marian' s puzzlemen t suggest s tha t he r attractio n t o th e criminal ha s a n unconsciou s basis . Thi s nonrationa l pul l t o th e criminal i s al l th e mor e strikin g i n a woma n wh o i s portraye d a s having excellen t judgment . As th e stor y develops , Maria n learn s tha t th e Coun t i s capabl e of an y vil e deed , includin g murder , an d tha t h e ha s attempte d t o

Repressed Admiration

109

condemn he r siste r t o a living deat h i n a sanatorium. Horrifie d a s she i s a t thes e revelations , Marian' s mos t intens e feelin g o f revul sion emerge s i n connectio n wit h th e Count' s continue d admira tion fo r her . Describin g he r encounte r wit h th e Coun t t o he r friend Walte r Hartright , sh e says : "Al l th e horribl e tim e a t Black water cam e bac k t o m e th e momen t I se t eye s o n him . Al l th e ol d loathing crep t an d crawle d throug h me , whe n h e too k of f hi s ha t with a flourish, an d spok e t o me , a s i f w e ha d parte d o n th e friendliest term s hardl y a day since." 27 Maria n feel s s o polluted b y the Count' s attention s tha t sh e canno t brin g hersel f t o repea t hi s words t o Walter . Later , i t become s clea r tha t th e Coun t ha s hesi tated i n doin g a n evi l ac t ou t o f consideratio n fo r Marian . W h e n she learn s o f this, Marian agai n experience s disgust : It's hard to acknowledge it, Walter—and ye t I must! /was his only consideration. No words can say how degraded I feel in my own estimation when I think of it—but th e one weak point in that man's iron character is the horrible admiration he feels for me. I have tried, for the sake of my own self-respect, t o disbelieve it as long as I could. 28 W h y shoul d i t b e th e Count' s fondnes s fo r Maria n tha t mos t evokes Marian' s loathing ? An d wh y shoul d th e Counts feeling s threaten Marian's self-respect ? S o norma l (i n th e sens e o f typical ) is Marian's reactio n tha t w e ma y b e disincline d t o analyz e it . Yet, to follo w thi s disinclinatio n woul d b e t o los e a n importan t insight . For Marian's revulsion , I would submit , i s not, a t bottom , a revul sion fo r th e Count , bu t fo r hersel f an d fo r whateve r i t wa s i n he r that allowe d he r t o b e s o powerfull y draw n t o him . Sinc e Maria n is no t a patien t o n th e couch , i t i s impossibl e t o b e sur e tha t thi s analysis is correct. Bu t th e strengt h o f her earlier , "half-unwilling " fascination wit h th e Count , togethe r wit h th e exaggerate d qualit y of he r disgus t a t hi s attentions , mak e thi s a highly plausibl e inter pretation. When Maria n begin s t o loath e Coun t Fosco , he r impuls e i s no t to snu b th e crimina l o r t o remov e hersel f physicall y from him . Rather, sh e seek s hi s destruction . Thus , afte r readin g a not e t o herself from th e Count , sh e urgently beg s her friend Walte r Hart -

no

Repressed Admiration

right: " 'Walter! . . . i f eve r thos e tw o me n [Si r Perciva l an d th e Count] ar e a t you r mercy , an d yo u ar e oblige d t o spar e on e o f them—don't le t i t b e th e Count. ' " 2 9 An d again , whe n Walte r i s discussing ho w t o buil d a cas e agains t th e tw o criminals , Maria n flushes an d whispers : " 'Begin wit h th e Count ! . . . Fo r m y sake , begin wit h th e Count. ' " 3 0 T h e them e o f admiratio n transmute d int o loathin g an d perse cution i s eve n mor e richl y develope d i n John Millingto n Synge' s classic drama The Playboy of the Western World. T he actio n revolve s around a youn g man , Christ y Mahon , wh o arrive s i n a poor , isolated Iris h villag e claimin g t o hav e kille d hi s father . T h e villag ers, wh o hav e alread y bee n depicte d a s leadin g a limite d an d oppressed existence , welcom e th e ostensibl e patricid e a s a hero . So positiv e i s th e villagers ' reactio n that , o n th e first nigh t o f hi s arrival, Christ y goe s t o slee p thinking : "Wel l it' s a clea n be d an d soft wit h it , an d it' s grea t luc k an d compan y I'v e wo n m e i n th e end o f time—tw o fine wome n fighting fo r th e like s o f me—til l I'm thinkin g thi s nigh t wasn' t I a foolis h fello w no t t o kil l m y father i n th e years gon e by." 31 Early th e nex t morning , thre e youn g wome n arriv e t o se e him , worrying a s the y com e tha t the y ma y hav e misse d thei r chanc e t o meet a patricide : "Well , it'l l b e a har d cas e i f he' s gon e of f now , the wa y we'll neve r se t ou r eye s o n a man kille d hi s father , an d w e after risin g earl y an d destroyin g ourselve s runnin g fas t o n th e hill." 32 Upon meetin g th e suppose d murdere r an d fugitive , the y wel come hi m an d offe r hi m gifts : duck' s eggs , cakes , an d chicken . Some tim e later , th e fathe r o f th e femal e protagonist , Pegee n Mike, agree s t o Christy' s engagemen t wit h hi s daughter , eve n though sh e i s alread y engage d t o another , a cowardly , timi d man . Joining th e hand s o f th e newl y betrothe d couple , th e fathe r pro claims: " A darin g fello w i s th e jewe l o f th e world , an d a ma n di d split his father's middl e with a single clout, should hav e the braver y of ten , s o ma y Go d an d Mar y an d St . Patric k bles s you , an d increase you fro m thi s morta l day." 33 While Christ y i s baskin g i n th e villagers ' esteem , hi s fathe r

Repressed Admiration

in

appears, no t dead , bu t very muc h alive , with onl y a wounded hea d from th e blo w hi s so n ha d give n him . I n a flash, th e peasant s turn o n Christy , ridiculin g an d condemnin g hi m fo r havin g mad e himself ou t t o b e a murderer . Furiou s i n he r disillusionment , Pegeen lashe s out : "An d it' s lie s you told , lettin g o n yo u ha d hi m slitted, an d yo u nothin g a t all." 34 Ruefully , sh e observes : "An d t o think o f the coaxin g glor y we ha d give n him." 3 5 Overcome wit h al l tha t h e ha s los t alon g wit h th e statu s o f patricide, Christ y agai n pick s u p a lo y [ a long, narro w spade ] an d bashes hi s fathe r o n th e head . T h e onlooker s believ e ol d Maho n to b e dead . Thi s time , however , instea d o f reactin g t o th e crim e with "coaxin g glory," they repudiate Christy' s dee d an d make plan s to hang him . Pegee n hersel f turn s persecuto r a s she participates i n the grou p tha t slip s th e noos e ove r Christy' s hea d an d sadisticall y brands hi s le g wit h a burnin g stick . Explainin g th e chang e i n th e community's reaction , Pegee n observes : "I'l l say , a strang e ma n i s a marvel, wit h hi s mighty talk ; but what' s a squabble i n your back yard, an d th e blo w o f a loy, have taugh t m e tha t there' s a great ga p between a gallous stor y an d a dirty deed." 3 6 Before th e villager s ca n complet e th e lynching , ol d Maho n revives. Father an d so n g o of f together , leavin g Pegeen t o underg o yet another chang e o f heart. In th e final scen e o f the play , realizin g that sh e no w mus t marr y th e dull , fearfu l Shawn , sh e put s he r shawl ove r he r hea d an d laments : "O h m y grief , I'v e los t hi m surely. I've los t th e onl y playboy o f the Wester n World." 3 7 Synge's pla y embodie s ou r conflictin g attitude s towar d th e criminal, ou r simultaneou s admiratio n an d condemnatio n fo r th e one wh o dare s t o brea k society' s laws . T h e slan g wor d gallous, which Pegee n use s t o describ e Christy' s story , epitomize s thi s conflict wit h it s tw o oppose d meanings : (i ) deservin g th e gallows ; hence, villainous ; an d (2 ) very great , fine, dashing. 38 N o t onl y th e play itself , bu t als o th e audiences ' an d th e critics ' reaction s t o it , highlight th e simultaneou s lov e an d hatre d fo r th e crimina l tha t pervade ou r culture . Durin g th e play' s openin g performance s a t the Abbe y Theater i n 1907 , audience s riote d agains t it , disruptin g the show . Expectin g t o se e a play tha t glorifie d Iris h culture , the y

112

Repressed Admiration

violently rejecte d th e play' s portraya l o f thei r countryme n laudin g a criminal . I n self-defense , Syng e emphasize d tha t h e ha d base d his pla y o n actua l events : o n th e Ara n Islands , peasant s ha d pro tected a patricid e from th e authoritie s unti l h e coul d escap e t o America, eve n thoug h a substantia l rewar d ha d bee n offere d fo r his capture. 39 For ou r purposes , on e o f th e fascinatin g aspect s o f thi s pla y i s the villagers ' involvemen t i n creatin g Christy' s crimina l person a and fosterin g hi s crimina l deed . B y thei r selectiv e enthusias m fo r the part s o f hi s stor y centerin g o n th e patricide , th e peasant s encourage Christ y t o thin k o f himsel f a s a dashin g murderer . B y their scoffin g repudiatio n o f hi m whe n hi s fathe r turn s u p alive , the communit y generate s hi s secon d ac t o f violence—a n ac t tha t is more culpabl e tha n th e first sinc e it is without lega l provocation . We hav e already seen that in real life, too , noncriminals sometime s foster criminalit y i n other s t o gratif y vicariousl y thei r ow n crimi nal impulses . Afte r unwittingl y generating , an d enjoying , th e criminal behavior , th e noncriminal s ofte n procee d t o prosecut e the criminal , wh o thu s become s a scapegoat— a symbo l o f every one's unacknowledged guilt . Another interestin g issu e raised b y this play concerns th e rever sal that th e communit y undergoes afte r th e secon d suppose d patri cide. Christ y Maho n himsel f i s stunne d b y th e disparit y betwee n the tw o reactions—th e villagers ' glorificatio n o f th e crimina l when h e arrives , a stranger , announcin g a previousl y committe d crime, an d thei r violen t persecutio n o f hi m whe n h e commit s th e same crim e i n thei r presence . Fro m a psychoanalyti c perspective , the divergenc e i n th e community' s response s t o th e tw o suppose d crimes i s not surprising . Fo r what i s important i n th e unconsciou s is no t on e extrem e o r another , bu t polarities. Surfac e behavio r that seem s highl y contradictory , then , ma y reflec t som e large r unconscious preoccupation , embracin g bot h side s o f th e contra diction. I n th e play , th e villagers ' initia l attractio n t o th e crimina l and thei r subsequen t repudiatio n an d persecutio n o f hi m ar e bu t two side s o f thei r abidin g fascinatio n wit h crim e an d th e criminal . Their superficia l shif t from th e role s o f followe r an d admire r t o

Repressed Admiration

IJ

3

the rol e o f persecuto r seem s t o reflec t a nee d fo r th e crimina l t o be, i n som e sense , a stranger. W h en hi s crime s ar e committe d in , as Pegee n says , thei r "bac k yard, " th e villagers ' ow n complicit y becomes to o apparen t fo r thei r superego s t o tolerate . The y the n undergo a shift from th e id' s delight i n a n ac t of aggression agains t authority t o th e superego' s denunciatio n o f the sam e act . On a deepe r level , w e ca n vie w th e villagers ' persecutio n o f Christy no t a s a gratification o f the supereg o followin g a gratifica tion o f th e id , bu t rathe r a s a compromis e formation : behavio r that simultaneousl y gratifie s bot h side s o f their inne r conflic t ove r criminality. Fo r i n brandin g an d preparin g t o lync h Christy , th e villagers themselve s ar e behavin g lik e criminals ; the y ar e actin g outside th e law . The y ar e thu s expressin g thei r ow n sadisti c an d criminal impulse s an d als o thei r defens e agains t thes e impulses — their nee d t o se e themselve s a s oppose d t o crime . I f imitatio n i s the sinceres t for m o f flattery, the n thei r illega l behavio r represent s admiration fo r criminals . As i n literature , s o als o i n life : peopl e ma y permi t a break through o f thei r ow n antisocia l impulse s i n th e guis e o f bringin g criminals t o justice . Fo r instance , i n Californi a i n th e earl y 1970s , government undercove r agent s intentionall y an d illegall y slaugh tered seve n elk , sheep , an d pola r bear s i n th e proces s o f building a case against suspecte d huntin g violators. T he federa l distric t judg e who preside d ove r th e successfu l prosecutio n commented : "Th e fascinating aspec t o f thi s cas e i s tha t th e agent s g o ou t an d kil l these sam e animal s tha t th e defendan t i s charge d wit h killing . They (th e government ) brough t a roa d contracto r al l th e wa y from Vermon t t o illegall y kil l animals . N o matte r wha t happen s here, I a m goin g t o pursu e this." 40 I n th e conventiona l view , suc h illegal behavio r b y prosecutor s i s a lamentabl e acciden t resultin g from excessiv e zeal . Fro m th e perspectiv e I a m advocating , how ever, th e phenomeno n o f prosecutor s crossin g ove r th e lin e int o illegality ca n bes t b e understoo d a s a foreseeabl e breakthroug h o f their represse d admiratio n fo r criminals . Even wher e ther e i s not, a s in th e precedin g examples , a break through o f criminal behavio r o n th e par t o f th e prosecutor , i t ma y

ii4

Repressed Admiration

still mak e sens e t o interpre t prosecutoria l behavio r a s a compro mise formation—a symboli c expressio n o f bot h instinctua l an d anti-instinctual forces, o f attractio n t o th e crimina l an d defens e against thi s attraction . Victo r Hugo' s nove l Les Miserables provides an exampl e i n th e characte r o f Javert , th e polic e office r wh o obsessively, ove r th e years , pursue s th e crimina l Jea n Valjean . Valjean i s guilt y onl y o f havin g violate d th e condition s o f hi s probation; however , Javer t harbor s a n abidin g contemp t fo r thi s criminal, a s h e doe s fo r al l thos e wh o exis t outsid e th e law . T h e all-consuming qualit y o f Javert's belie f i n th e la w come s throug h in Hugo' s description : "Orde r wa s hi s dogm a an d wa s enoug h fo r him; sinc e h e ha d bee n o f the ag e o f a man, an d a n official , h e ha d put almos t al l of his religion i n th e police." 41 As with Pip , Marian , an d th e othe r character s discusse d i n thi s study, Javert's aversio n t o criminal s ca n b e understood a s a defens e against feeling s tha t ar e inadmissibl e t o hi s consciou s mind . Hug o tells us that Javert himsel f was born i n prison o f a mother wh o wa s a "tramp " an d a fathe r wh o wa s a galle y slave . Togethe r wit h th e exaggerated qualit y o f hi s behavior , Javert' s origin s sugges t tha t his prosecutio n o f criminal s fulfill s a n importan t psychologica l function: t o defen d agains t awarenes s o f hi s ow n identificatio n with criminals . Bu t beyon d servin g a defensiv e function , Javert' s profession als o serve s t o gratif y th e ver y impulse s h e i s defendin g against. Fo r hi s rol e a s a police office r allow s hi m t o b e wher e th e criminal is , t o thin k lik e th e crimina l an d thin k about the crimina l for years o n end—al l th e while justifying thi s behavior a s require d by his fight agains t criminality . T h e bes t evidenc e tha t Javert indee d feel s a n attractio n t o th e criminal appear s towar d th e en d o f the book , when Javert's defens e mechanism fail s a s h e become s consciou s o f hi s admiratio n fo r Jean Valjean. As Hugo describe s thi s development, "Javer t felt tha t something horribl e wa s penetratin g hi s soul , admiratio n fo r a convict. Respec t fo r a galley-slave , ca n tha t b e possible?" 42 I n succeeding passages , Javert characterize s Valjea n wit h oxymoron s that bespea k hi s ow n confusion : " a beneficen t malefactor , a com passionate convic t . . . Javert wa s compelle d t o acknowledg e tha t

Repressed Admiration

"5

this monste r existe d . . . . thi s infamou s angel , thi s hideou s hero." 4 3 A s circumstance s forc e hi m t o recogniz e th e goodnes s i n his longtim e prey , Javert lose s hi s psychologica l balance . Perceiv ing Valjea n a s high-minded , h e i s n o longe r abl e t o maintai n hi s view of himself a s pure. T he rigi d compromis e formatio n ha d kep t his self-loathing , hi s sens e o f inne r pollution , repressed . Now , a s these feeling s surface , Javert commit s suicide .

Conclusion to

Part Two:

This

Unforeseen Partnership

The disappearanc e of repulsive (and, considered in isolation, destructive) energies does by no means always result in a richer and fuller socia l life (as the disappearance of liabilities results in larger property) but in as different an d unrealizable a phenomenon as if the group were deprived of the forces of cooperation, affection, mutua l aid, and harmony of interest. —Georg Simmel, Conflict

In Par t Tw o I hav e pursue d thre e interrelate d goals : (i ) t o sho w the pervasivenes s an d conflictiv e natur e o f ou r admiratio n fo r criminals; (2 ) t o explor e th e base s o f ou r admiratio n fo r crimi nals—not onl y th e articulated , consciou s explanation s bu t als o the unacceptable , darke r source s o f th e criminal' s appeal ; an d (3 ) to uncove r th e hig h regar d fo r criminal s tha t i s hidde n beneat h such defens e mechanism s a s loathing , repudiation , an d perse cution. In choosin g t o focu s o n ou r admiratio n fo r criminals , I hav e not intende d t o den y th e negativ e sid e o f ou r ambivalenc e towar d criminals, no r hav e I sough t t o minimiz e th e terribl e cost s tha t lawbreakers inflic t o n thei r victims . Fea r o f criminals , anxiet y about thei r likel y acts , an d nondefensiv e contemp t an d hatre d fo r their ways—al l thes e hav e bee n assume d throughou t thi s study . But admiratio n fo r criminal s i s als o a n importan t aspec t o f ou r nature—an aspec t that a n adequate theor y of criminal justice mus t include. T h e questio n arise s whethe r th e precedin g analysi s ca n she d any ligh t o n th e cause s o f criminality . I f i t can , th e illuminatio n might bes t b e foun d a t thos e juncture s wher e admiratio n spill s 116

Conclusion to Part Two

117

over int o action . W e hav e alread y glimpse d a fe w suc h instances : the parent s cultivatin g criminalit y i n thei r children , th e beginnin g psychiatrists encouragin g antisocia l act s i n thei r patients , an d th e prosecutors violatin g th e la w whil e i n pursui t o f criminals . O n a large r scale , whol e communitie s hav e sometime s exhibite d a remarkable insoucianc e abou t criminalit y goin g o n i n thei r midst . By deliberatel y ignorin g suc h illega l activity , member s o f thes e communities hav e bee n abl e t o enjo y th e crimina l behavio r with out incurrin g th e guil t the y woul d fee l fo r doin g th e act s them selves.1 Extrapolating fro m thes e examples , w e ma y conjectur e tha t a society migh t contriv e t o foste r criminalit y t o guarante e tha t it s citizens' psychologica l need s woul d b e met. 2 Thi s theor y woul d help t o explain , fo r example , ou r ow n nation' s continue d relianc e on th e penitentiar y despit e it s poo r recor d i n deterrin g crimina l acts an d reformin g criminals. 3 T o th e degre e tha t thi s hypothesi s is valid , i t implie s a n unusua l tacti c i n th e "wa r o n crime"—tha t of cultivatin g self-awareness . Fo r i f w e noncriminal s ca n trul y accept th e crimina l impulse s i n ourselves , w e wil l find i t unneces sary to dea l with thes e impulses b y externalizing them . When , lik e Pip, w e ca n cal l th e convic t "m y convict, " o r when , lik e Porfir y Petrovich, w e ca n admi t ou r similarit y t o th e crimina l withou t being derailed , a s Javert was , b y th e recognitio n o f thi s kinship , then a t leas t w e wil l b e abl e t o se e clearl y an d t o ac t wholeheart edly as we endeavo r t o cop e with crimina l behavior . In th e meantime , w e mus t conten t ourselve s wit h a worl d tha t is nonutopia n i n principle , a worl d i n whic h criminal s an d non criminals ar e inseparably and profoundl y boun d together , i n whic h criminals, b y their very existence , perfor m psychologica l function s for noncriminals—gratifyin g thei r antisocia l impulses , reassurin g them o f thei r comparativ e innocence , an d assuagin g thei r guil t through vicariou s punishment . Fro m thi s perspective , criminal s are fa r from bein g a n unequivoca l evil ; the y are , i n fact , necessar y for u s t o b e wha t w e are . The y ar e th e Sanch o Panz a t o ou r Do n Quixote, th e Foo l t o ou r Kin g Lear , th e partne r w e nee d t o perform ou r complicate d dance .

n8

Conclusion to Pan Two

Part Thre e wil l focu s o n th e metapho r comparin g criminal s t o soft, we t dir t o r slime . T h e reade r ma y wonde r ho w thi s topi c relates t o th e basi c thesi s o f m y book ; namely , tha t criminal s an d law-abiding citizen s exis t i n a comple x symbiosis . Bu t I wil l see k to penetrat e an d expos e th e common-sens e vie w o f th e metaphor , showing tha t eve n ou r stronges t denunciation s o f criminal s ex press an d concea l ou r romanti c idealizatio n o f them .

Prologue to

Part Three

Philosophers hav e long proclaimed th e essentia l rol e o f metaphor s in generatin g meaning . Word s tha t sa y on e thin g an d sugges t another ar e necessar y fo r th e growt h o f ou r though t an d ma y b e an inevitabl e aspec t o f languag e itself. 1 Nevertheless , metaphor s can hampe r understandin g whe n w e los e sigh t o f thei r statu s a s tropes an d tak e the m fo r reality. 2 One o f th e mos t commo n metaphor s i n ou r cultur e i s tha t o f the crimina l a s filth. Reference s t o criminal s a s "dirt," "slime, " an d "scum" pervad e th e medi a an d everyda y conversation . Yet, despit e the familiarit y o f thes e figures o f speech , scholar s hav e devote d little attentio n t o suc h question s a s th e following : W h a t i s th e origin o f the metaphor likenin g criminals t o filth? I s this metapho r accidental o r essentia l t o ou r thinkin g abou t lawbreakers ? And , to th e degre e tha t thi s metapho r govern s ou r understandin g o f criminals, wha t ar e th e consequence s fo r ou r crimina l justic e system? 3 These question s becko n wit h specia l urgenc y a t a time whe n the Unite d State s keep s mor e tha n on e millio n peopl e behin d bars; 4 whe n penologist s urg e othe r way s o f combattin g crime , yet man y legislator s resis t thei r call; 5 whe n sentencin g guideline s mandate sever e punishment s fo r venia l offenses 6 —all high lighting th e irrationa l source s o f our attitude s towar d criminals . Theoretical n o les s tha n practica l consideration s imbu e thes e questions with a special allure . Fo r filth i s a concept o f exceptiona l richness an d power , a n archetypa l symbo l wit h root s lyin g dee p i n childhood, i n earl y parenta l warning s an d primordia l experience s of th e body . Contradictor y an d paradoxical , filth i n it s ultimat e form o f excremen t unite s radicall y oppose d meanings . O n th e on e hand, i t signifie s meaninglessness : th e nullifyin g reductio n o f al l 121

122

Prologue to Part Three

things t o on e homogeneou s mass . O n th e othe r hand , a s psycho analysts infor m us , excremen t represent s man y goo d things : a n artistic creation , a gift, wealth. 7 Strongly repellin g an d strongl y attracting , filth serve s a s a n ap t metaphor fo r criminals , wh o likewis e evok e ou r simultaneou s hat e and love , repudiatio n an d admiration . T h e evidenc e suggest s tha t we ma y b e incapabl e o f reflectin g abou t criminal s withou t con cepts suc h a s slime, scum , an d excrement . If this is so, then ou r liberatio n from th e metapho r ma y depen d not o n rejectin g thi s figure o f speech , no r i n finding substitute s for it , bu t rathe r i n seein g clearl y th e vicissitude s o f th e metapho r in crimina l justice . Thi s stud y suggest s tha t th e metapho r lead s t o a vie w o f criminal s a s disease d an d contagiou s an d t o a polic y requiring segregatio n o f contaminate d criminal s from uncontami nated noncriminals . I n addition , o n a measure-for-measure theor y of punishment , th e metapho r ma y caus e authoritie s t o impriso n criminals i n place s tha t ar e conceive d a s suitabl y filthy an d mal odorous. Chapter 1 0 employs literature , history , an d theolog y t o demon strate th e pervasivenes s o f th e metapho r equatin g criminal s wit h filth. Mor e specifically , th e chapte r explore s th e reason s we associ ate evi l wit h darkness , th e relationshi p betwee n crim e an d fou l odors, an d th e fantas y tha t criminal s ar e mad e specificall y o f soft , wet dirt , o r slime . I n chapte r n , I offe r a n extende d illustration , a case stud y i n lega l history ; namel y th e Botan y Ba y venture, Brit ain's 178 6 decisio n t o foun d a pena l colon y i n Australi a an d it s eighty-one-year-long practic e o f banishin g criminal s t o tha t re mote continent . Chapte r 1 2 show s ho w th e metapho r o f filth sheds light o n othe r area s of criminal justice: vagrancy law, with it s emphasis o n "cleanin g up " neighborhood s an d towns ; eighteenth century priso n reform , wit h it s goa l o f "perfec t orde r an d perfec t silence"; an d juvenil e justice , wit h it s effor t t o remov e childre n from mess y citie s o f contagiou s criminalit y t o rura l home s o f supposed orde r an d purity . I n th e final pages , I discus s America n cases i n whic h judges , prosecutors , an d defens e attorney s revea l their vision o f criminals a s filth.

CHAPTER I O Eject Him As Filth

Tainted in

Western

Now:

The

Criminal

Culture

COME, THIC K NIGHT : CRIME , DIRT , AND DARKNES S

Lighten ou r darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend u s from all perils and dangers of this night. — The Book of Common Prayer The da y is for honest men, the night for thieves .

—Euripides

Early i n Dickens' s nove l A Tale of Two Cities, durin g th e firs t trial o f Charle s Darnay , a n intriguin g scen e occurs . T h e Britis h attorney genera l ha s been attemptin g wit h circumstantia l evidenc e to sho w tha t Darna y passe d stat e secret s t o th e French . H e ha s just aske d th e witness , Mr . Jarvi s Lorry , whe n h e ha s see n th e prisoner before . A s Mr. Lorr y answer s him, th e followin g dialogu e ensues: "I was returning from France a few days afterwards, an d at Calais, the prisoner came on board the packet-ship in which I returned, and made the voyage with me." "At what hour did he come on board?" "A little after midnight. " "In the dead of the night. Was he the only passenger who came on board at that untimely hour?" "He happened t o be the only one." "Never mind about 'happening,' Mr. Lorry. He was the only passenger who came on board in the dead of the night?" "He was." 1 In thi s exchange , th e attorne y genera l intimate s tha t a mer e ap pearance i n deepes t nigh t justifie s a n inferenc e o f criminality—a n I2

3

I24

Eject Him Tainted Now

idea tha t w e se e agai n i n a n actua l lega l case , United States v. Barker, on e o f th e case s tha t emerge d fro m th e Watergat e bur glary. At th e en d o f his dissentin g opinion , Judge Leventha l writes : " I come back—agai n an d again , i n m y mind—t o th e star k fac t tha t we ar e dealin g wit h a breakin g an d enterin g in the dead of night, both surreptitiou s an d forcible , an d a violatio n o f civi l right s statutes." 2 A s i n th e precedin g fictional example , her e to o th e association wit h profoun d darknes s suffice s t o rende r a n ac t mor e suspect tha n i t woul d hav e bee n i f don e i n th e light . T o b e sure , the commo n la w differentiated betwee n illega l entrie s a t night an d during th e day , bu t Judg e Leventha l als o gain s rhetorica l powe r from th e timeles s associatio n betwee n darknes s an d criminality . T h e questio n arise s wh y darknes s shoul d b e s o closel y associ ated wit h wrongdoing . A t first blush , th e answe r ma y see m obvi ous. Huma n being s rel y heavil y o n thei r sens e o f sight ; i n th e dark, thei r diminishe d abilit y t o se e render s the m mor e helples s and mor e vulnerabl e t o predators . Criminals , then , reall y d o enjo y an advantag e i n th e dark . Ye t thi s answer , whil e containin g a n element o f truth , surel y canno t b e th e whol e explanation . Fo r on e thing, nearl y a s man y violen t crime s occu r i n th e daytim e a s a t night. 3 Mor e importantly , noncriminals ' fea r o f darknes s exhibit s a primordia l quality , deepe r tha n rationa l caus e an d effect , a s w e see in thi s ol d Scottis h prayer : From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us! 4 In he r myster y nove l Devices and Desires, P. D . James capture s the irrationa l powe r o f darknes s i n thi s scen e i n whic h th e detec tive remember s hi s childhood : "[T]h e smal l Ada m Dalglies h wa s already dreadin g thos e las t twent y yard s o f hi s wal k home , wher e the rector y driv e curve d an d th e bushe s gre w thickest . Nigh t wa s different fro m brigh t day , smelle d different , sounde d different ; ordinary thing s assume d differen t shapes ; a n alie n an d mor e sinis ter powe r rule d th e night." 5 A s i f th e darknes s wer e a n active , conscious enemy , th e chil d Ada m woul d pla n a strateg y t o out smart it : "Onc e throug h th e gat e t o th e driv e h e woul d wal k fast ,

Eject Him Tainted Now

I2

5

but no t to o fast , sinc e th e powe r tha t rule d th e nigh t coul d smel l out terror." 6 Her e w e se e tha t darknes s i s associate d no t merel y with particula r act s o f wrongdoing, bu t wit h a n abstrac t force , evi l itself. If th e associatio n o f darknes s wit h evi l exhibit s a primitive , elemental quality , suc h tha t it s origi n canno t b e purel y rational , then w e mus t searc h farthe r fo r th e complet e explanatio n o f thi s linkage. I sugges t tha t a clu e ma y li e i n th e kinshi p betwee n darkness an d filth. Etymolog y support s thi s proposition , fo r th e English wor d dark derive s from a roo t meanin g to soil.7 Althoug h English speaker s today may be oblivious o f this origin, th e etymol ogy show s tha t a t a n earlie r tim e i n ou r history , huma n being s viewed darknes s an d dir t a s closel y linked . Moreover , i t make s sense tha t thi s shoul d b e so , because , a s psychiatris t Rober t Cole s points out , "Dir t i s dark , an d summon s i n hygieni c middle-clas s minds al l sort s o f fears—germ s an d illness , contamination . Man' s waste product s ar e dark , an d i f the y ar e no t expelle d h e grow s sick." 8 Lik e Coles , wh o make s thi s observatio n i n a stud y o f racism, Patrici a William s adduce s th e relationshi p betwee n black ness an d dir t a s a partia l explanatio n o f racia l prejudice : "Th e blackness o f blac k peopl e . . . has alway s represente d th e blemish , the uncleanness , th e barrie r separatin g individua l an d society." 9 If the associatio n betwee n darknes s an d crim e flow s partl y from the affinit y betwee n darknes s an d filth, i t follow s tha t th e close r this affinit y i s mad e t o seem , th e mor e darknes s wil l evok e thoughts o f crime . Mos t kind s o f filth hav e a mas s t o them ; the y occupy spac e i n suc h a wa y tha t othe r object s canno t occup y th e same spac e a t th e sam e time . Darknes s doe s no t exhibi t thes e properties. Yet , creativ e writer s frequently describ e darknes s a s i f it, lik e dirt , ha d a mas s an d occupie d space . Thi s i s especiall y s o when th e write r want s t o creat e a crime-ridde n ambience . Con sider, fo r example , th e followin g scen e from Macbeth, wher e Lad y Macbeth, plannin g Duncan' s murde r an d fearin g he r ow n weak ness, crie s ou t fo r th e hel p o f a dark night : Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,

126

Eject Him Tainted Now Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry "hold, hold!" 10

Here Shakespear e imagine s th e nigh t a s "thick, " a conceptio n that w e find agai n tw o act s late r whe n Macbeth , havin g jus t ar ranged th e murder s o f Banqu o an d Fleance , call s o n darknes s t o hide th e evidenc e o f his heinous deeds : Come seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day , And with thy bloody and invisible hand Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale. Light thickens, and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood. 11 With th e phras e "ligh t thickens, " Shakespear e associate s darknes s with a viscou s for m o f light , a n imag e tha t resonate s wit h th e "gruel thic k an d slab " tha t th e witche s bre w i n a late r scene . Darkness i s portraye d no t a s th e absenc e o f light , o r a void , bu t rather a s a denser , mor e soli d for m o f light . Compar e th e render ing o f darknes s i n thi s sentenc e fro m th e moder n nove l Before and After b y Roselle n Brown . T h e autho r i s describin g th e thought s of a ma n wh o ha s jus t learne d tha t hi s so n i s a murderer : "[I ] la y there fo r man y hour s starin g u p a s if th e dar k wer e dir t an d I wa s buried unde r it. " u Besides describin g darknes s a s thic k an d suffocating , creativ e writers ofte n emplo y fog , rain , an d turbulenc e t o rende r darknes s more viscous , mor e dirty , an d mor e evocativ e o f crime . Notic e i n this connectio n a remarkabl e autobiographica l statemen t b y th e French myster y write r George s Simenon : " I wa s bor n i n th e dar k and th e rain , an d I go t away . T h e crime s I writ e about—some times I thin k the y ar e th e crime s I would hav e committe d i f I ha d not go t away." 13 Usin g a diaphor— a metapho r tha t compare s through juxtaposition—Simeno n liken s bein g i n th e darknes s an d rain t o bein g a criminal . For a more elaborat e illustratio n o f thi s theme , le t u s retur n t o Macbeth. W e begi n wit h th e storm y openin g scen e an d th e first witch's questions :

Eject Him Tainted Now

127

When shal l we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? 14 If thes e image s giv e substanc e t o th e darkness , thu s implicitl y bringing i t close r t o filth, th e resemblanc e betwee n moisture laden darknes s an d dir t i s mad e explici t a t th e en d o f th e scene , when th e witche s chan t together : Fair is foul, and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air. 15 T h e wa y Macbeth addresse s th e witches , th e instigator s o f crime , likewise serve s t o equat e darknes s an d filth, fo r h e sometime s call s them "filth y hags " an d a t othe r time s "secret , blac k an d midnigh t hags." 16 B y usin g interchangeabl y word s meanin g obscure an d words meanin g filthy, Shakespear e prepare s u s t o se e a s filthy th e many scene s o f stormy darknes s tha t pervad e thi s play . Toward th e en d o f Macbeth, th e predominan t imag e change s from darknes s t o slim e a s th e witche s celebrat e Macbeth' s vil e deeds b y makin g a particularl y slim y stew , a "grue l thic k an d slab." 17 Tha t th e grue l epitomize s evi l there ca n b e n o doubt , for , as they make it , th e witches chant : All ill come running in, all good keep out. 18 Here, too , slim e an d darknes s ar e confounded ; amon g th e maca bre ingredient s i n thi s brew , non e i s associate d wit h light , whil e two ar e explicitl y linked t o darkness : Root of hemlock digged i'th dark, . . . and slips of yew slivered in the moon's eclipse 19 Like Shakespeare , th e novelis t Daphn e d u Maurier use s fog an d rain t o mak e darknes s mor e solid , dirty , an d ominous . Thes e images pervad e he r nove l Jamaica Inn, a stor y abou t ruthles s me n who lur e ship s t o thei r destructio n an d murde r al l survivors. Her e is how th e nove l begins : It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had change d overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after tw o

128

Eject Him Tainted Now

o'clock in the afternoon th e pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in mist. It would be dark by four. 20 T h e threa t o f darkness alon e has power t o elici t apprehension , bu t here th e author' s particula r renderin g o f th e scen e magnifie s th e effect upo n th e reader' s imagination . O n th e nex t page , d u Maur ier openl y compares th e misty , rainy darkness to uncleanness whe n one o f th e traveller s observe s "fo r a t leas t th e twentiet h tim e tha t it wa s th e dirties t nigh t sh e eve r remembered." 2 1 Onc e again , etymology corroborate s th e affinit y betwee n darknes s an d filth; the wor d mist derive s fro m a wor d meanin g urinate, t o excret e fluid waste. 22 In a paralle l exampl e fro m anothe r genre , th e renowne d film director Alfre d Hitchcoc k set s a scen e o f drivin g rai n an d pitc h blackness a s Psycho heroin e Maria n Cran e pull s u p i n front o f th e Bates Motel , wher e sh e wil l b e murdered . A s i n Jamaica Inn, th e resemblance t o filth i s mad e explicit , fo r on e o f th e first thing s Norman Bate s say s to hi s victi m is , "Dirt y night. " T he final scen e of th e movi e reemphasize s th e associatio n betwee n murde r an d filth. I t show s Crane' s ca r a s th e authoritie s retriev e i t from a muddy swamp ; th e ca r is laden with ooze. 23 T h e association s betwee n darkness , filth, an d criminality , whic h are employe d a s chanc e image s i n Psycho, are elevate d t o a sym bolic leve l i n Dickens' s nove l Bleak House. I n thi s boo k Dicken s sets himsel f a remarkabl e task , t o cas t a court i n th e rol e o f a villainous criminal . H e embark s o n thi s tas k i n th e openin g para graph, wher e h e describes , i n exaggerate d terms , a muddy , soot y scene: "A s much mu d i n th e streets , a s if the water s ha d bu t newl y retired from th e fac e o f th e earth , an d i t woul d no t b e wonderfu l to mee t a Megalosaurus , fort y fee t lon g o r so , waddlin g lik e a n elephantine lizar d u p Holbor n Hill." 2 4 I n additio n t o mud , ther e is darkness—not jus t any darkness, bu t a n especiall y filthy for m o f it: "Smoke lowerin g dow n from chimney-pots , makin g a soft blac k drizzle, wit h flakes o f soo t i n i t a s big a s full-grown snow-flakes — gone int o mourning , on e migh t imagine , fo r th e deat h o f th e sun." 25

Eject Him Tainted Now

129

In th e secon d paragraph , Dicken s introduce s th e moti f o f fog — in ou r terms , a viscous kin d o f darkness : "Fo g everywhere . Fo g u p the river , wher e i t flows amon g gree n ait s [islets ] an d meadows ; fog dow n th e river , wher e i t roll s defile d amon g th e tier s o f shipping, an d th e watersid e pollution s o f a grea t (an d dirty ) city." 26 Sinc e h e describe s th e fo g a s "defiled, " Dicken s hardl y means u s t o se e i t a s a pristin e mornin g mist ; a s i n th e precedin g paragraph, her e too , th e image s o f dir t an d darknes s ar e inextrica bly entwined . Havin g detaile d thi s scen e o f filth an d darkness , Dickens goe s o n t o enhanc e an d combin e bot h element s a s h e applies the m t o th e judicia l system : "Th e ra w afternoo n i s rawes t and th e dens e fo g i s densest , an d th e mudd y street s ar e muddiest , near th e leaden-heade d ol d obstructio n . . . Temple Bar." 27 An d a t the ver y cente r o f thi s filth, "a t th e ver y hear t o f th e fog , sit s th e Lord Hig h Chancello r i n hi s High Cour t o f Chancery." 28 In th e followin g paragraphs , Dicken s openl y characterize s th e Court a s th e villai n o f th e piece , describin g i t a s th e "mos t pesti lent o f hoar y sinners, " an d referrin g t o "al l th e injustic e i t ha s committed, an d al l th e miser y i t ha s caused." 29 Nevertheless , hi s images hav e alread y showe d us—an d mor e effectivel y tha n an y explicit condemnations—tha t th e Cour t i s th e criminal . Tha t Dickens, a maste r o f symbolism , select s entwine d metaphor s o f filth an d darknes s fo r thi s purpos e demonstrate s bot h th e associa tion o f thes e symbol s wit h eac h othe r an d thei r archetypa l powe r to evok e evil . I hav e suggeste d tha t th e menta l linkag e betwee n tw o ideas , dark ness and criminality , derive s partly from thei r commo n associatio n with a thir d idea , tha t o f filth . I t i s no w necessar y t o ad d tha t crime's associatio n i s no t s o muc h wit h filth i n genera l a s wit h a particular kin d o f filth; namely , wet, sof t dirt , o r slime . I n th e nex t section, w e will tak e u p thi s topi c o f wet dirt , and , i n s o doing , w e will also shift ou r focu s from on e huma n facult y t o tw o others . Fo r as darknes s i s th e manifestatio n o f ou r metapho r tha t appeal s mainly t o th e sens e o f sight , s o slim e i s th e manifestatio n tha t appeals predominantl y t o th e sense s o f touch an d smell .

i3o

Eject Him Tainted Now

T H E REA L BLAC K H O U N D I S T H E M O O R : T H FANTASY O F TH E C R I M I N A L A S W E T D I R T

E

Vile I am. I'm evil because I'm a man. And I feel within me the primeval slime. —Iago, in Verdi's Otello In hi s essa y The Fantasy of Dirt, Lawrenc e Kubi e report s that , on th e hierarch y o f dirtiness , huma n being s almos t universall y regard softnes s an d wetness a s dirtier tha n hardnes s an d dryness. 30 We recogniz e th e trut h i n this statement, bu t why should i t be so ? According t o Kubie , ou r attitude s towar d dir t originat e mor e i n fantasy tha n i n realisti c concerns . H e asserts : "Becaus e onc e i n a hundred time s somebod y else' s toothbrus h o r spoo n migh t carr y to on e a pathogenic organism , doe s no t mea n tha t i n al l th e othe r ninety-nine time s ther e i s an objectiv e aestheti c o r bacteriologica l difference betwee n one' s ow n spittl e an d tha t o f th e res t o f th e world." 31 If ou r notio n o f dir t i s not base d o n realisti c concerns , o n wha t theory is it based? B y investigating thos e substance s tha t w e avoi d touching an d eve n seeing , Kubi e reache s thi s conclusion : "[Dir t is] anythin g whic h eithe r symbolicall y o r i n realit y emerge s from the body , o r whic h ha s bee n sullie d b y contac t wit h a bod y aper ture." 32 Fo r example , we may be conten t wit h a certain amoun t o f dust i n th e air , bu t whe n tha t dus t enter s someone' s nostrils , mixes wit h wate r salts , an d a fe w watered-dow n molecule s o f mucoprotein, an d emerge s i n a sneeze , w e conside r th e resultin g substance filthy. 33 Consistent wit h Kubie' s formulatio n i s an analysi s presente d b y Erwin Strauss . I n hi s monograp h On Obsession, Strauss writes : "Separation from th e integrit y o f th e livin g organis m turn s th e physiognomy from deligh t t o disgust." 34 Extrapolatin g from thi s finding, h e goe s on : "Thi s transitio n indicate s a transitio n from life t o death ; i t signifie s decay . Disgus t i s directe d mor e agains t decay, th e proces s o f decomposition, tha n agains t th e dead." 35

Eject Him Tainted Now

1 1

3

Neither Kubi e no r Straus s applie s hi s findings t o th e crimina l justice system ; nevertheless , certai n conclusion s abou t ou r atti tudes towar d criminal s follo w from thei r analyses . Fo r example , i f we intimatel y associat e criminal s wit h slime , the n w e evidentl y imagine the m no t simpl y a s filth, bu t a s th e quintessenc e o f filth. Furthermore, w e associat e criminal s wit h huma n mortality , an d not merel y i n th e trivia l sens e tha t som e lawbreaker s ar e murder ers; rather , w e see m t o equat e criminal s wit h th e decomposing , reeking matte r tha t ou r bodie s will on e da y become . Slime i s sometime s conceive d a s th e matri x from whic h w e came a s wel l a s th e fat e t o whic h w e go . Consider , fo r example , the followin g version s o f th e creatio n stor y i n Genesis: "And th e Lord Go d forme d ma n o f th e slim e o f th e earth." 3 6 An d again : "Yahweh shape d a n earthlin g from cla y o f thi s earth." 37 Elaborat ing o n th e secon d version , th e note d literar y criti c Harol d Bloo m observes: "[Yahweh ] pick s u p th e moistene d cla y an d mold s i t i n his hand s rathe r lik e a solitar y chil d makin g a mu d pie." 38 T h e poet Langdo n Smit h provide s a humorous an d touchin g variatio n on thi s theme : When you were a tadpole, and I was a fish, In the Paleozoic time, And side by side in the ebbing tide We sprawled through the ooze and slime. 39 If w e imagin e ourselve s a s slime , o r a s originatin g i n slime , o r a s fated t o en d i n slime , the n th e zea l wit h whic h w e denounc e criminals a s "slime " become s mor e understandable . T h e denunci ation represent s a defense agains t awarenes s o f our ow n mortality . Later i n thi s book , w e wil l explor e furthe r th e defensiv e func tions o f ou r attitude s towar d criminals , bu t first, le t u s examin e some work s o f literatur e an d se e ho w profoundl y an d pervasivel y our cultur e identifie s criminal s wit h slime . I begi n wit h th e illus tration par excellence o f thi s theme , a novell a i n whic h we t dir t serves a s a leitmotif o f evi l and , i n th e word s o f on e o f it s charac ters, a "worth y setting " fo r crime—Arthu r Cona n Doyle' s The Hound of the Baskervilles. 40

132

Eject Him Tainted Now

As thi s nineteenth-centur y novell a begins , a prospectiv e client , Dr. Mortimer , i s readin g Holme s an d Watso n a lette r abou t a deadly black hound. T he lette r conclude s with the following warn ing: " I counse l you b y way of caution t o forbea r from crossin g th e moor i n thos e dar k hour s whe n th e power s o f evi l ar e exalted." 41 Although th e warnin g place s specia l emphasi s o n nigh t a s a time when evi l reigns , a n equall y importan t them e i s the associatio n o f criminality wit h th e moor . Indeed , i t i s difficul t t o separat e th e two motifs , becaus e th e narrato r frequentl y describe s th e moo r a s black o r dark. 42 Fo r example , a t on e poin t Watso n states : "th e dark, voi d space s o n eithe r sid e o f th e narro w roa d tol d m e tha t we were bac k upon th e moor." 43 But th e moo r ha s on e aspec t tha t litera l darknes s lacks ; i t connotes no t jus t dirt , bu t we t dirt . Derive d from a root meanin g damp, moor means a "broad trac t o f ope n l a n d , . . . poorl y drained , with patche s o f heat h an d pea t bogs." 44 Bogs , i n turn , ar e eve n more closel y associate d wit h mois t filth, bein g quagmire s "fille d with decaye d mos s an d othe r vegetabl e matter ; we t spong y ground, wher e a heavy body is apt t o sink." 45 A particula r bog , th e grea t Grimpe n Mire , loom s throughou t the stor y a s a symbol o f dange r an d evil . In th e final scene , havin g learned tha t th e murdere r keep s a refuge o n a n island i n th e Mire , Holmes an d Watso n ventur e int o th e deadl y swam p t o loo k fo r him. Her e th e narrato r describe s i n ominou s tone s th e wet , de composing earth : "Ran k reed s an d lush , slim y water-plants sen t a n odour o f decay and a heavy miasmatic vapour int o ou r faces , whil e a fals e ste p plunge d u s mor e tha n onc e thigh-dee p int o th e dark , quivering mire , whic h shoo k fo r yard s i n sof t undulation s aroun d our feet." 46 A s Watson imagine s it , thi s slim e i s not a passive evil , but a n aggressive , almos t huma n force : "It s tenacious gri p plucke d at ou r heel s a s w e walked , an d whe n w e san k int o it , i t wa s a s i f some malignan t han d wer e tuggin g u s dow n int o thos e obscen e depths." 47 If ther e coul d stil l b e an y doub t whethe r th e stor y mean s t o associate evi l wit h slim e an d decay , tha t doub t woul d b e resolve d by the fat e o f the murderer : "Somewher e i n th e hear t o f th e grea t Grimpen Mire , dow n i n th e fou l slim e o f th e hug e moras s whic h

Eject Him Tainted Now

133

had sucke d hi m in , thi s col d an d cruel-hearte d ma n i s fo r eve r buried." 48 I n deat h a s in life , th e crimina l an d th e Mire ar e united . In The Hound of the Baskervilles, th e metaphor s o f we t dir t ar e not chanc e image s bu t ar e embedde d i n a n entir e networ k o f related images. 49 S o integral ar e they to the story that it is impossible to imagine th e work without them . As the novelist John Fowle s observes i n hi s "Foreword " t o th e 197 4 edition , "[T]h e rea l blac k hound i s the Moor itself." 50 T h e moti f o f evi l a s wet dir t di d no t appea r fo r th e first tim e i n the nineteent h century . Rather , i n hi s brilliant renderin g o f crime , Conan Doyl e wa s drawin g o n a symbo l wit h origin s dee p i n th e Judeo-Christian tradition . Thus , th e sixteenth-centur y allegoris t John Bunya n chos e a slim y bog , th e "Sloug h o f Despond, " t o represent evi l i n The Pilgrim's Progress. 51 Soo n afte r th e protago nist, Christian , flees hi s hom e i n th e Cit y o f Destructio n t o see k eternal life , h e fall s int o a bog , become s "grievousl y bedaube d with dirt, " and begin s t o sink . With th e assistanc e o f a man name d Help, h e struggle s free o f th e bog , an d the n inquire s wh y th e hazard i s not remedied , s o that traveller s might pas s safely throug h the region . Hel p explains : "Thi s mir y sloug h i s suc h a plac e a s cannot b e mended . I t i s th e descen t whithe r th e scu m an d filth that attend s convictio n fo r si n dot h continuall y run , an d therefor e it i s calle d th e Sloug h o f Despond." 5 2 Lik e th e witches ' bre w i n Macbeth, thi s sloug h serve s a s a receptacl e o f evil . Mor e specifi cally, i t symbolize s th e stat e o f mora l turpitud e int o whic h a n individual ha s sunk . Thi s meanin g ha s bee n capture d beautifull y in Webster's New International Dictionary, whic h define s slough a s "an engulfin g dept h o f sin." 53 Writing a thousan d year s befor e Bunyan , th e Roma n philoso pher Boethiu s als o conceive d o f evi l a s slime , i n a lin e tha t som e have translated : "Sees t tho u no t the n i n wha t mir e wickednes s wallows . . . ?" 5 4 B y contrast, i n Quee n Elizabeth' s translation , thi s line reads : "Se e yo u no t i n wha t a grea t slow e . . . wicked thing s be wrappe d in." 5 5 Her e th e quee n make s a play o n words . T o th e idea o f evi l encase d i n mud , sh e add s a n allusio n t o th e othe r meaning o f slough: the oute r ski n tha t a reptile periodicall y sheds . T h e metapho r o f th e crimina l a s a reptil e or , mor e exactly , a

Eject Him Tainted Now

134

slimy reptile , i s important i n ou r culture . I n th e followin g passag e from Middlemarch, Georg e Elio t choose s thi s metapho r t o de scribe Bulstrode' s feeling s afte r a horrifyin g encounte r wit h hi s blackmailer: "I t was as if he had ha d a loathsome dream , an d coul d not shak e of f it s image s wit h thei r hatefu l kindre d o f sensations — as if on al l the pleasan t surrounding s o f his life a dangerous reptil e had lef t hi s slimy traces." 56 Reptiles ar e not , o f course , actuall y slimy , bu t whe n use d t o represent criminals , the y ar e imagine d a s such— a conceptio n w e see agai n i n Dickens ' nove l Oliver Twist. In th e followin g passage , Dickens i s describin g th e villainou s gan g leader , Fagin : "A s h e glided stealthil y along , creepin g beneat h th e shelte r o f th e wall s and doorways , th e hideou s ol d ma n seeme d lik e som e loathsom e reptile, engendere d i n th e slim e an d darknes s throug h whic h h e moved: crawlin g fort h b y night , i n searc h o f som e ric h offa l fo r a meal." 57 A s Dicken s portray s him , th e crimina l coul d hardl y b e more closel y associate d wit h filth . Fagin , h e tell s us , wa s secrete d out o f th e ver y mu d throug h whic h h e crawls , seekin g garbag e t o eat. In hi s late r nove l Great Expectations, Dicken s return s t o thi s vision o f the crimina l a s a slimy creature. I n th e openin g scene , h e describes th e "ra w afternoon toward s evening, " when Pi p encoun ters Magwitch, wh o is "soaked i n water, an d smothere d i n mud." 5 8 After th e convic t ha s threatene d Pi p an d enliste d hi s help , Pi p stutters th e words , "Goo-goo d night , sir. " Magwitc h replies , " 'Muc h o f that! ' . . . glancin g abou t hi m ove r th e col d we t flat. ' I wish I was a frog. O r a eel!' " [sic] 59 Like thes e nineteenth-centur y novels , th e twentieth-centur y musical, Peter Pan, resorts t o th e metapho r o f a wet, filth y creatur e to highligh t th e badnes s o f it s villain , Captai n Hook . Braggin g about hi s evi l deed s t o th e othe r pirates , Hoo k sings : "Who' s th e slimiest ra t i n th e pack?" 60 A t th e en d o f th e song , Captai n Hoo k and th e pirate s alternatel y sing : Slimy... Slimy... Cap'nHook! 61

Eject Him Tainted Now

J

35

Since slim y dir t i s sometime s i n a stat e o f decomposition , thi s dirt ma y b e putrid ; therefore , evi l i s associate d no t merel y wit h filth, bu t specificall y wit h filth tha t stinks . In th e followin g passag e from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Jame s Joyce convey s the evi l of hell b y vividly rendering it s stench : Imagine some foul and putrid corpse that has lain rotting and decomposing in the grave, a jellylike mass of liquid corruption. Imag ine such a corpse .. . giving off dense choking fumes o f nauseous loathsome decomposition. And then imagine this sickening stench, multiplied a millionfold an d a millionfold agai n from th e millions upon millions of fetid carcasse s massed together in the reeking darkness, a huge and rotting human fungus. Imagin e all this and you will have some idea of the horror of the stench of hell.62 N o t onl y evi l places , bu t als o evi l deeds , ar e conceive d a s mal odorous. Fo r example , i n Hamlet, Kin g Claudiu s condemn s hi s own fratricide wit h th e words : "O , m y offens e i s rank, i t smell s t o heaven." 63 Conversely , th e act s o f pure , goo d peopl e smel l sweet . For example , Pau l describe s Christ' s sacrific e a s a "sweet-smellin g savour" or , in anothe r translation , a "fragrant offering." 64 Because o f it s associatio n wit h evil , smellines s i n itsel f ma y b e taken a s an indicator o f reprehensibility. I n Dostoevsky' s nove l The Brothers Karamozov, whe n Fathe r Zossima' s corps e begin s t o smel l the da y afte r hi s death , th e monk s tak e th e odo r a s a sign tha t th e Father wa s no t hol y afte r all . I n a chapte r entitle d "Th e Odo r o f Corruption," th e smel l issuing from th e coffi n no t onl y diminishe s the Father' s reputation ; i t als o engender s "coarsel y unbridled " temptations amon g th e monks. 65 Fo r example , som e wh o ha d envied th e Fathe r were pleased tha t his noisome corps e had dimin ished hi s aur a o f sanctity . I n th e sam e novel , th e brothe r wh o killed hi s fathe r i s name d Smerdyakov , "[son ] o f th e stinkin g one." 6 6 Iva n refer s t o hi m a s "th e stinkin g lackey." 67 Moreover , Smerdyakov was conceived i n the fetid passagewa y when hi s fathe r had "passe d throug h th e 'backway ' " 6 8 Perhaps th e mos t extende d associatio n betwee n ba d smell s an d criminality appear s i n Dostoevsky' s othe r masterpiece , Crime and Punishment, i n whic h St . Petersburg , th e sit e o f th e crime , i s

i36

Eject Him Tainted Now

repeatedly describe d a s fetid . Consider , fo r example , thi s passag e from th e openin g scene : The stuffiness, th e josding crowds, the bricks and mortar, scaffold ing and dust everywhere, and that peculiar summer stench so familiar to everyone who cannot get away from St. Petersburg . .. al l combined to aggravate the disturbance of the young man's nerves. The intolerable reek from the public houses . .. complete d th e mournfully repellen t picture. 69 Throughout th e novel , Dostoevsk y characterize s th e ai r a s "fou l smelling, contaminated, " an d "reekin g with it s familiar odours." 7 0 It i s ami d thi s feti d atmospher e tha t Raskolniko v plan s hi s crime . By contrast, befor e committin g th e murder , Raskolniko v walk s t o the Petersbur g island , wher e th e ai r i s clea n an d fresh. Her e h e dreams o f hi s childhoo d an d awaken s horrifie d a t wha t h e i s planning t o do. 71 Literature's portraya l o f crim e an d criminal s a s smell y lend s support t o th e ide a tha t w e imagin e lawbreaker s a s th e filthiest o f filth, a s decayin g matter , o r th e paradigmati c typ e o f filth, excre ment. O n first examination , thi s finding ma y see m unsurprising , because th e availabl e repertoir e o f powerfu l negativ e symbol s i s small; we ha d t o choos e on e symbo l fro m thi s repertoire , an d tha t one wa s filth. O n close r inspection , however , th e metapho r ap pears t o b e a revealing choice , a choice tha t show s ou r simultane ous hatre d an d love , repulsio n an d attraction , towar d filth an d th e criminal. But wh y d o I spea k o f lov e an d attractio n t o filth, or , fo r tha t matter, th e criminal ? T o take up first th e issu e o f filth, psychoanal ysis n o les s tha n everyda y observatio n suggest s tha t filth hold s a n unconscious allur e fo r u s all . Huma n infant s enjo y playin g wit h feces, whil e olde r childre n exhibi t a specia l fascinatio n wit h mu d pies, fingerpaints, an d othe r slimy , smear y things. 72 Currently , there i s a to y o n th e marke t tha t consist s o f a gree n gelatinou s ooze; i t is called, simply , Slime. 73 As children gro w older , thei r attractio n t o slim e is overlaid wit h a venee r o f repugnance , an d menta l conflic t results . Thi s conflic t has bee n acknowledge d i n a n amusin g wa y b y th e creator s o f

Eject Him Tainted Now

*37

another contemporar y toy , Icky-Poo. O n th e bac k cove r o f The Official Icky-Poo Book, whic h accompanie s a containe r o f stick y slime, th e editor s declare , "You'l l b e disguste d wit h yoursel f fo r loving it." 7 4 Consciou s menta l conflic t i s painful ; therefore , chil dren develo p defens e mechanism s t o avoi d awarenes s o f thei r attraction t o dirt . Fo r example , psychologis t Rut h Munro e report s that he r childre n becam e s o intoleran t o f filth tha t the y insiste d on changin g th e dishwate r severa l time s durin g th e washin g up. 75 In thei r fastidiousness , Munroe' s childre n wer e employin g a reac tion-formation—defending agains t th e impuls e t o b e mess y b y extravagantly representin g th e impuls e t o b e clean . Besides exaggeratin g thei r repugnance , childre n ofte n defen d against recognizin g thei r interes t i n filth b y attributin g thi s inter est t o others— a dynami c w e se e i n th e followin g inciden t from my ow n experience . Durin g th e perio d whe n I wa s writin g thi s book, m y seven-year-ol d niec e aske d m e whethe r I wanted t o hea r a "reall y disgustin g poem. " Befor e I coul d reply , sh e bega n t o recite: Ooshy-Gooshy was a worm; A mighty worm was he. He sat upon the railroad tracks . Squish. It was not for me! Thinking tha t th e poem migh t com e in handy some day, I aske d her t o repea t it , s o I coul d writ e dow n th e words . Sh e di d so , the n asked forcefully , "Wha t d o yo u wan t t o kno w for? " I explaine d that I wa s writin g abou t criminal s an d th e languag e w e us e t o describe them . I added , "W e lik e slime , bu t w e als o don' t lik e it . And you r poe m show s tha t w e lik e it. " Indignantly , sh e replied , "No i t doesn't ! I t show s tha t w e don' t lik e it! " I asked , "Bu t i f w e don't lik e slime , wh y ar e w e writin g poem s abou t it? " M y niec e pondered thi s briefly, the n defende d he r positio n i n a tone o f utte r repudiation: "That' s a two-year-olds ' poem! " I n othe r words , i t i s not w e wh o lik e slime , bu t th e member s o f another , devalued , group. This defens e mechanism , th e attributio n t o other s o f unac ceptable feeling s i n ourselves , i s known a s projection. 76

i38

Eject Him Tainted Now

As th e precedin g vignett e illustrates , filth i s no t unequivocall y despised, bu t i s rathe r a n objec t o f inne r conflict . W h e n th e polarities o f filth an d cleanliness , mes s an d order , ar e centra l t o a person's menta l life , w e spea k o f obsessive-compulsiv e neurosis. 77 This neurosi s derive s from a n unusuall y stron g attachmen t t o th e anal zone—wha t Eri k Erikso n ha s calle d th e " 'other' en d o f th e human anatomy , tha t factor y o f waste-products an d odorou s gase s which i s totall y remove d from ou r ow n observatio n an d i s th e opposite o f the fac e w e sho w t o th e world." 78 We ma y not al l be full-blow n obsessive-compulsives , bu t we d o all exhibi t som e compulsiv e traits , som e attachmen t t o th e ana l zone. I n ou r dealing s wit h criminals , I submit , w e ar e especiall y apt t o behav e lik e th e classi c obsessive-compulsiv e patient , seein g dirt an d contaminatio n everywhere, 79 an d usin g measure s suc h a s washing, neatening , an d segregatin g t o conten d wit h thi s per ceived threat . I n th e nex t section , I tak e u p thes e measure s a s the y appear i n literar y portrayal s o f criminality . I begi n wit h th e them e of washing .

WATERS O N TH E H A N D O F BLOOD : W A S H I N G AN D THE UNAVAILIN G EFFOR T T O REGAI N INNOCENC E

I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses. —Ezekiel 26:25 Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness. —John Wesley From th e cultura l equatio n o f crim e wit h filth i t follow s tha t water wil l pla y a centra l symboli c rol e i n effort s t o contro l crime . With it s tw o propertie s a s a cleansin g agen t an d a give r o f life , water serve s a s a n archetypa l symbol. 80 I n th e Judeo-Christia n tradition, a s i n othe r tradition s throughou t th e world , cleansin g with wate r represent s th e abandonmen t o f a n evi l existenc e an d rebirth int o a life o f innocence an d purity. 81 The Pilgrim's Progress illustrates th e symboli c powe r o f water i n

Eject Him Tainted Now

J

39

the scen e wher e Christia n visit s a larg e parlo r tha t i s filthy wit h dust. Whe n a man trie s t o swee p awa y th e filth, h e onl y succeed s in creatin g mor e dust , causin g Christia n t o choke . T h e n a damse l sprinkles th e roo m wit h water , an d whe n sh e ha s finished, i t becomes possibl e t o swee p an d cleans e th e room . T h e Interprete r explains: "Thi s parlo r i s the hear t o f a man tha t wa s neve r sancti fied b y th e swee t grac e o f th e Gospel ; th e dus t i s hi s origina l si n and inwar d corruptions... . H e tha t bega n t o swee p a t first i s the Law ; bu t sh e tha t brough t wate r an d di d sprinkl e i t i s th e Gospel." 82 Although thi s exampl e depict s wate r a s potentiall y effectiv e i n the struggl e agains t guilt , a stronge r literar y traditio n portray s cleansing a s futil e wher e th e crim e i s heinous . Fo r instance , i n Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, a messenge r professe s hopelessnes s in thi s way after th e revelatio n o f Oedipus' s horribl e deeds : Though strea m on stream should pou r Their swift-cleansin g water s on the hand of blood, The ol d stain shall not be washed away. 83 Likewise, Lor d Byron' s Cain , afte r slayin g his brother Abel, recog nizes sorrowfully : And I who have shed blood cannot shed tears. But the four rivers would not cleanse my soul. 84 And again , i n th e mos t famou s literar y versio n o f thi s theme , Macbeth raise s th e prospec t o f washin g awa y hi s guilt , onl y t o despair o f success : Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood Clean from m y hand? No, this my hand will rather The multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red. 85 Later, Lad y Macbeth, he r min d craze d fro m guilt , seek s peace an d blamelessness b y enactin g th e sam e metaphor . Repeatedly , fo r a s long as a quarter o f an hour a t a time, sh e rubs he r hand s together , as thoug h washin g them . Yet , lik e he r husband , sh e harbor s n o illusion o f recovering innocence :

140

Eject Him Tainted Now All the perfumes o f Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O! 86

Psychoanalysis confirm s th e ide a tha t Lad y Macbeth' s efforts , however muc h repeated , wil l avai l nothing . Ritualisti c handwash ing i s a classi c obsessiona l symptom , a n undoing, whic h aim s t o ward of f th e pai n o f remors e throug h a n expiator y gestur e tha t annuls the wrongful act. 87 Typically, the undoing mus t b e repeate d over an d over , an d thi s ver y repetitio n i s itsel f a sig n tha t th e conflict remain s unresolved . A s Ruth Munro e explains : Compulsive rituals of negative magic are especially repetitive because in one way or another they usually include a positive expression of the impulse either in the undoing itself or in the though t or act which precipitates the undoing.. . . The on e meaning (doing) tends to intrude upon the other, and the patient is never sure just how many acts will undo the eternally recurrent positive impulse.88 Thus, th e stai n tha t imbue s th e crimina l i s a n indelibl e stain , and th e criminal , bein g irreclaimable , mus t b e throw n away . S o basic i s thi s ide a tha t Webster's New International Dictionary allude s to criminal s illustrativel y i n th e ver y sentenc e definin g offal. Offal, it says , i s "[a]nythin g tha t i s throw n awa y a s worthless ; carrion ; refuse; rubbish ; garbage ; a s th e offal of jails." 89 Bu t th e imag e o f the crimina l a s ineradicabl y staine d i s no t th e onl y sourc e o f banishment. Indeed , th e powerful appea l of banishment (includin g internal banishment , o r imprisonment ) ma y ste m from it s abilit y to unit e th e notio n o f discardin g worthles s garbag e wit h tha t of removin g a disease d grou p fro m a health y one , t o preven t contamination. A GREA T GUL F FIXED : BANISHMEN T O F TH E DISEASED CRIMINA L

They flung me down like a heap of carrion, and retreated a s if they fled from th e pollution of my touch. —Charles Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer Our earlies t encounter s wit h th e notio n o f dir t ofte n occu r i n the contex t o f parental prohibition s relate d t o illness; fo r example ,

Eject Him Tainted Now 14

1

"Don't touch ; it' s dirty ; i t wil l mak e yo u sick. " Becaus e o f thi s common experience , an d becaus e o f th e causa l connectio n be tween dir t an d illness , th e notio n o f filth readil y become s assimi lated t o th e notio n o f disease. 90 Literature support s th e ide a tha t w e ten d t o imagin e criminal s as no t merel y dirt y bu t als o contagiou s an d diseased . A vivi d illustration o f thi s them e appear s i n Dickens ' nove l A Tale of Two Cities afte r th e lawyer , Stryver , discover s tha t Charle s Darna y i s acquainted wit h th e Marqui s St . Evremonde . " I a m sorr y fo r it, " Stryver comments . Whe n Darna y insist s o n knowin g why, Stryve r answers: Here is a fellow who, infected b y the most pestilent and blasphemous code of deviltry that ever was known, abandoned his property to the vilest scum of the earth that ever did murder by wholesale, and you ask me why I am sorry that a man who instructs youth knows him? Well, but I'll answer you. I am sorry because I believe there is contamination in such a scoundrel. That's why. 91 So contagiou s i s evil , i n Stryver' s view , tha t on e ma y acquir e i t through mer e acquaintanc e wit h a "scoundrel. " Shakespeare' s plays revea l tha t h e to o regard s evi l a s a n infectiou s disease . I n Hamlet, a pla y abou t a n unpunishe d ac t o f murder , th e centra l image i s disease , i n particular , a s Carolin e Spurgeo n notes , " a hidden corruptio n infectin g an d destroyin g a wholesome body." 92 If crim e i s a contagiou s disease , i t make s sens e tha t noncrimi nals should adop t measure s t o preven t criminal s fro m contaminat ing them . Jaggers , th e barriste r i n Great Expectations, employ s cleansing fo r thi s purpose. A s Pip relates : I embrace the opportunity of observing that he washed his clients off, a s if he were a surgeon or a dentist. He had a closet in his room, fitted up for the purpose, which smelt of the scented soap like a perfumer's shop . It had an unusually large jack-towel on a roller inside the door, and he would wash his hands and wipe them and dry them all over this towel, whenever he came in from a police-court, or dismissed a client from hi s room. 93 So als o Wemmick, th e solicito r wh o work s wit h Jaggers, attempt s to avoi d defilemen t b y th e crimina l milieu . Ever y evening , upo n returning home , Wemmic k crosse s a drawbridge ove r a chasm an d

142

Eject Him Tainted Now

then pull s th e bridg e u p behin d him . T o Pip , h e observes , "Afte r I hav e crosse d thi s bridge , I hois t i t up—so—an d cu t of f th e ji Q4 "94 communication. Whereas Wemmic k avoid s criminal contaminatio n throug h thi s nocturnal rit e o f self-banishment , literature' s mor e commo n theme i s the banishmen t o f evildoers. Thus, Kin g Oedipus, havin g discovered tha t h e himsel f i s th e crimina l wh o slaye d hi s fathe r and marrie d hi s mother, demand s t o be punished i n the traditiona l way, with banishment. 95 Likewise , Adam an d Eve , afte r disobeyin g God i n th e Garde n o f Eden , ar e punishe d wit h exile . I n Milton' s retelling, Chris t intercede s fo r th e couple ; nevertheless , Go d de clares that Man, bein g sullied, ma y no longe r abid e in paradise : But longer in that Paradise to dwell, The Law I gave to nature him forbids : Those pure immortal Elements that know No gross, no unharmoneous mixture foule , Eject him tainted now, an d purge him off.... 9 6 As a Milto n schola r explains , Ada m an d Ev e ma y no t remai n i n Paradise becaus e "wha t i s immortally pur e an d untaintabl e canno t assimilate wha t i s soile d b y an y admixtur e o f pollution." 97 Thus , the motiv e behin d segregatin g thes e transgressor s i s not s o muc h to avoi d contractin g thei r diseas e a s t o rende r th e nonexpelle d remnant utterl y pure . In a variation o n th e stor y of the Fall , Adam an d Eve' s son Cain , in a jealou s rage , kill s hi s brothe r Abel . Lik e hi s parent s befor e him, Cai n receive s th e punishmen t o f exil e fo r hi s crime . Con demned b y Go d t o b e a "fugitiv e an d a vagabond" o n th e fac e o f the earth , h e goe s fort h t o th e lan d o f Nod , Eas t o f Eden , ou t o f the Lord' s presence. 98 T h e them e o f removin g th e wicke d from th e righteou s run s through th e New Testament a s wel l a s th e Old. Fo r example , i n explaining th e Fina l Judgment, Jesu s describe s Go d a s separatin g the shee p from th e goats , puttin g th e goat s o n hi s lef t han d an d sending them , cursed , int o everlastin g punishment . Significantly , this stor y associate s darknes s wit h wickedness ; Syria n sheep , th e breed tha t woul d hav e bee n familia r t o th e Gospe l writers , wer e

Eject Him Tainted Now

143

white, whil e th e goat s were black . Eve n i n th e dusk , the y coul d b e told apart. " Jesus' stor y o f th e ric h ma n an d Lazaru s provide s anothe r vivi d example o f th e segregatio n motif . I n thi s parabl e th e ric h man , dressed i n purple , enjoy s everythin g goo d whil e h e lives . Mean while, a beggar , Lazarus , lie s "a t hi s gat e an d desir e [s] t o b e fe d with crumb s fro m th e ric h man' s table. " 10° Afte r bot h me n die , Lazarus rest s i n heave n i n Abraham' s bosom , wherea s th e ric h man lie s agonizin g i n hell . T h e ric h ma n beg s Abraha m t o le t Lazarus pu t hi s finger i n th e water an d coo l his tongu e t o alleviat e his torment . I n denyin g th e ric h man' s request , Abraha m explains : "[B]etween u s an d yo u ther e i s a grea t gul f fixed: s o tha t the y which woul d pas s from henc e t o you cannot , neithe r ca n the y pas s to us , tha t woul d com e from thence." 101 Rituals o f separation , defilement , an d contagion—suc h ar e th e themes o f thes e stories , an d the y sugges t tha t banishmen t ha s it s roots i n a concep t w e associat e wit h primitiv e peoples , a n ancien t concept w e kno w b y it s Polynesia n name , taboo. As define d b y anthropologists, taboo refers t o rule s o f pollution : superstitiou s prohibitions o n touchin g certai n person s o r objects . I n hi s semina l work The Golden Bough, Jame s Fraze r describe s th e person s t o whom th e tabo o applies : "[T]h e commo n featur e . . . i s tha t the y are dangerou s an d i n danger." 102 T h e purpos e o f th e taboo , then , is t o "seclud e thes e person s from th e res t o f th e worl d s o tha t th e dreaded spiritua l dange r shal l neither reac h the m no r sprea d from them." 1 0 3 If th e anthropologica l concep t tha t illuminate s banishmen t i s taboo, th e psychoanalyti c counterpar t i s th e defens e mechanis m o f isolation. Though no w use d primaril y t o mea n th e separatio n o f thoughts from thei r correspondin g emotions , isolatio n onc e ha d a more genera l meaning : th e spatia l o r tempora l separatio n o f th e spheres tha t (i t i s thought ) shoul d no t b e i n contact . A s Ott o Fenichel explains , "Numerou s compulsiv e symptom s regulat e th e modes i n whic h object s shoul d b e o r mus t no t b e touched . T h e objects represen t genital s o r dirt . 'Clean ' thing s mus t no t commu nicate wit h 'dirty ' ones." 104 Its parallel s wit h tabo o an d isolatio n sugges t tha t banishmen t

i44

Eject Him Tainted Now

cannot b e understoo d a s merel y a straightforward , rationa l re sponse t o evildoing . Rather , it s origins li e deep i n superstitio n an d magical thinking . Later , i n analyzin g th e Australia n pena l colony , we shall return t o this topic, bu t first le t us examine th e place s tha t evildoers inhabi t beyon d th e "grea t gulf. " T H E L A N D O F G L O O M AN D CHAOS : DARKNES S AN D DIRT A S ESSENTIA L QUALITIE S O F TH E CRIMINAL'S PUNISHMEN T

Beyond th e grea t gul f tha t separate s th e ungodl y fro m th e virtuous, evildoer s ar e imagine d a s dwellin g i n condition s tha t mirror th e characteristic s o f th e punished—condition s know n i n theology a s "measure-for-measure " punishments. 105 Since , a s w e have seen , criminal s ar e commonl y associate d wit h slime , dark ness, an d fou l odors , thei r place s o f punishmen t mus t likewis e reflect thes e qualities . T h e Hebre w concep t o f Gehenna provide s a particularl y inter esting illustratio n o f th e way s i n whic h th e metapho r o f filth ha s influenced huma n beings ' thinkin g abou t punishment . Originall y Gehenna wa s a n actua l place , a valle y outsid e Jerusale m wher e garbage burne d perpetually . I n Jesus' preaching , Gehenn a too k o n an eschatological meaning , becomin g the sit e of evil-doers' eterna l punishment. Ove r time , th e concep t o f Gehenna was assimilated t o an olde r ide a o f hell , Sheol, a plac e o f mir e an d darkness . Sinc e darkness an d fire seeme d incompatible , th e Hebrew s imagine d Gehenna's fire a s givin g of f n o light . The y willingl y tolerate d even thi s incompatibilit y t o retai n darknes s a s a n afflictio n o f th e punished. 106 Milton draw s o n thi s Hebre w traditio n when , i n Paradise Lost, he describe s Hel l a s follows : A dungeon horrible on all sides round, As one great furnace flamed; yet from those flames No light; but rather darkness visible. 107 Besides darkness , extrem e remova l fro m Go d characterize s th e place where Milton's falle n angel s dwell :

Eject Him Tainted Now

x

45

here their prison ordain' d In utter darkness, and their portion se t As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n As from the center thrice to th' utmost Pole. 108 T h e qualit y o f bein g s o fa r remove d fro m ligh t hint s a t a n ana l meaning t o Milton' s portrayal . Thi s sam e associatio n ca n b e see n in actua l practic e i n medieva l times , when th e unclaime d bodie s o f executed criminal s wer e lef t t o ro t withou t a grave . T h e plac e where th e corpse s la y wa s the n use d a s a dump ; villager s thre w garbage o n th e criminals ' remains. 109 B y thi s custom , societ y ex pressed it s vie w o f criminal s a s intimatel y relate d t o stenc h an d filth. These ana l meaning s o f criminalit y find anothe r concret e ex pression i n twentieth-centur y America . I n th e famou s zonin g cas e Euclid v. Ambler, th e Suprem e Cour t detail s th e function s an d institutions tha t th e Eucli d cit y official s hav e see n fit t o pu t to gether i n zon e U-6 : "plant s fo r sewag e disposa l an d fo r producin g gas, garbag e an d refus e incineration , scra p iron , junk , scra p pape r and ra g storage , aviatio n fields, cemeteries , crematories , pena l an d correctional institutions , insan e an d feebl e minde d institutions , storage o f oi l an d gasolin e . . . an d manufacturin g an d industria l operations." no A s in th e literary , theological , an d historica l exam ples, her e too , criminal s ar e associate d wit h ana l matters : waste , foul-smelling operations , an d death , wit h it s inevitabl e connota tions o f rot an d decay . How ar e w e t o understan d th e practic e o f punishin g criminal s in dark , dirty , smell y places ? O n on e level , a s the phras e "measur e for measur e punishment " implies , thi s practic e ma y appea l t o ou r sense o f fairness ; i t seem s onl y jus t tha t thos e wh o hav e engage d in crime an d thus made themselve s filthy shoul d b e forced t o dwel l in filth. O n anothe r level , th e practic e ma y signif y a n indulgenc e of th e noncriminals ' sadisti c drive , thinl y disguise d a s a n appro priate punishment . N o doub t bot h thes e explanation s contai n a partial validity . I n addition , th e practic e o f punishin g criminal s in filth ca n b e understoo d a s a mysophili c practice— a practic e expressing a love of filth. Rathe r tha n bein g a defense, lik e washin g

146

Eject Him Tainted Now

and banishment , i t represent s a breakthroug h o f th e origina l im pulse: th e attractio n t o dir t an d th e deligh t i n playin g wit h slimy , smeary things . At th e beginnin g o f Par t Three , I undertoo k t o explor e th e way s that w e emplo y th e metapho r o f filth t o conceptualiz e criminals . But wha t bega n a s a n investigatio n o f a metaphor ha s reveale d t o us a n allegory—no t a stati c image , bu t a dynami c stor y i n whic h noncriminals perceiv e criminal s first a s slim y an d dark , an d the n as dangerously diseased . Finally , fearin g tha t the y to o wil l becom e contaminated wit h filth, th e noncriminal s banis h th e lawbreaker s to a suitably dark , filthy, an d remot e place . In th e nex t chapter , I wil l sho w tha t thi s allegor y foun d a resonance i n lat e eighteenth - an d nineteenth-centur y Britai n an d Australia. More specifically , I will suggest that British people livin g in these lands assimilated bot h thei r criminal s an d thei r ne w conti nent t o thi s archetypa l story , reenactin g wit h rea l peopl e an d rea l places a n epi c dram a o f self-purificatio n throug h banishmen t o f the filthy.

CHAPTER I I Projecting an Metaphor of

Excrementitious Filth in

Mass:

the History

The of

Botany Bay

Spewed from our country, forgotten, boun d to the dark edge of the earth. —Timberlake Wertenbaker, Our Country's Good

BANISHED BEYON D TH E SEAS : T H E O R I G I N OF T R A N S P O R T A T I O N T O A U S T R A L I A

S

In 1786 , havin g los t it s America n colonies , whic h ha d pre viously serve d a s a repositor y fo r Britis h criminals , an d bein g plagued b y overcrowded prisons , from whic h typhu s threatene d t o spread int o th e surroundin g communities , th e Britis h governmen t decided o n a remarkable cours e o f action : th e creatio n o f a pena l colony a t Botan y Bay , on th e easter n coas t o f Australia . Although i t wa s no t th e onl y attemp t a t a solution t o th e pena l crisis—the penitentiar y als o develope d durin g thi s period—th e "thief-colony" o n th e fa r sid e o f th e worl d woul d pla y a n im portant rol e i n th e Britis h crimina l justic e syste m fo r eighty-on e years, from 1787 , whe n th e Firs t Flee t departe d fo r Ne w Sout h Wales wit h 73 6 convict s aboard , unti l 1868 , whe n th e las t shi p landed it s prisoner s i n Wester n Australia . Estimate s o f thos e forc ibly exile d t o Australi a vary , bu t al l calculation s indicat e a larg e number o f transporte d convicts—probabl y fro m 156,00 0 t o 162,000. l "Transportation, " a s forced exil e was legally known, wa s sometimes employe d a s a sentence i n it s ow n right ; a t other times , it serve d a s a merciful alternativ e t o death . Forced exil e had , o f course , bee n use d a s a punishmen t befor e the Australia n experiment , bu t neve r i n th e sam e wa y o r o n th e 147

148 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

same gran d scale . Exile , Blackston e tell s us , wa s " a punishmen t unknown t o th e commo n law." 2 T h e habeas corpus act provide d that "n o subjec t o f thi s real m . . . shal l b e sen t prisoner , int o Scotland, Ireland , Jersey , Guernsey , o r place s beyon d th e sea s (where the y canno t hav e benefi t o f commo n law ) bu t tha t al l suc h imprisonments shal l be illegal." 3 Indeed , th e Britis h sovereig n wa s not eve n permitte d t o sen d a subjec t ou t o f th e real m t o b e a foreign ambassado r agains t hi s will , "[f]o r thi s migh t i n realit y b e no mor e tha n a n honorable exile." 4 Nevertheless, Parliamen t possesse d th e authorit y t o overrid e the commo n law , an d di d s o i n 1597 , i n a n ac t providin g tha t persistent idler s should b e "conveye d . . . beyond th e seas." 5 I t wa s on th e authorit y o f this act that Britai n transporte d convict s t o th e American colonie s durin g th e seventeent h an d eighteent h centu ries, thereb y avoidin g a crisi s o f number s i n it s prisons . When , i n 1776, th e America n colonie s revolted , Britai n n o longe r ha d a place t o sen d it s prisoners . Actin g o n th e assumptio n tha t Britai n would soo n wi n th e War , th e Britis h governmen t adopte d a stop gap measure , "Th e Hulk s Act, " whereb y ol d an d rottin g men-o' war an d troo p transport s would b e used t o hold convict s sentence d to b e transporte d unti l thei r destinatio n shoul d b e decided . A s time wen t on , wit h th e hulks ' populatio n increasin g b y on e thou sand prisoner s a year, an d wit h "gao l fever " rampan t o n th e ships , the Britis h governmen t mad e increasingl y franti c effort s t o find a solution t o it s pena l crisis. 6 I n 1786 , thes e effort s culminate d in th e appointmen t o f a Governor , Lieutenant-Governor , an d Chaplain fo r a penal colon y t o b e establishe d i n Australia. 7 I n lat e May 1787 , six convict ship s departe d fo r th e fa r sid e o f the world. 8 Historians hav e been hard presse d t o make sense of the decisio n to creat e a pena l colon y i n Australia . Som e scholars , incredulou s at what seem s o n it s face a n ill-conceived scheme , hav e sough t ou t nontraditional explanations ; specifically , the y hav e propose d tha t Britain aime d a t creatin g a strategic foothol d i n th e Fa r East , o r a flax industry o n Norfol k Island , of f o f Australia's easter n coast. 9 I n their ques t fo r ne w interpretations , thes e historian s hav e hope d t o find " a les s gratuitou s beginnin g fo r Australia " tha n th e pla n fo r a penal colony. 10 Writin g o f th e revisionists ' motivation , Davi d

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 14

9

MacKay observes : "Th e genera l sens e i s tha t Australia' s colonia l past i s tawdr y an d require s tidyin g up . I n thei r searc h fo r mor e noble an d 'rational ' explanation s . . . writer s hav e attempte d t o erase a blot from Australia' s history. " n While som e historian s hav e found meri t i n th e ide a tha t com mercial an d strategi c factor s playe d a rol e i n Britain' s decision , others hav e rejecte d thi s view , an d fo r powerfu l reasons . Thus , a s to th e commercia l motiv e o f growin g flax o n Norfol k Island , th e equipping o f the Firs t Flee t tend s t o contradic t thi s interpretation . T h e Britis h governmen t neglecte d t o sen d eithe r suitabl e tool s o r trained flax dressers t o th e colony . N ot surprisingly , th e flax indus try go t of f t o a slow start an d wa s soon give n u p altogether. 12 Many hav e foun d th e argumen t fo r a strategi c motiv e equall y unconvincing. Fo r example , Rober t Hughe s note s tha t th e Austra lian colon y la y thousand s o f mile s fro m th e area s o f England' s strategic interest ; moreover , b y th e 1790 s Frenc h ship s n o longe r posed a significan t threa t i n th e Fa r East . Evidenc e abou t Prim e Minister Pitt' s stat e o f min d als o tend s t o beli e th e strategi c mo tive, fo r hi s correspondenc e a t th e tim e contain s onl y a few vagu e allusions t o th e strategi c arguments. 13 If the argument s fo r commercia l an d strategi c motives ar e wea k at best, we ar e left wit h th e traditiona l explanation : tha t th e Britis h founded Australi a a s a plac e t o dum p criminals . Bu t thi s theory , though widel y accepted , i s unsatisfyin g t o virtuall y everyone , be cause i t implie s tha t th e Britis h governmen t acte d irrationally . Consider, fo r example , th e assessmen t o f Davi d MacKay , autho r of A Place of Exile: "[T]h e governmen t foun d itsel f propelle d towards . . . the wors t possibl e alternativ e . .. th e scarcel y know n shores o f Botan y Bay . Havin g arrive d a t thi s choic e almos t b y default, i t was the n compelle d t o tr y t o justif y a decisio n whic h i n reality had littl e t o recommend it." 1 4 H e continues : "Th e dispatc h of th e Firs t Flee t t o Botan y Ba y was a reckles s ac t o n th e par t o f a desperat e ministry . T h e intende d sit e fo r th e settlemen t wa s insufficiently known ; th e expeditio n itsel f wa s poorl y organize d and badl y equipped. . . . Sendin g ou t th e Firs t Flee t withou t a n adequate preliminar y surve y was irresponsible." 15 In a similar vein , Hughe s writes : "The y chos e th e leas t imagin -

150 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

able spo t o n earth , whic h ha d bee n visite d onl y onc e b y whit e men." 1 6 Hughe s goe s s o fa r a s t o characteriz e th e pla n o f estab lishing a convic t colon y i n a place s o littl e know n an d fa r awa y a s "bizarre." 17 Geoffrey Blaine y point s ou t tw o othe r puzzlin g aspect s o f th e decision t o shi p convict s t o Botan y Bay : first, transportatio n t o eastern Australi a wa s a terribl y expensiv e solutio n t o th e Britis h penal crisis ; an d second , i t wa s a ver y slo w wa y t o solv e wha t i s thought t o hav e bee n a n urgen t problem . Almos t tw o an d a hal f years elapse d betwee n th e sailin g of the Firs t Fleet o f convict ship s and th e departur e o f th e Secon d Fleet. 18 Thus , th e pla n t o creat e a pena l colon y a t Botan y Ba y seem s curiousl y irrationa l i f judge d by the policymakers ' consciou s motives . But psychoanalysi s tell s u s tha t no t al l motive s ar e conscious ; indeed, a larg e par t o f menta l functionin g take s plac e outsid e awareness. An d i t i s precisel y whe n behavio r make s littl e sens e i n terms o f its acknowledge d purpose s tha t w e hav e th e mos t t o gai n in searchin g fo r unconsciou s motives . I n th e followin g pages , I undertak e a n examinatio n o f thes e unacknowledge d purpose s through a n analysi s o f th e imager y tha t th e Britis h use d i n dis cussing Australi a an d th e crimina l exiles . Base d o n thi s analysis , I will sugges t tha t th e polic y o f establishin g a pena l colon y i n Aus tralia ca n b e understoo d i n term s o f tw o unconsciou s aims : (1 ) t o avoid a painfu l awarenes s o f disavowe d crimina l qualitie s i n th e self by projectively identifyin g wit h thos e qualitie s in others ; (2 ) t o reenact a n archetypa l dram a abou t dweller s i n paradis e wh o be came tainte d an d wer e banishe d t o a dark, remot e land .

A PERVADIN G STAIN : T H E LANGUAG E O F FILT H IN AUSTRALIA N H I S T O R Y

In contemplatin g Australia n history , on e canno t fai l t o b e im pressed b y the pervasivenes s o f ana l metaphor s i n th e debat e ove r transporting criminal s t o tha t far-of f land . T h e ver y ide a o f "far off" itsel f hint s a t anality , because , i n th e huma n body , th e ana l region i s remot e from tha t par t o f th e bod y w e identif y mos t

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 15

1

closely wit h ou r selves , namely , th e face . A lette r writte n b y th e English essayis t Charle s Lam b t o hi s friend Barro n Fiel d convey s some sens e o f Australia' s remotenes s t o th e eighteenth-centur y European: " I d o no t kno w whereabou t Afric a merge s int o Asia ; . . . nor ca n for m th e remotes t conjectur e o f th e positio n o f Ne w South Wale s [th e nam e the n give n t o al l o f easter n Australia] , o r Van Diemen' s Lan d [Tasmania , a larg e islan d of f o f Australia' s southern coast] . Ye t d o I hol d a correspondenc e wit h a very dea r friend i n th e first-named o f thes e tw o Terra e Incognitae." 19 T o the me n an d women o f eighteenth-century England , Australi a wa s truly a n unknow n land . Prio r t o th e transportin g o f th e convicts , only on e Britis h shi p ha d eve r lande d a t Botan y Bay , an d tha t briefly, seventee n year s earlier . T he first convic t fleet require d tw o hundred fifty day s to reac h it s destination . T h e point , o f course , i s no t tha t Australi a wa s literall y a n unknown an d remot e place , bu t tha t thes e qualitie s enable d Aus tralia t o serv e a s a powerfu l symbol o f th e unknown , th e remote , and th e anal . Australia' s functio n a s a symboli c lan d meanin g Britain's backsid e ca n b e see n i n th e titl e o f a three-volum e wor k about Australi a publishe d i n th e earl y 1850s . Writte n b y Colone l Godfrey Mundy , a long-term officia l visito r t o Australia, th e wor k is entitled Our Antipodes. 20 Besides remoteness , mor e explici t ana l metaphor s wer e als o used t o spea k o f Australia . Consider , fo r example , th e followin g passage i n whic h Bisho p Willia m Ullathorne , Vicar-Apostoli c fo r New Sout h Wales , argue d agains t th e continue d transportatio n o f criminals t o Australia : "W e hav e take n a vas t portio n o f God' s earth an d mad e i t a cesspool ; w e hav e take n th e oceans , which , with thei r wonders , gir d th e globe , an d . .. mad e the m th e chan nels o f a sink ; w e hav e poure d dow n scu m upo n scu m an d dreg s upon dreg s o f the offscouring s o f mankind." 21 In England , a s well , commentator s imagine d Australi a rathe r vividly a s a plac e tha t th e Britis h wer e usin g a s a sewer . Thus , i n 1819, th e Reveren d Sydne y Smith , a n occasiona l consultan t t o Home Secretar y Peel , wrot e i n th e Edinburg h Review : "Ther e can be but on e opinion . New Sout h Wales is a sink of wickedness" 22

152 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

Similarly, i n 1849 , th e Times defende d transportatio n wit h thes e words: While . . . w e recognize the wisdom and public spirit of those who deprecate the perversion of any colony into a mere convict cesspool, we must remind them that England has rights as well as her de pendencies, and t h a t . .. sh e will not submit to the shame and cost of maintaining an annual burden of three thousand convicted fel ons on her own soil. 23 But perhap s th e mos t graphi c an d conspicuousl y ana l languag e about Australi a come s from Our Antipodes. Explainin g wh y som e Australian settler s oppose d th e reviva l o f transportation , Mund y states: "H e wh o step s backward s wil l tumbl e i n th e mire—an d what mir e blacke r an d foule r tha n th e Botan y Swamp!" 24 Lik e Charles Dicken s i n Oliver Twist an d Arthu r Cona n Doyl e i n The Hound of the Baskervilles, Mundy portray s th e criminals ' habita t a s an alluvia l ooze . In th e passage s quote d above , writer s conceiv e o f Australia a s a slimy receptacl e o f filth; hence , a toilet , o r a n anus , no t i n th e sense o f a n expellin g organ , bu t o f a passivel y receivin g one . I f Australia wa s a n anus , the n th e criminal s sen t ther e wer e feces , a s we se e i n th e followin g eloquen t exampl e fro m Jerem y Bentham . Speaking ou t agains t th e "thief-colony " i n 1812 , h e observe d tha t England wa s projecting " a sor t o f excrementitiou s mass." 25 Whil e not quit e s o explicit , othe r observer s likewis e portraye d th e crimi nal exile s i n ana l terms , a s refuse , scum , taint , an d stain . Fo r instance, i n 1846 , a colonia l corresponden t o f The Times wrote : "As th e foundatio n o f a permanen t convic t system , n o chang e ought t o b e accepted whic h doe s not abando n a t once an d fo r eve r the selfis h an d heinou s si n o f castin g of f o n infan t countrie s th e scum and refuse of ou r ow n society." 26 Likewise , Colone l Mund y thought tha t "th e privileg e o f shootin g s o muc h mora l rubbish upon othe r an d distan t premise s . . . [was] cheaply bought." 2 7 An d again, th e Britis h Quarterly declare d convict s "th e refus e o f th e trading towns " an d s o "unsuitabl e fo r colonia l employment." 28 Permanent settler s i n Australi a use d th e sam e metaphor , a s w e see i n thi s 185 1 exampl e from th e Bathurst Free Press: "[T] o invit e the scum o f th e Britis h Empir e merel y from pecuniar y motives ,

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass

J

53

would b e t o as k from th e paren t lan d he r curse , instea d o f he r blessing—would b e t o effec t th e complet e destructio n o f th e trifling clai m t o respectability which we now possess." 29 T h e wor d scum unite s th e concept s o f we t dir t an d darkness . Lon g use d t o mean a laye r o f impuritie s lyin g o n to p o f a liquid , th e wor d derives from a root meanin g t o cover or conceal; hence , t o plac e i n the darkness. 30 T h e colonial s ofte n associate d th e convict-filt h wit h th e first point o f contac t betwee n th e crimina l exile s an d th e continent , that is , the shor e an d it s surrounding waters . Thus, oratin g from a bus roof , a n Englis h emigran t barriste r proclaime d tha t "th e stately presence o f their city , the beautifu l water s o f their harbour , were thi s da y agai n pollute d wit h th e presenc e o f tha t floating hell—a convic t ship." 31 I n a similar vein, the Londo n Times edito rialized i n 185 2 abou t th e "pollute d shores " o f Va n Diemen' s Land. 32 While word s lik e pollution, refuse, garbage, an d scum wer e com monly use d t o refe r t o th e convicts , th e dominan t metapho r wa s stain o r it s closel y associate d ter m taint. I n a typica l example , a British officia l reportin g o n Va n Diemen' s Lan d i n 184 7 wrote , "Vice o f ever y descriptio n . . . i s t o b e me t wit h o n ever y hand — not a s isolate d spots , bu t a s a pervadin g stain." 33 I n anothe r instance, a n articl e publishe d i n Englan d i n 185 5 contain s th e following languag e abou t th e convic t who discovere d gol d i n Aus tralia: "[B]ut in thi s day and hou r ho w many o f the superio r classe s will b e bol d enoug h t o ave r tha t th e wretched , contaminated , brutalised, crime-stained, flagellated Iris h convic t ma y no t hav e discovered gold." 34 T h e metapho r o f tain t occupie d a central rol e in th e debat e ove r eligibilit y fo r th e jur y i n Australia . I n 1833 , when selecte d ex-convict s wer e permitte d t o serv e a s juror s i n Australia, on e factio n objecte d tha t "untainted " person s coul d no t be expecte d eithe r t o si t o n a jur y wit h convicte d felon s o r t o b e tried b y them. 35 Stain an d tain t ar e discoloration s tha t ten d t o spread ; hence , i t was a natural ste p from thes e image s t o th e ide a tha t criminal s ar e diseased. Mund y explain s th e colonials ' oppositio n t o transporta tion wit h thes e words : "N o on e coul d desir e th e regrowt h o f a n

154 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

unsightly tumou r whic h ha d onc e bee n painfull y excised." 36 I n addition t o metastasizin g withi n a singl e organism , th e diseas e of criminalit y wa s though t o f a s spreadin g dow n throug h th e generations. Fo r instance , a s lat e a s 1889 , a write r i n th e Britis h journal Nineteenth Century laments : "Ne w Sout h Wale s labour s under th e disadvantag e o f possessin g . . . a populatio n i n whos e veins ther e i s an hereditary tain t o f criminality." 37 Besides spreadin g bot h withi n th e bod y o f convict s an d t o th e convicts' descendants , criminalit y wa s conceive d a s radiatin g t o noncriminals wh o cam e int o contac t wit h th e convicts . Thus , a key figure i n th e foundin g o f th e Australia n pena l colony , Prim e Minister Pitt , cite d th e notio n o f contaminatio n t o justif y trans porting criminal s t o Botan y Bay . I n a parliamentar y debat e i n 1791, h e argue d "tha t i t wa s th e wors t polic y o f a stat e t o kee p [the mos t incorrigible ] offender s . . . a t hom e t o corrup t others , and contaminat e th e les s guilty , b y communicatin g thei r ow n dangerous depravity." 38 I n th e sam e vein , i n 1828 , th e Britis h Quarterly argue d tha t th e "entir e remova l o f th e individua l t o a new scene o f life affords a t once the onl y security to society agains t his future crime s an d th e contagio n o f his habits." 39 This sam e metapho r o f criminalit y a s a contagiou s diseas e tha t might sprea d t o noncriminal s playe d a rol e durin g th e influentia l meetings o f th e Hous e o f Common s Selec t Committe e inquirin g into transportatio n i n 183 7 an d 1838 . A t on e point , th e chai r o f the committee , Si r Willia m Molesworth , articulate d th e commit tee's concer n tha t th e contaminatin g influenc e o f a criminal influ x would b e greate r a t tha t tim e tha n i t ha d bee n previously . I n Australia's earl y days , h e suggested , th e free settler s migh t hav e arrived wit h thei r character s alread y formed , an d s o wer e "les s liable t o b e corrupte d tha n thei r unfortunat e offspring." 40 T H E ORIGIN S AN D MEANING S O F TH E ANAL METAPHO R

The Metaphor of Filth As a "Pupil's Metaphor 7' Metaphors involvin g filth and , by extension, contagiou s disease , so pervad e th e debat e ove r transportatio n o f convict s t o Australi a

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 15

5

that i t woul d b e har d t o imagin e th e sam e debat e withou t them . Just a s Macbeth an d The Hound of the Baskervilles are a s much abou t slime an d darknes s a s the y ar e abou t plo t an d character , s o als o the stor y o f Botan y Ba y seem s t o b e a s muc h abou t filth—about scum, refuse , mire , an d stain—a s i t i s abou t argument s an d poli cies. I t i s now tim e t o as k what thes e metaphor s ca n tel l u s abou t the relationshi p betwee n criminal s an d noncriminal s durin g thi s period. Wer e th e metaphor s o f filth accidenta l o r essential ? I f writers an d speaker s ha d referre d t o criminal s a s fire-eating drag ons, o r t o Australi a a s a n iceberg , o r a n oven , woul d thi s usag e have implie d somethin g differen t abou t th e meaning s an d func tions o f the crimina l durin g th e er a o f transportation t o Australia ? Psychoanalysis, a s wel l a s literar y criticism , maintain s tha t th e choice o f metapho r i s neve r accidental , fo r th e vehicl e o f one' s thought i s inseparably entwine d wit h it s content. 41 T h a t thi s i s so , that th e metaphor s o f filth wer e inextricabl y boun d u p wit h th e noncriminals' understandin g o f criminality , ca n b e see n mor e clearly wit h th e ai d o f a distinctio n offere d b y C . S . Lewi s i n hi s essay "Bluspel s an d Flalansferes. " Lewi s suggest s tha t metaphor s can b e categorize d int o tw o type s dependin g o n thei r rol e i n th e mind o f th e user . T h e Master' s metaphor , h e explains , i s "freel y chosen . . . on e amon g man y possibl e mode s o f expression ; i t doe s not a t al l hinde r . . . th e though t o f it s maker." 42 T h e Pupil' s metaphor, b y contrast , "i s no t chose n a t all ; i t i s th e uniqu e expression o f a meanin g w e canno t hav e o n an y othe r terms ; i t dominates completel y th e though t o f th e recipient ; hi s trut h can not ris e abov e th e trut h o f the origina l metaphor." 43 These tw o type s o f metapho r lie , o f course , o n a continuum , and, doubtless , mos t noncriminals i n Australian histor y were capa ble o f definin g criminal s withou t usin g metaphor s o f filth. Ye t s o widespread i s thi s imagery , an d s o rar e i s th e us e o f othe r image s for criminals , tha t w e see m justifie d i n characterizin g th e meta phor o f filth a s a Pupil' s metaphor . Fo r a powerfu l illustratio n o f this point , conside r th e word s o f a n emigrant' s handboo k pub lished i n Londo n i n 1851 . T h e autho r endeavor s t o reassur e pro spective emigrant s t o Australi a wit h thi s analogy : "Th e operatio n of the pena l syste m has altered th e fac e o f the countr y where i t ha s

156 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

been se t down . .. jus t as manure ma y have altered th e characte r o f a field." 44 Thus , eve n a Britishe r writin g positivel y abou t th e criminal exile s makes he r poin t with th e languag e o f filth. The Metaphor of Filth As a Defense against Identification with Criminals If th e imag e o f th e crimina l a s filth wa s a Pupil' s metaphor , essential t o th e noncriminal ' thinkin g abou t Botan y Bay , the n i t is worthwhil e t o procee d furthe r wit h ou r inquiry , askin g wh y the metaphor s o f filth wer e employe d s o abundantl y t o refe r t o criminality. I hav e alread y suggeste d a partia l answer ; t o wit , th e resonance betwee n Australia' s litera l remotenes s fro m Britai n an d the remotenes s o f th e ana l regio n o f th e huma n body . Similarly , the prisoner s wh o wer e transporte d t o Australi a literall y dwelle d in condition s o f filth an d darknes s o n boar d th e ships. 45 Thes e actual qualitie s ma y hav e encourage d peopl e t o assimilat e crimi nals t o th e concep t o f filth. Nevertheless , a s w e hav e seen , th e origins o f th e filth-criminal equatio n g o muc h wide r an d deepe r than an y mer e litera l similarity . I wis h no w t o propos e tha t thes e origins may be found i n the similar emotiona l stanc e that we adop t toward criminal s an d filth; namely , a stanc e o f ambivalence , o r simultaneous hatre d an d love , repulsio n an d attraction , towar d th e same object . Putting asid e fo r th e momen t th e topi c o f ou r attractio n t o criminals, le t u s conside r agai n ou r complicate d emotiona l stanc e toward filth. A s w e sa w i n th e las t chapter , filth hold s a n uncon scious allur e fo r u s all . Transparentl y reveale d i n children' s play , this attraction graduall y undergoes a n almost-universal repression . In adults , i t appear s mainl y i n sublimate d forms—i n th e appea l of a mud-wrestlin g competition , fo r example—o r indirectly , i n exaggerated defense s agains t messiness , suc h a s th e compulsiv e person's undiscriminatin g insistenc e o n neatnes s an d order . Fro m a psychoanalyti c perspective , th e exaggerate d qualit y o f thi s repu diation itsel f betray s th e continuin g powe r o f th e underlyin g at traction—a trut h tha t has made its way into popular consciousnes s with Shakespeare' s bon mot^ "The lad y doth protes t to o much. "

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass

!57

If human being s generally are attracted t o filth, an d if noncrimi nals equate d criminal s wit h filth throughou t earl y Australia n his tory, it seems reasonabl e t o infer tha t thes e noncriminal s harbore d an attractio n t o criminals . Yet, thei r languag e suggests , thi s at traction wa s s o repugnan t tha t the y barre d it s admissio n t o thei r conscious mind s vi a th e mechanis m o f repression. 46 And , sinc e repression ofte n require s reinforcemen t fro m othe r defens e mech anisms, the y als o develope d a reactio n formation , convertin g th e feeling o f attractio n int o it s opposite : loathing , o r disgust . Relat edly, th e noncriminal s ma y hav e use d th e criminal-exile s t o avoi d awareness o f disavowe d crimina l qualitie s i n themselve s throug h the mechanis m o f externalization. 47 But what i s the evidenc e fo r thes e speculations ? B y themselves , the ana l image s onl y hin t a t th e interpretatio n I hav e offered ; nevertheless, additiona l evidenc e come s t o ou r assistance , i n sev eral forms . First , no t onl y th e language , bu t als o th e polic y adopted towar d criminal s durin g thi s perio d display s a hyperboli c quality, a s if the Britis h wer e saying , "W e wan t nothin g t o d o wit h criminals, an d t o ensur e tha t w e d o not , w e wil l shi p the m t o th e moon!" T h e extrem e natur e o f th e polic y was note d b y som e observer s at th e time . Fo r example , i n 1786 , th e Gentleman's Magazine pro nounced th e Botan y Ba y ventur e " a mos t extravagan t scheme." 48 Similarly, Si r Nathanie l Wraxall , a politica l commentato r writin g in 1787 , ridicule d th e Botan y Ba y expeditio n precisel y fo r it s outlandishness, characterizin g th e polic y a s "on e o f thos e extraor dinary act s o f State , which , a s i t neve r ha s . . . had an y precedent ; so I inclin e t o apprehend , i t wil l remai n fo r eve r withou t imita tion." 4 9 T o Wraxall , th e almos t unbelievabl e remotenes s o f th e new pena l colon y rendere d th e pla n ludicrous . I n parodie d terms , he describe d th e expedition : "throug h storm y seas , an d inclemen t latitudes,. . . [forming ] a ne w colon y o f thieve s an d ruffians , i n another hemisphere , unde r th e Souther n Pole!" 50 Wraxal l coul d conceive o f onl y on e goa l tha t Britai n coul d b e pursuin g throug h this policy : t o remov e th e criminal s a s fa r a s possibl e fro m th e home country. 51 To highligh t th e strangenes s o f th e Botan y Ba y expedition ,

158 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

Wraxall contraste d Britain' s practic e wit h tha t o f othe r countries . "The Romans, " h e wrote , knew the value of even the vilest and most flagitious of their subjects . .. an d were content with sending their malefactors t o Sardinia or Corsica.... Franc e has her gallies; and Russia her mines. . . . An d could England discove r no mode of availing herself of the strength and corporal functions o f so many of her inhabitants, th e far greater part of whom are in the vigour of life? 52 T h e British , Wraxal l recognized , wer e discardin g thei r fellow citizens lik e refuse , or , mor e specifically , lik e irreclaimable refuse ; that is , the y wer e throwin g the m a s fa r awa y a s possible . T o WraxalPs emphasi s o n th e corpora l strengt h o f th e exiles , w e ma y add tha t man y o f th e criminal s ha d bee n charge d wit h onl y trivia l offenses;53 consequently , the y migh t hav e bee n especiall y capabl e of making a contribution t o thei r country . N o t onl y th e hyperboli c nature , bu t als o th e mod e o f Britain' s Botany Ba y projec t point s t o a defensiv e function . A s w e hav e seen, th e Britis h too k peopl e wh o ha d bee n a par t o f thei r bod y politic an d cas t the m out , tellin g the m tha t the y coul d no t re turn—either fo r a length y perio d o f year s o r forever . T h e struc ture o f thi s punishmen t i s familia r t o us , fo r it s mode l i s defeca tion. I n defecation , a s i n expulsio n o f criminals , somethin g tha t was a par t o f one' s "body " i s remove d fro m th e "body " an d be comes refuse . Thi s similarit y hint s a t th e policy' s ana l meanin g and, with it, the probabilit y tha t the noncriminals fel t a n attractio n to, a s well a s an aversio n for , th e lawbreakers . Besides it s resemblanc e t o defecation , th e punishmen t o f exil e bears a n affinit y wit h a psychologica l mechanism , externalization , which i s th e experiencin g o f inner impulse s an d feeling s a s if the y belonged t o th e oute r world . I n a simpler, mor e vivi d definitio n o f the sam e mechanism , a littl e bo y wh o wa s th e scapegoa t o f hi s family onc e explaine d t o hi s therapist : "The y pu t th e ba d ont o m e and the y fee l good." 5 4 No w thi s boy , Tommy , had , i n reality , developed th e characteristic s tha t hi s parent s perceive d i n him . Through th e operatio n o f a self-fulfillin g prophecy , h e ha d com e to b e " a regressed , soiling , snot-eatin g child" 55 wit h littl e self -

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 15

9

control. Thus, a t the tim e o f Tommy's therapy , th e parents ' distor tion o f realit y di d no t tak e th e for m o f imaginin g thing s i n thei r son tha t wer e no t ther e a t all . Rather , i n a for m o f externalizatio n known a s projectiv e identification , the y sa w qualitie s i n Tomm y that were there; however , the y exaggerate d the m an d use d Tomm y to avoi d th e painfu l recognitio n tha t the y fel t themselve s t o b e damaged an d messy. 56 I t i s thi s sam e defens e mechanism , projec tive identification , tha t I sugges t th e Britis h noncriminal s wer e employing i n thei r Botan y Ba y policy. I hav e argue d tha t Britain' s Botan y Ba y polic y wa s a mean s o f defending agains t a n unconsciou s attractio n t o an d identificatio n with criminals . Bu t defens e mechanism s ar e rarel y totall y success ful. I f m y interpretatio n ha s merit , w e shoul d se e expression s o f the othe r sid e o f the conflic t a t the tim e th e polic y was decided, i n eighteenth-century England . Specifically , w e shoul d se e indica tions that , beside s spurnin g lawbreaker s an d expellin g the m from their land , noncriminal s als o identifie d wit h criminal s an d re garded the m wit h pleasur e an d esteem . Le t u s no w examin e th e evidence tha t thi s was the case . T H E OTHE R SID E O F TH E CONFLICT : POPULA R IDENTIFICATION WIT H CRIMINAL S AN D D E L I G H T IN T H E I R WAY S

The law doth punish man or woman That steals the goose from off the commo n But lets the greater felon loos e That steals the common from the goose. —Anonymous, 1764 It i s surel y n o acciden t tha t thi s Englis h fol k son g date s from the eighteent h century , fo r Englis h literatur e o f that er a display s a profound ambivalenc e towar d th e crimina l law . In hi s examinatio n of eighteenth-centur y Englis h fiction, Davi d Punte r finds thre e prominent themes , al l reflectiv e o f thi s ambivalence . First , h e reports tha t novel s o f thi s er a consistentl y ten d t o discredi t En -

160 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

glish lega l mechanism s an d institutions , presentin g crimina l sub groups a s livin g b y a se t o f rule s mor e honorabl e tha n th e rule s that characteriz e th e dominan t lega l system . T o mentio n bu t tw o examples, th e prisoner s i n The Vicar of Wakefield an d th e pirat e band i n Captain Singleton exhibi t a decenc y an d humanenes s i n their self-governmen t that , th e novelist s imply , i s lackin g i n th e government o f England. 57 As a second majo r them e i n th e literatur e o f this period , Punte r finds tha t th e lin e betwee n officer s o f th e la w an d lawbreaker s i s regularly blurred . Lawyers , fo r example , ar e portraye d a s littl e different fro m criminals ; lik e th e criminals , the y rob , bu t wit h legal sanction. Beside s lawyers, the thief-taker s o f this period, suc h as th e famou s Jonatha n Wild , ar e depicte d a s straddlin g th e law . On th e on e hand , the y enforc e th e la w b y impeachin g a n occa sional robbe r an d returnin g stole n good s t o th e victims . O n th e other, the y themselve s direc t gang s o f thieves , forcin g noncrimi nals int o live s o f crim e b y threatenin g t o repor t the m falsel y t o the authorities. 58 As a thir d them e o f eighteenth-centur y Englis h fiction, Punte r notes tha t th e protagonists ' crime s ar e ofte n justifie d b y circum stances. T o tak e bu t on e famou s example , th e heroin e o f Moll Flanders i s a lifelon g thie f an d prostitut e wh o delight s i n he r resourcefulness an d show s littl e remors e fo r he r crimes . A s Defo e portrays her , Moll' s lif e o f crim e i s partl y justifie d b y th e alterna tive sh e initiall y faces: a life o f servitude. 59 Since Punte r confine s hi s analysi s to novels , h e omit s what ma y be th e mos t famou s exampl e o f a crimina l her o i n eighteenth century Englis h literature , th e charismati c highwayma n i n Joh n Gay's musical, The Beggar's Opera. With hi s glamorous clothes , hi s charm, an d hi s succes s with women , Macheat h portray s th e lif e o f a highway robbe r a s greatly t o b e desired . A s we sa w in chapte r 7 , numerous writer s an d preacher s publicl y lamente d Macheath' s popularity; meanwhile , The Beggar's Opera becam e th e mos t suc cessful theatrica l productio n o f th e eighteenth-century. 60 T h e eighteenth-century Britis h fascinatio n wit h fictional criminal s car ried ove r t o real criminal s a s well. For instance, while highwayme n

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 16

1

languished i n Newgat e prison , awaitin g death , member s o f societ y would pa y the m socia l calls. 61 Then , a s eac h condemne d prisone r journeyed from Newgat e Priso n t o Tybur n Tree , crowd s woul d throng th e road , tossin g flowers an d fruits t o th e convict , who , arrayed i n hi s bes t apparel , migh t us e th e occasio n o f hi s hangin g to mak e a speec h t o th e supportiv e mob. 62 Summin g u p wha t some sa w a s th e perverte d flavor o f thes e spectacles , Foucaul t writes: "I n thes e executions , whic h ough t t o sho w onl y th e terror izing power o f the prince , ther e wa s a whole aspec t o f the carnival , in whic h rule s wer e inverted , authorit y mocke d an d criminal s transformed int o heroes." 63 Besides admiration , identificatio n wit h lawbreaker s wa s als o strikingly evident durin g this period. For example, victims of crim e frequently petitione d o n behal f o f th e ver y criminal s wh o ha d robbed them , afte r th e criminal s ha d bee n sentence d t o transpor tation. Bothere d b y the disproportio n betwee n a sometimes trivia l offense an d th e enormit y o f exile , an d unwillin g t o bea r th e guil t for th e breaku p o f a family , som e victim s declare d thei r ow n forgiveness o f th e crim e an d begge d fo r a lega l remissio n o f th e culprit's sentenc e t o Botan y Bay . On on e occasion , whe n forward ing suc h a petitio n wit h th e recommendatio n tha t i t b e denied , a magistrate vented hi s frustration a t popular sympath y for criminal s with th e words : "Thes e ar e times whe n th e curren t o f publi c opinion seem s t o disar m th e la w of all its terrors!" 64 In additio n t o thes e indication s from eighteenth-centur y En gland, twentieth-centur y Australi a provide s longitudina l evidenc e of a n intrapsychi c conflic t ove r criminals . I n recen t years , i t ha s become quit e fashionabl e t o clai m descendanc e from th e Firs t Fleet. Indeed , thos e Australian s wh o ca n prov e suc h descen t hav e expressed thei r prid e b y formin g a societ y i n Sydney : th e Fellow ship o f Firs t Fleeters! 65 Thus , bot h contemporaneou s an d histori cal testimon y confirm s th e existenc e o f a polarity, a n ambivalenc e embracing love and hate, idealization an d devaluatio n o f criminals . Thus far , I hav e offere d thre e kind s o f evidenc e t o corroborat e my interpretatio n o f th e Botan y Ba y experiment . First , th e polic y of expelling criminals an d transportin g the m t o a place s o far awa y

16 2 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

has a n exaggerate d quality , which suggest s a struggle wit h feeling s and impulse s i n th e self . Second , th e polic y (lik e th e languag e about th e exile s an d thei r islan d prison ) exhibit s a n ana l character , which implie s the presenc e o f the sam e ambivalenc e towar d crimi nals tha t w e al l fee l towar d feces—no t onl y a n aversion , bu t als o an attractio n t o an d a n identification wit h th e dark , viscous matte r that wa s onc e par t o f th e self . Third , th e literatur e an d histor y o f eighteenth-century Englan d provid e substantia l evidenc e o f th e other sid e of the conflict : identificatio n wit h criminal s an d admira tion fo r crimina l deeds . There remain s on e final kin d o f confirmatio n t o offer . I f m y interpretation i s correct , the n th e criminal-exile s ha d a profoun d meaning fo r th e Britis h noncriminals , servin g a s a split-of f an d punished par t o f themselves . W e woul d therefor e expec t tha t an y interference wit h th e noncriminals ' abilit y t o us e th e exile s an d Australia i n thi s symboli c wa y woul d mee t wit h a n extrem e reac tion. I n thi s light , le t u s conside r th e stor y o f Alexander Macono chie's tenure a s Superintenden t o f Norfolk Island . T H E REVILEMEN T O F SUPERINTENDEN T MACONOCHIE: A N EPITOM E

About nin e hundre d mile s northeas t o f Sydney , i n th e Pacifi c Ocean, lie s Norfol k Island , wher e authoritie s sen t th e wors t o f Britain's transporte d convicts . I n 1827 , Australia n Governo r Dar ling state d hi s intentio n t o mak e thi s settlemen t " a plac e o f th e extremest punishment , shor t o f death." 66 I n keepin g wit h thi s goal, Norfolk Islan d cam e t o b e considere d a hellish prison , wher e illegal torture s prevaile d an d wher e convict s wer e turne d agains t each othe r b y a n elaborat e syste m o f informing. T h e awfu l natur e of th e plac e ca n b e see n i n a n officia l repor t writte n i n 1834 , where th e chaplai n recount s tha t o n on e occasio n al l thirtee n o f the convict s sentence d t o deat h knel t t o than k Go d fo r thei r goo d fortune, wherea s al l thos e wh o receive d reprieve s crie d bitterl y a t the though t o f a future i n tha t place. 67 In 1840 , Alexande r Maconochie , a retire d nava l captai n an d former prisone r o f wa r wh o ha d writte n extensivel y o n priso n

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 16

3

reform, wa s appointe d superintenden t o f th e island . Unlik e mos t Britons o f hi s time , Maconochi e viewe d imprisonmen t a s a suffi cient punishmen t i n itself ; h e sa w n o nee d fo r additiona l torture s and degradations . Tru e t o thi s philosophy , durin g hi s fou r year s as superintenden t h e preside d ove r man y humanitaria n reforms : building churches , re-establishin g schools , demolishin g gallows , and permittin g th e convict s t o cultivat e gardens . I n addition , Ma conochie establishe d indeterminat e sentence s an d the n allowe d the convict s themselve s t o determin e th e lengt h o f thei r term s b y earning "marks" ; fo r ever y te n mark s earned , the y shortene d thei r sentence b y one day . Maconochie's reform s prove d remarkabl y successfu l i n rehabili tating th e supposedl y unsalvageabl e offender s o f Norfol k Island . Only thre e percen t o f th e 1,45 0 prisoner s discharge d durin g Ma conochie's tenur e ar e know n t o hav e bee n reconvicted. 68 Perhap s the mos t spectacula r instanc e o f rehabilitation concerne d th e con vict Charle s Anderson . Irreversibl y brai n damaged , Anderso n ha d been a violen t an d resentfu l perso n a t th e tim e h e wa s convicte d of burglar y an d place d o n Goa t Island , a roc k i n Sydne y Harbor . For two years, he ha d bee n fastened , naked , t o a chain o n th e rock , his onl y hom e a cavit y carve d ou t o f th e stone. 69 Unheale d welt s festered o n hi s back , th e resul t o f hundred s o f punishment s wit h the lash . Resident s o f Sydne y amuse d themselve s b y rowing ou t t o his rock an d throwin g crust s o f bread o r offa l fo r hi m t o eat . Following a n investigation , Anderso n wa s remove d from Goa t Island t o anothe r prison , Por t Macquarie . Whil e there , servin g a life sentence , h e murdered a n overseer i n hopes o f attaining escap e through th e gallows . Hi s deat h sentenc e wa s commuted , an d h e was sen t t o Norfol k Island , wher e h e continue d violen t an d unre pentant until Maconochie assume d contro l o f the prison. Macono chie gav e Anderso n a job tamin g bullock s awa y from th e ridicul e of othe r prisoners . Afte r Anderso n succeede d i n thi s firs t assign ment, Maconochi e pu t hi m t o wor k managin g a signa l station . Although hi s brai n damag e preclude d a full rehabilitation , Ander son improve d enormousl y unde r Maconochie' s reforms . W h e n Governor Gipp s visite d Norfol k Islan d i n 1843 , h e wrot e o f hi s

164 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

astonishment a t seeing Anderson transforme d from a wild beas t t o a man "triml y dresse d i n sailor' s garb , goin g importantly abou t hi s duties." 70 Notwithstanding Maconochie' s effectivenes s i n rehabilitatin g convicts, hi s reforms inspire d ridicul e an d revilemen t amon g non criminals i n Sydne y an d London . Significantly , i t wa s a one-tim e event, a largel y symboli c one , tha t elicite d th e mos t vociferou s criticism amon g th e noncriminals . T o sho w hi s trus t fo r th e men , on Quee n Victoria' s birthda y i n 1840 , Maconochi e gav e th e con victs a holiday , allowin g th e me n t o roa m freely ove r th e Islan d and providin g the m wit h goo d food , rum , fireworks, an d a theatri cal performance . I n Sydney , new s o f th e birthda y celebratio n caused " a wav e o f execration " t o brea k o n Maconochie' s head. 71 As Governo r Gipp s describe d th e situation , "ever y ma n wa s against him , ever y ma n deride d hi s System." 72 A t leas t a s earl y as 1842 , th e authoritie s i n Londo n mad e th e decisio n t o recal l Maconochie, althoug h n o replacemen t becam e availabl e unti l 1844.73 Maconochie' s successor , Majo r Josep h Childs , obeye d hi s superiors' order s t o mak e Norfol k Islan d th e epitom e o f hell onc e again. T h e questio n arise s wh y th e Britis h noncriminal s displaye d such a hostile reactio n t o thi s man whose reform s wer e succeedin g in transformin g hardene d convicts , an d wh o would late r b e recog nized a s a pioneer i n penology, on e o f the "fe w exceptiona l admin istrators o f these colonie s o f brutality." 74 Severa l possibl e explana tions com e t o mind : perhap s th e noncriminal s feare d that , b y turning Norfol k Islan d int o a mor e pleasan t place , Maconochi e was eliminatin g th e Island' s deterren t value . Or , b y treatin g th e convicts wit h kindnes s an d respect , Maconochi e ma y hav e thwarted th e noncriminals ' nee d t o exac t sadisti c vengeanc e o n convicts. Finally, by going his own idealisti c way, Maconochie ma y simply hav e annoye d to o man y o f hi s superiors , leadin g the m t o believe tha t h e coul d no t b e truste d t o obe y orders . Without denyin g tha t thes e factor s ma y hav e playe d a part , I suggest tha t th e negativ e reactio n t o Maconochie' s reform s pri marily stem s from th e noncriminals ' nee d t o us e thi s Australia n

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass

165

prison a s a symbo l o f hell . I n chapte r 10 , w e sa w tha t place s o f punishment ar e typicall y imagine d a s mirrorin g th e qualitie s o f the punished . Sinc e criminal s ar e see n a s intimatel y relate d t o filth, thei r priso n mus t b e filthy a s well. Lik e Gehenna , i t mus t b e dark an d stinkin g wit h garbage ; i t mus t be , a s th e write r of Job puts it , " a lan d o f gloo m an d chaos." 75 B y underminin g Norfol k Island's abilit y t o functio n a s a symbo l o f hell , Maconochi e chal lenged th e noncriminals ' dualisti c vision o f th e worl d and , wit h it , their dialectically-determine d identit y a s th e pur e noncriminals , the untainte d remnant . T o appreciat e th e profundit y o f thi s chal lenge, on e ha s onl y t o remembe r Victo r Hugo' s characte r Javert , whom I discusse d i n a n earlie r chapter . W h e n force d t o recogniz e the nobl e qualitie s i n hi s crimina l prey , Javer t despair s o f life' s meaning an d drown s himself . I hav e presente d th e stor y o f Maconochi e a t som e lengt h t o corroborate m y vie w tha t th e Australia n crimina l exile s playe d a n important intrapsychi c rol e fo r th e Britis h noncriminals , servin g as externalize d aspect s o f th e noncriminals ' selves—thei r disa vowed greed , sadism , an d hostilit y t o authority . I n developin g this interpretation , I hav e employe d a particula r psychoanalyti c paradigm, th e conflic t model , whic h view s th e min d a s bese t b y inner polaritie s an d conflicts . I n th e nex t section , I will attemp t t o enrich ou r understandin g o f th e Botan y Ba y venture wit h th e hel p of another , complementar y paradigm : th e narrativ e model . Thi s model focuse s o n huma n being s a s mythopoei c creatures , wh o invent storie s t o giv e their live s meaning. 76 S Y M B O L I S M A S M O T I V E : T H E B O T A N Y BA Y V E N T U R E A s A R E E N A C T M E N T O F T H E FAL L

And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit o f the trees of the garden: But of the fruit o f the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.. . . . . . An d when the woman saw that the tree was good for food ,

166 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired t o make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof , an d did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;.. . . . . [An d the Lord God said,] Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded the e that thou shouldst not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord Go d said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpen t beguiled me, and I did eat. . . . . . . Therefor e th e Lord Go d sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned ever y way, to keep the way of the tree of life. —Genesi s 3:2-2 4 In eighteenth - an d nineteenth-centur y England , whe n book s wer e far les s prevalen t tha n today , on e boo k wa s well-know n t o nearl y every educated person : th e Kin g James version o f the Bible. 77 An d of the man y storie s i n th e Bible , very likely one o f the best-know n was the myt h o f the Fall . For this myth—with it s wonderful detail , its humor , it s epiphany , an d reversa l o f fortune—possesse s al l the element s o f a powerfu l drama . Moreover , from a theologica l perspective, th e episod e o f th e Fal l i s "th e startin g poin t o f th e Christian dram a o f redemption , an d henc e i s a subjec t o f th e utmost importanc e an d th e utmos t sublimit y from th e poin t o f view of the autho r an d hi s audience." 78 As the stor y is related i n Genesis, huma n being s disobeye d a law and, consequently , becam e morall y pollute d wit h a tain t tha t would pas s dow n throug h th e generations . Referrin g t o thi s taint , the New Testament declares : "[I] n Ada m al l die." 79 Likewise , th e Articles of Religion, anothe r wor k tha t wa s know n t o th e educate d Britisher o f thi s era , refer s t o th e offsprin g o f Ada m a s harborin g an "infectio n o f nature." 8 0 A s a punishmen t fo r havin g violate d God's la w and becom e tainted , Adam an d Ev e were banishe d from their origina l hom e t o a n unpleasan t place , a plac e wher e Ev e would brin g fort h childre n "i n sorrow, " an d liv e i n subordinatio n

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass 16

7

to he r husband , an d wher e Ada m woul d ea t brea d "i n th e swea t o f [his] . . . face, " an d finally retur n t o dust. 81 Earlier i n thi s essay , I note d th e stron g resemblanc e betwee n this stor y an d th e stor y tha t th e Britis h enacte d i n th e lat e eigh teenth an d nineteent h centurie s whe n the y transporte d criminal s to Australia . Ther e too , peopl e ha d violate d th e law , an d ther e too, thi s violatio n wa s though t t o hav e engendere d a mora l tain t that woul d pas s dow n t o th e criminals ' descendants . Moreover , like Ada m an d Eve , th e convict s wer e punishe d wit h banishmen t from thei r origina l hom e t o a place tha t was conceived a s unpleas ant. T h e word s tha t th e Interpreter's Bible uses t o describ e th e fat e of th e first human s coul d apply , wit h onl y sligh t modifications , t o the Britis h exiles : "So th e pas t was to b e irrevocable. T h e ma n an d his wif e mus t tur n fro m al l the y ha d know n t o a futur e tha t wa s unknown. T h e gat e wa s shut , an d th e ange l wit h th e flamin g sword kep t the m from eve r goin g back." 82 T h e Britis h crimina l exiles wer e rarel y accompanie d b y spouses , an d Britis h la w re placed th e ange l wit h th e flaming sword , bu t wit h thes e excep tions, th e tw o storie s ar e remarkabl y th e same . T h e tim e ha s come t o inquir e mor e closel y into th e meanin g o f this resemblance . Doe s th e resemblanc e sugges t tha t th e stor y o f the Fal l contribute d t o causin g th e Botan y Ba y venture, o r merel y that i t adde d a laye r o f meanin g t o a decisio n mad e o n indepen dent grounds ? Whil e thi s questio n canno t b e answere d wit h cer tainty, a n argumen t ca n b e mad e fo r th e stronge r inference . I t goes a s follows : when , i n th e lat e eighteent h century , th e Britis h needed a new way to cope with thei r burgeonin g clas s of criminals , they assimilate d thes e wrongdoer s t o a myt h tha t wa s alread y deeply embedde d i n thei r culture , th e myt h o f th e Fall . W h e n the Botan y Ba y solutio n wa s proposed , it s correspondenc e t o th e Biblical stor y made i t see m a natural choice . If, o n on e level , th e myt h o f th e Fal l ca n b e understoo d a s a cause of the Botan y Bay venture, o n another , deepe r level , bot h th e myth an d th e Botan y Ba y ventur e ca n b e understoo d a s responses to a thir d factor ; namely , huma n beings ' nee d fo r storie s tha t symbolically grappl e wit h th e centra l concern s o f their lives. 83 W e

168 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

have alread y examine d th e theme s o f guil t an d filthiness tha t pervade th e story of Botany Bay. But there ar e also other concerns , related mor e t o th e metaphor' s vicissitude s tha n t o th e metapho r itself, tha t are embedded i n the narratives o f the Fal l and o f Botan y Bay. On e i s th e disquietin g recognitio n tha t w e ar e al l temporar y sojourners o n thi s earth—tha t ou r tru e home , i f any , lie s else where, i n a plac e fro m whic h w e came , an d t o whic h w e wil l eventually return. 84 This state s th e them e from th e perspectiv e o f ou r existentia l predicament. I n term s o f developmenta l psychology , bot h th e Fal l and Botan y Ba y reflec t th e centra l fea r o f childhood , th e fea r o f parental abandonment . A s psychiatris t Gregor y Rochli n writes , "Childhood i s ful l o f a need fo r peopl e an d th e fear s o f bein g lef t by them . Ther e wa s neve r a chil d wh o di d no t nee d a n adul t no r was ther e a chil d wh o di d no t fea r losin g a n adul t h e had." 8 5 Owing t o it s importanc e i n th e child' s menta l world , th e drea d o f abandonment ha s bee n elaborate d i n man y fair y tale s wher e th e parent dies , voluntaril y forsake s th e child , o r allow s th e chil d t o be taken away . T he stor y of Hansel and Gretel, in particular, closel y resembles th e Botan y Ba y venture . I n thi s fair y tale , th e poo r woodcutter an d hi s wif e tak e thei r childre n fa r from hom e an d leave them , withou t th e mean s t o return. 86 In Hansel and Gretel, a s ofte n i n reality , i t wa s povert y ji^a t led th e parent s t o deser t thei r children , bu t whateve r th e actua l circumstances, childre n ten d t o blam e themselve s fo r thei r par ents' desertion . A s Rochli n writes , "[I] t i s th e child' s vie w tha t there i s no dange r excep t i f on e i s worthless becaus e onl y wha t i s no goo d i s given up." 8 7 Thus , i n th e child' s fantasy , th e paralle l o f abandonment wit h th e Fal l an d th e Botan y Ba y venture become s more complete . At thi s point , th e reade r ma y objec t tha t th e paralle l I hav e drawn i s imperfec t becaus e th e Botan y Ba y stor y lack s a happ y ending. I n Hansel and Gretel, th e exile d childre n ar e ultimatel y reunited wit h thei r lovin g father. Likewise , i n th e Biblica l stor y o f the Fall , human being s los e thei r innocenc e bu t finally gai n some thing fa r greater , salvation . Indeed , accordin g t o th e theologica l

Projecting an Excrementitious Mass

169

doctrine o f th e felix culpa, o r "fortunat e fall, " Adam' s si n wa s a necessary one . Ha d Ada m no t disobeye d God , w e woul d hav e n o need o f salvation an d woul d no t experienc e God' s grace. 88 It i s true that , i n som e versions , th e Botan y Ba y story ca n offe r no suc h joyou s denouement . Man y convict s die d o n th e voyag e t o Australia; other s wer e rape d b y thei r fello w exiles , o r treate d cruelly b y th e master s t o who m the y wer e assigned . Stil l othe r criminals, however , di d manag e t o mak e a ne w lif e i n thei r plac e of exile . Lik e Jea n Valjea n i n Les Miserables, the y foun d i n th e "sewer" a place o f salvation. 89 Suc h positiv e experience s revea l th e truth i n the facetiou s word s o f a 178 6 ballad describin g the Austra lian priso n colon y a s "thi s Garde n o f Eden , thi s ne w promise d land." 90 In par t becaus e o f such succes s stories , Botan y Ba y soon los t it s power a s a n unequivocall y negativ e symbol , a deterren t t o crim e in th e mothe r country . Accordin g t o Hughes , i t wa s difficul t t o convince th e Britis h lower classe s that transportation wa s a terribl e fate.91 B y 1840 , Charle s Dicken s wa s writin g t o th e Whi g hom e secretary statin g tha t mos t Britis h criminal s viewed transportatio n as a chanc e t o improv e thei r lives . T o counte r suc h positiv e per spectives, h e offere d t o writ e " a vivi d descriptio n o f th e terror s o f Norfolk Islan d an d such-lik e places , tol d i n a homel y narrativ e with a great appearanc e o f truth an d realit y and circulate d i n som e very chea p an d eas y form." 92 Confirmin g th e realit y underlyin g Dickens's concern , anecdota l evidenc e suggest s tha t som e nine teenth-century Briton s ma y actuall y hav e committe d crime s i n hopes o f bein g transporte d t o Australia. 93 Whateve r th e trut h o f these accounts , i t i s clear tha t th e beckonin g imag e o f Botan y Ba y as a place o f "newness an d freedom" 94 offere d seriou s competitio n to it s officia l imag e a s a hellish an d isolate d abode . Simila r t o th e more traditiona l prison s tha t w e examine d i n Par t One , thi s "prison o f infinite space" 95 became , fo r some , a beloved prison . Like th e myt h o f th e Fall , th e narrativ e o f Botan y Ba y gav e symbolic for m t o huma n beings ' deepes t anxieties : th e sens e o f being dirt y an d bad , th e drea d o f abandonment , th e experienc e o f exile, an d th e hop e o f redemption . Thoug h no t a written text , o r

170 Projecting

an Excrementitious Mass

a dramati c production , th e stor y o f Botan y Ba y ma y hav e offere d its listener s wha t al l grea t storie s offer : a way t o avoi d immersio n in quotidia n detai l an d t o liv e lif e wit h a sens e o f transcenden t meaning. Thus far , I hav e attempte d t o accomplis h tw o goals : t o sho w th e depth an d cultura l pervasivenes s o f th e metapho r likenin g th e criminal t o filth, an d t o demonstrat e tha t th e theor y o f analit y ca n shed ligh t o n a n importan t episod e i n crimina l justice , th e Botan y Bay venture. Bu t th e Botan y Ba y experimen t i s now finished, an d Britain n o longe r use s transportatio n t o punis h criminals . T h e question arises , then , whethe r th e theor y I hav e propose d ha s application beyon d thi s particula r historica l instance—t o th e criminal justic e syste m o f th e Unite d States , fo r example , an d t o more recen t times. I n th e next chapter, I will address this question , briefly identifyin g thre e area s o f crimina l justic e tha t invit e explo ration i n term s o f ana l themes : vagranc y law , penology , an d juve nile justice . I n addition , I wil l discus s America n lega l case s i n which lawyer s an d judge s describ e defendant s wit h th e metapho r of filth.

CHAPTER I 2 Stirring the of the Metaphor

Odorous in

Pile:

Vicissitudes

Britain and

the

United States

PERFECT O R D E R AN D PERFEC T SILENCE : T H E OBSESSIONAL M O T I F I N CRIMINA L JUSTIC E

Vagrancy Law Laws agains t vagrant s criminaliz e a lifestyl e tha t man y peopl e find aestheticall y offensive , i n par t becaus e o f it s associatio n wit h filth. Fo r example , a county cour t i n New Yor k Stat e characterize d vagrants a s th e "sordi d individual s wh o infes t ou r station s suc h a s the dirty , disheveled , besotte d character s whos e stat e i s bu t a ste p short o f intoxication." l I n a simila r vein , a 194 1 Suprem e Cour t opinion describe s vagrant s a s follows : "The y avoi d ou r citie s an d even ou r town s b y crowdin g together , i n th e ope n countr y an d i n camps, unde r livin g condition s shockin g bot h a s t o sanitatio n an d social environment." 2 Besides bein g actuall y grim y b y th e standard s o f th e dominan t culture, vagrant s ar e associate d wit h filth i n a mor e profoun d way. I n he r classi c study , Purity and Danger, anthropologis t Mar y Douglas define s dir t a s "matte r ou t o f place. " Sh e elaborates : "Shoes ar e no t dirt y in themselves , bu t i t i s dirty t o plac e the m o n the dinin g table ; foo d i s no t dirt y i n itself , bu t i t i s dirt y t o leave cookin g utensil s i n th e bedroom , o r foo d bespattere d o n clothing." 3 Now vagabonds are , by definition, peopl e who lea d a n unsettle d existence. Fo r instance , i n on e ol d Englis h formulation , the y ar e "all person s wanderin g abroad." 4 I n Blackstone' s mor e colorfu l description, the y ar e "suc h a s wake o n th e night , an d slee p o n th e day, an d haun t customabl e taverns , an d al e houses , an d rout s 171

172

Stirring the Odorous Pile

about; an d n o ma n wo t from wenc e the y came , no r withe r the y go." 5 Moder n America n statute s likewis e mak e wanderin g centra l to th e offens e o f vagrancy , a s w e se e i n thi s definitio n o f a nigh t walker: "a n idl e o r dissolut e perso n wh o roam s abou t a t lat e o r unusual hour s an d i s unable t o accoun t fo r hi s presence." 6 More over, man y moder n vagranc y statute s us e languag e suc h a s "tramps," "gypsies, " an d "railers" 7 —all term s tha t harke n bac k t o the ol d Britis h condemnatio n o f "person s wanderin g abroad. " Since vagabonds eithe r hav e n o plac e o r ar e ou t o f thei r place , b y Douglas's definitio n the y ar e dirt . T h e ide a tha t wanderin g bear s a n essential , no t accidental , relationship t o filth finds confirmatio n i n th e traditiona l figure o f Satan. Calle d th e "Princ e o f Darkness " an d typicall y depicte d a s "black an d filthy," Sata n lead s a wanderin g existence . A s Danie l Defoe write s i n The History of the Devil: Satan, being thus confined t o a vagabond, wandering, unsetded condition, is without any certain abode; for though he has, in consequence of his angelic nature, a kind of empire in the liquid waste or air, yet this is certainly part of his punishment, that he is . . . without any fixed place, or space allowed him to rest the sole of his foot upon. 8 As w e sa w i n ou r examinatio n o f Botan y Bay , s o als o i n va grancy—the metapho r o f dir t lead s naturall y t o th e metapho r o f contagious illness . Thus , i n th e traditiona l view , th e vagran t i s "the chrysali s o f ever y specie s o f criminal," 9 an d vagranc y statute s are designe d t o preven t th e sprea d o f " a parasiti c disease." 10 A s the Ne w Yor k Cour t o f Appeal s graphicall y articulated , th e goa l of vagrancy law s i s to "preven t crim e b y disruptin g an d scatterin g the breedin g spot." 11 Thi s conceptio n o f vagranc y i s particularl y interesting i n vie w o f statistic s showin g littl e correlatio n betwee n pauperism an d seriou s criminality , betwee n dirtines s an d law breaking. 12 Because vagranc y i s imagined a s a contagious disease , th e solu tion t o thi s proble m i s conceived a s segregation. More specifically , the goa l o f vagranc y laws , a s eviden t toda y a s i t wa s i n th e six teenth century , i s t o kee p vagrant s i n thei r ow n place. 13 I f the y

Stirring the Odorous Pile

J

73

have drifte d int o othe r areas , the y ar e banishe d from the m t o the district s wher e the y "belong. " Onc e returne d t o thei r place , presumably, the y ar e n o longe r dirt . Penology A secon d episod e o f crimina l justic e tha t call s fo r analysi s i n terms o f ana l theme s i s the creatio n o f th e penitentiar y i n th e lat e eighteenth an d earl y nineteenth centuries . Befor e tha t era , prison s played a relativel y mino r rol e i n punishment ; the y serve d mainl y as holdin g place s prio r t o execution , or , i n th e cas e o f debtors ' prisons, a s places t o kee p peopl e temporarily , unti l the y pai d thei r creditors. Prio r t o 1775 , prison s wer e rarel y used , a s the y ar e today, t o punis h fo r felonies. 14 T h e earlie r prison s differe d from thei r successor s i n othe r way s as well, abov e al l i n th e blurrin g o f line s betwee n dissimila r cate gories o f people . Me n an d women , grownup s an d children , hard ened criminal s an d mor e innocuou s offenders , convicte d felon s and thos e awaitin g trial—al l wer e confine d together . A s a n histo rian writin g i n th e earl y eighteent h centur y describe d Newgat e prison, i t wa s " a confuse d Chao s withou t an y distinction , a bot tomless pi t o f violence , an d a towe r o f Babel. . . . Ther e i s min gling th e nobl e wit h th e ignoble , th e ric h wit h th e poor , th e wis e with th e ignorant , an d debtor s wit h th e wors t o f malefactors." 15 In addition , th e ver y boundar y betwee n prisoner s an d nonprison ers wa s a muc h mor e fluid on e tha n w e ar e accustome d t o today . As one studen t o f the eighteent h centur y writes: "A n easy familiar ity existe d betwee n prison s an d th e worl d the y s o pungentl y dis tilled. Crowd s o f visitor s sustaine d familia l communicatio n . . . and prisons , lik e Bedlam , wer e treate d a s holiday curiosities." 16 When, i n th e eighteent h an d nineteent h centuries , priso n re formers i n Europ e an d Americ a presse d fo r a ne w syste m o f punishment, revulsio n agains t thi s indiscriminat e minglin g wa s a prominent theme . Thus , afte r a n inspectio n tou r o f th e Coo k County Jai l i n 1869 , th e Chicag o Boar d o f Visitor s observed : "The effect s o f herdin g togethe r o f ol d an d young , innocen t an d

174

Stirring the Odorous Pile

guilty, convicts , suspecte d person s an d witnesses, mal e an d female , makes the jail a school o f vice. In suc h a n atmosphere , purit y itsel f could no t escap e contamination." 17 There are , t o b e sure , rationa l reason s fo r protestin g suc h conditions, bu t ther e i s als o a n obsessional-compulsiv e undercur rent t o thes e protests . Fo r th e reformer s wer e objectin g t o confu sion, an d confusio n ma y li e a t th e hear t o f wha t w e imagin e a s dirt. A s Mary Dougla s explains : "Fo r u s dir t i s a kind o f compen dium categor y fo r al l event s whic h blur , smudge , contradict , o r otherwise confus e accepte d classifications." 18 I n a simila r vein , psychoanalyst Janine Chasseguet-Smirge l emphasize s tha t forbid den mixtures , mixture s tha t confoun d dissimila r things , ar e th e essence of anality. T he prototyp e o f such chaotic mixtures is excrement, a homogeneou s blen d o f substance s tha t wer e originall y distinct. In contras t to the Biblica l world o f division an d separatio n stands thi s "univers e o f perversion." 19 If on e sig n o f th e obsessiona l them e i n priso n refor m i s a revulsion from th e indiscriminat e minglin g o f th e old-styl e pris ons, anothe r i s the preoccupatio n wit h orde r an d separatio n i n th e new prisons . Thi s preoccupatio n ca n b e see n i n th e followin g passage from th e Firs t Annual Repor t o f th e Bosto n Priso n Disci pline Society , written i n 1826 : At Auburn, we have a more beautiful exampl e still, of what may be done by proper discipline, in a Prison well constructed.... Th e whole establishment, from the gate to the sewer, is a specimen of neatness. The unremitted industry, the entire subordination an d subdued feeling of the convicts, has probably no parallel among an equal number of criminals. In their solitary cells they spend th e night, with no other book than the Bible, and at sunrise they proceed, in military order, under the eye of the turnkeys, in solid columns, with the lock march, to their work-shops; then, in the same order, at the hour of breakfast, to the common hall, where they partake of their wholesome and frugal meal in silence. Not even a whisper is heard through the whole apartment. 20 In a detai l tha t bring s t o min d th e Frenc h expressio n la manie de precision, the repor t goe s o n t o describ e ho w convict s were oblige d

Stirring the Odorous Pile

!75

to rais e thei r righ t hand s t o obtai n mor e foo d an d thei r lef t hand s to relinquis h unwante d food . A t th e en d o f th e day, th e prisoner s returned t o thei r cells , wher e the y at e suppe r an d spen t th e eve ning an d nigh t i n solitude. 21 T h e syste m a t Aubur n wa s name d "th e silen t system " becaus e prisoners wer e allowe d n o verba l intercours e wit h eac h othe r a t any time . Alexi s d e Tocquevill e an d Gustav e d e Beaumont , wh o visited Auburn i n 1831 , wrote thi s description o f the prison's awfu l stillness: "[Everythin g passe s i n th e mos t profoun d silence , an d nothing i s hear d i n th e whol e priso n bu t th e step s o f thos e wh o march, o r sound s proceedin g from th e workshops. " A t night , th e authors continued , "th e silenc e withi n thes e vas t wall s . . . [was ] that o f d e a t h . . . . [W] e fel t a s i f w e traverse d catacombs ; ther e were a thousand livin g beings, an d yet i t was a desert solitude." 22 Though isolate d a t night , prisoner s unde r th e Aubur n pla n were allowe d t o wor k togethe r silentl y durin g th e day . I n a com peting mode l know n a s the "separate " system , prisoner s wer e kep t apart bot h da y an d night . O n occasion s whe n the y ha d t o ventur e from thei r cells , th e prisoner s i n th e separat e syste m wor e dar k hoods wit h onl y tw o hole s cu t fo r thei r eyes . B y thi s means , the y were prevente d from recognizin g an d contaminatin g eac h other. 23 Here w e se e a fanatica l strivin g afte r purit y tha t implies , b y it s very fanaticism, a n attractio n t o th e opposin g qualitie s o f dirtines s and defilement . To th e nineteenth-centur y reformers , th e silen t an d separat e systems wer e sufficientl y differen t t o warran t a prolonged , often heated debat e ove r thei r respectiv e merits : wa s i t bes t t o kee p prisoners silen t and separat e bot h da y an d night , o r onl y silen t during th e da y an d separat e a t night ? A n "epi c struggle " ove r this questio n rage d i n America n penologica l circle s from 180 0 t o 1870. 24 Vitriolic attack s o n one' s opponent s an d flagrant misus e o f statistics permeate d th e conflict , whic h eve n attracte d th e atten tion o f distinguishe d Europea n reformer s an d novelists. 25 T o th e twentieth-century interpreter , th e ver y existenc e o f thi s debat e over tw o suc h simila r system s ma y appea r a s ye t anothe r sig n of th e reformers ' compulsiveness . Fo r th e controvers y reflect s a

176

Stirring the Odorous Pile

cognitive styl e tha t i s typical o f th e obsessive-compulsive— a styl e characterized b y a n absorptio n i n technica l detai l an d a failur e t o notice wha t Davi d Shapir o ha s calle d "th e flavor o r impac t o f things." 26 As to impact , i t is not surprisin g tha t thes e extraordinaril y rigi d systems o f "perfec t orde r an d perfec t silence" 27 le d t o a hig h incidence o f insanit y amon g th e prisoners . Fo r example , i n th e English priso n o f Pentonville, whic h followe d th e separat e system , there wer e twent y times mor e case s o f menta l illnes s tha n i n an y other priso n i n th e country. 28 Tha t th e reformers ' preoccupatio n with orde r wa s not entirel y rational ca n b e see n i n thes e results. 29 Juvenile Justice T h e assumptio n tha t criminalit y i s fundamentally a problem o f dirt an d disorder , whic h mus t b e correcte d throug h variou s kind s of cleansing , neatening , an d segregatin g measures , pervade s nine teenth-century juvenil e justic e a s i t doe s vagranc y la w an d adul t penology. A thoroug h examinatio n o f juvenil e justic e i s beyon d the scop e o f thi s book ; I wis h onl y t o intimat e th e obsessiona l motifs i n tw o importan t "child-saving " institutions : th e House s o f Refuge an d th e Orpha n Trai n Movement . Prior t o th e earl y nineteent h century , childre n wer e no t pun ished b y confinement , bu t rathe r b y a variet y o f othe r measures , including corpora l punishment , apprenticeship , banishmen t from the community , and , i n a fe w cases , capita l punishment. 30 I n th e 1820s an d th e succeedin g decades , man y state s establishe d place s of confinemen t fo r incorrigibl e an d delinquen t children ; thes e institutions wer e calle d b y suc h name s a s House s o f Refuge , Re form Schools , an d House s o f Reformation. Simila r t o th e peniten tiaries, th e House s o f Refug e place d "discipline , routine , an d cleanliness" a t th e cor e o f thei r philosophy. 31 Als o lik e th e peni tentiaries, thes e institution s exhibite d a n obsessiona l etho s i n which extrem e orderlines s an d cleanlines s becam e end s i n them selves. Fo r a n illustratio n o f thi s point , conside r th e followin g passage from Augus t Aichhorn's 192 5 classic , Wayward Youth:

Stirring the Odorous Pile

177

The superintendent [o f the Reform School ] . . . once called my attention to wash basins that had been in use for twenty years. He was proud of the fact that they remained so long undamaged an d still shone like new. In the dormitories the beds stood in a row, twenty-five o n each side, like rows of soldiers, not an inch out of line. The cover s were all folded a t correct right angles and fell like a plumb-line. Everywhere was the same meticulous order. 32 Besides orderlines s wit h respec t t o objects , th e House s o f Ref uge als o endeavore d t o inculcat e orderlines s wit h respec t t o time . This purpos e come s throug h vividl y in th e followin g excerp t from a repor t o f th e Ne w Yor k Societ y o f th e Reformatio n o f Juvenil e Delinquents. T h e passag e describe s lif e i n th e Ne w Yor k Hous e of Refuge i n th e earl y 1830s . At sunrise, the children are warned, by the ringing of a bell, to rise from their beds. Each child makes his own bed, and steps forth, o n a signal, into the Hall. They then proceed, in perfect or der, to the Wash Room. Thence they are marched t o parade in the yard, and undergo an examination as to their dress and cleanliness ; after which, they attended morning prayer. The morning school then commences, where they are occupied in summer, until 7 o'clock. A short intermission is allowed, when the bell rings for breakfast; afte r which, they proceed to their respective workshops, where they labor until 1 2 o'clock, when they are called from work, and one hour allowed them for washing and eating their dinner. At one, they again commence work, and continue at it until five in the afternoon, whe n the labors of the day terminate. Half an hour is allowed for washing and eating their supper, and at half-pas t five, the y are conducted t o the school room, where they continue at their studies until 8 o'clock. Evening Prayer is performed b y the superintendent; after which, the children are conducted t o their dormitories, which they enter, and are locked up for the night, when perfect silenc e reigns throughout the establishment. Th e foregoing is the history of a single day, and will answer for ever y day in the year, except Sundays, with slight variations durin g stormy weather, and the short days in winter. 33 In th e las t sentenc e o f thi s remarkabl e report , w e glimps e th e authors' prid e i n thei r rigi d tim e schedule , whic h varie s s o little , even durin g ba d weather .

i78

Stirring the Odorous Pile

Attentiveness t o time is , o f course , a well-know n obsessive compulsive trait . Beyon d observin g a scrupulous punctuality , som e obsessional neurotic s displa y a grea t interes t i n al l sort s o f timetables, an d eve n organiz e thei r entir e live s by detailed schedules. 34 In extrem e cases , suc h person s becom e lik e "livin g machines." 35 But wha t exactl y i s th e functio n o f suc h orderlines s i n time? A s Otto Feniche l explains : "Th e compulsio n neuroti c wh o i s threat ened b y a rebellio n o f hi s . . . sensua l an d hostil e demand s feel s protected a s lon g a s h e behave s i n a n 'orderly ' manner , especiall y concerning mone y an d time." 36 Spontaneou s behavior , then , rep resents danger—th e dange r tha t on e will commit , o r ha s commit ted, th e sin s tha t on e fears . For som e obsessiona l neurotics , i t i s no t enoug h tha t the y themselves observ e th e prescribe d system , bu t othe r person s ar e required t o serv e a s "witnesses" ; the y to o mus t follo w th e system , and thereb y validate its demands. 37 T h e severit y of the regime n i n the House s o f Refug e ca n perhap s b e understoo d i n term s o f thi s compulsive nee d fo r "witnesses " t o a syste m o f ordere d time. I f this explanatio n ha s merit, i t follows tha t thes e reformatorie s wer e unconsciously designe d t o mee t th e psychologica l need s o f th e reformers a s muc h a s th e need s o f th e confine d children . Indeed , it i s unlikel y tha t delinquen t childre n woul d improv e unde r suc h orderly regimen s whe n the y ha d faile d t o mee t fa r les s rigorou s standards i n th e world outside. 38 Besides the Houses o f Refuge, th e nineteenth centur y witnesse d the ris e o f anothe r child-savin g institution , th e "placin g ou t sys tem," o r Orpha n Trai n Movement . On e o f it s founders , Charle s Loring Brace , criticize d th e House s o f Refug e a s to o controllin g and prison-lik e fo r children; 39 yet , hi s movemen t to o exhibite d pronounced obsessiona l features . T h e goa l o f th e Movemen t wa s to sav e childre n fro m live s o f delinquenc y an d crim e b y removin g them from th e cit y to th e countryside—fro m wha t wa s conceive d as a dirty , contaminate d plac e t o a plac e o f suppose d purit y an d order. Notice , fo r example , th e image s i n th e followin g passag e from th e 185 7 Annua l Repor t o f th e Ne w Yor k Children' s Ai d Society:

Stirring the Odorous Pile

179

The poo r vagabond boy, or the child whom misfortune ha s made wretched an d homeless, goes to a quiet country home. . .. [T]h e poor lad, remembering the dirty cellars, and the alleys piled with garbage and the filthy holes of the great city, wonders with deligh t at the gardens and lilacs and the green grass and the pure air of his new home. 40 In additio n t o th e Ne w Yor k Children' s Ai d Society , th e Bosto n Children's Missio n als o transplante d cit y childre n t o far m familie s for "mora l disinfection." 41 Severa l thousan d childre n pe r yea r were uproote d i n thi s wa y betwee n th e mid-nineteent h centur y and 1929 . T h e Orpha n Trai n Movemen t i s no w considere d controversia l and even , in som e quarters , discredited. 42 Nevertheless , on e o f th e driving assumption s behin d th e Movemen t remain s embedde d i n our culture ; t o wit , th e assumptio n tha t criminalit y i s natura l t o the citie s an d alie n t o th e suburb s an d th e country . T h a t w e associate criminalit y wit h citie s i s a commonplace , bu t thi s ide a i s usually thought t o sprin g from th e actua l correlatio n betwee n hig h crime rate s an d urba n concentration . I sugges t tha t th e root s o f the ide a li e deeper , tha t criminalit y an d citie s ar e linke d b y thei r common associatio n wit h filth. I f thi s i s so , the n ou r nation' s inability t o fight crim e effectivel y ma y ste m partl y from a belie f that th e affinit y betwee n crim e an d citie s is deep-seated an d inexo rable. 43 INTO TH E DIRT , INT O TH E SLIME : T H E METAPHO R OF F I L T H I N A M E R I C A N C A S E L A W

Besides it s manifestation s i n discree t area s an d episode s o f criminal justice , th e ana l metapho r run s throug h crimina l trial s generally. M y researc h ha s turne d u p thirty-fou r America n case s in which th e prosecutor' s characterizatio n o f th e defendan t a s filth was a n issu e o n appeal. 44 Rangin g fro m 188 5 t o IO 9°> thes e case s show prosecutor s callin g defendant s b y suc h term s a s "littl e scums," "slim y creature, " "typ e o f worm," an d "skunk. " Sinc e no t all case s ar e appealed , an d sinc e som e prosecutor s ma y suppres s the impuls e t o us e suc h languag e t o avoi d reversal , w e ca n assum e

i8o

Stirring the Odorous Pile

that thes e thirty-fou r case s represen t onl y a fractio n o f th e in stances when th e metapho r appeare d i n a prosecutor's mind . Among th e theme s tha t appea r i n thes e cases , on e o f th e mos t fascinating i s the ide a tha t law-enforcemen t personne l may , i n th e course o f their duties , becom e defiled . Consider , fo r example , thi s language fro m th e prosecutor' s closin g argumen t i n Peterson v. State: "Thi s i s sale o f heroin, sal e of cocaine, an d thi s is a case tha t was don e i n th e onl y wa y i t coul d b e don e b y a polic e officer , trained, tha t ha d t o g o undercover , tha t ha d t o g o down into the dirt, into the slime wit h th e pushers , dea l wit h the m a t thei r level , and brin g th e cas e t o court." 45 Thi s cas e wa s reverse d i n par t because o f thes e evocativ e metaphors , bu t wha t i s importan t fo r our purpos e i s th e insigh t thi s passag e give s int o th e prosecutor' s mind—specifically, hi s conceptio n o f th e polic e officer , Dante like, descendin g int o a filthy hell . T h e ris k of contaminatio n from suc h a descent, whic h wa s onl y implicit i n Peterson , wa s overtl y state d i n United States v. Corona. In thi s Fift h Circui t case , th e prosecuto r mad e th e followin g observation abou t undercove r agent s o f th e Dru g Enforcemen t Agency who ha d testifie d a t trial : "[T]h e agent s ar e huma n being s and they'r e doin g a dirty , nast y job , an d they'r e associatin g dail y with dirty , nast y people." 46 T o justif y th e us e o f anothe r govern ment witness , a forme r co-defendan t wh o ha d pleade d guilt y be fore trial , th e prosecuto r remarked : "Th e [agent s are ] handlin g garbage, ladie s an d gentlemen , an d there' s a n ol d saying , 'Whe n you handl e garbag e you r hand s ar e goin g t o stink. ' " 4 7 Believin g that criminal s inevitabl y contaminat e thos e the y touch , thi s prose cutor woul d hav e reaso n t o imitat e Dickens' s barriste r Jaggers , washing hi s hand s wit h scente d soa p afte r ever y fora y int o th e criminal realm . Like prosecutors , defens e attorneys , too , sometime s se e crimi nals throug h th e len s o f filth. Fo r example , i n languag e reminis cent o f Magwitch' s i n Great Expectations, a defens e attorne y de scribed th e governmen t witnes s agains t Genera l Manue l Norieg a as "the slimies t o f eels." 48 I n a similar vein , th e Suprem e Cour t o f Delaware quote d th e defens e counse l a s describing , th e state' s

Stirring the Odorous Pile

181

witnesses, wh o ha d admitte d t o variou s felonies , a s "scum " an d "snakes." 49 I n ye t anothe r example , i n a New Yor k cas e from th e 1970s, th e cour t censure d th e defens e attorne y fo r characterizin g the prosecutio n witness , a ma n wit h a crimina l record , a s "th e scum o f th e earth " an d fo r closin g hi s cross-examinatio n wit h th e words, " I thin k I hav e t o thro w up." 5 0 O f course , thes e attorney s may onl y b e usin g th e metapho r o f filth a s rhetorical hyperbole — to evok e stron g reaction s from th e judg e o r jury . Nevertheless , i n view o f th e ris k tha t suc h imager y ma y lea d t o censure , i t seem s likely that th e languag e als o reflects th e speakers ' genuin e feeling s about criminals . Let u s tur n no w t o th e wa y judge s regar d th e metapho r com paring criminal s t o filth. A t times , judge s acknowledg e th e meta phor's power , fo r i n si x o f th e case s i n whic h th e prosecuto r compared th e crimina l t o filth, th e appellat e cour t reverse d i n par t on thi s basis. 51 Moreover , i n anothe r case , th e appellat e judg e himself introduce d th e metapho r t o explai n wh y th e defendan t had no t receive d a fai r trial . Here , th e prosecuto r ha d exceede d the legitimat e bound s o f cross-examination , questionin g defens e witnesses abou t th e defendant' s involvemen t i n eightee n differen t kinds o f egregiou s misconduct—fro m coercin g women int o pros titution t o attemptin g t o incit e arson . I n reversin g th e convictio n of conspirac y t o commi t arson , th e judg e stated : "[T]h e jur y mus t indeed hav e though t thi s defendan t t o b e a slimy gutter rat." 5 2 Significantly, i n seeking to explai n why the prosecutor' s conduc t was prejudicial , th e judg e coul d find n o bette r languag e tha n a metaphor o f filth. Lik e Captai n Hook , h e chos e th e imag e o f th e rat, a creature tha t dwell s i n sewer s an d ravenousl y eat s garbage , a creature tha t i s "filth incarnate." 53 Wherea s i n thi s cas e an d i n th e others tha t wer e reversed , th e cour t recognize d th e metaphor' s evocative power , mor e typically , th e cour t merel y criticize d th e prosecutor, whil e holdin g tha t th e metaphorica l languag e wa s nonprejudicial error . Four o f th e case s ar e especiall y interesting . I n these , th e cour t neither reverse d o n th e basi s o f th e metapho r no r treate d th e metaphor a s nonprejudicial error ; rather, i t held tha t th e metapho r

182

Stirring the Odorous Pile

was, fo r on e reaso n o r another , appropriate. 54 Fo r instance , i n a 1951 Oklahom a case , th e cour t stated , "W e agre e wit h th e prose cutor tha t a n adul t wh o woul d commi t th e act s don e b y th e defendant show s tha t h e i s 'lowdown , degenerate , an d filthy.' " 5 5 Or again , i n a 196 6 cas e concernin g th e murde r o f a ten-year-ol d girl, th e Suprem e Cour t o f Illinoi s declare d tha t th e prosecutor' s description o f the defendan t a s a "slimy beast " with moral s "lik e a snake" was "a legitimate repl y to the defens e argumen t concernin g normality." 56 And ye t again , i n a 198 6 cas e befor e th e Unite d State s Arm y Court o f Military Review , the cour t upheld a conviction wher e th e prosecutor ha d referre d t o th e defendan t a s a "slaverin g animal " and "degenerat e scum. " Accordin g t o th e court , thes e metaphor s did no t prejudic e th e defendant' s rights , becaus e the y were "base d on evidenc e foun d i n th e record " an d o n "reasonabl e inference s drawn from tha t evidence." 57 What i s strikin g abou t al l th e case s i n thi s grou p i s th e judges ' failure t o appreciat e th e differenc e betwee n metaphors , wit h thei r special power , an d th e mor e litera l approximation s o f reality . I t i s as if , fo r thes e judges , criminal s were slime . Yet, a s philosophe r Owen Barfiel d remind s us , "[T]h e aptnes s o f a metapho r t o mis lead varie s inversel y wit h th e exten t t o whic h i t continue s t o b e felt an d understoo d a s a metapho r an d i s no t take n i n a confuse d way semiliterally." 58 Besides th e case s i n whic h judge s agree d wit h prosecutor s wh o described criminal s a s filth, judge s themselve s hav e sometime s employed th e metapho r uncriticall y i n thei r opinions . Fo r exam ple, i n th e 1920s , a judge o n th e Suprem e Cour t o f Ohi o referre d to th e "slim y . . . trai l o f the ma n wh o committe d th e crime." 59 I n a more elaborat e illustratio n from th e 1970s , a district cour t judg e had bee n aske d t o decid e whethe r a prisoner wa s entitle d t o mor e than tw o shower s a week. I n a footnot e t o hi s opinion , th e judg e wrote: "[T]hi s cour t has too much work to d o to call for additiona l pleadings, o r stir the odorous pile thi s an d othe r case s o f thi s sor t represent." 60 Ostensibl y objectin g t o th e wast e o f hi s tim e tha t such case s entailed , th e judg e vente d hi s disgus t b y characterizin g prisoners' concern s a s smelly. In anothe r footnote , th e sam e judg e

Stirring the Odorous Pile

i83

asked, "I s th e nex t opinio n goin g t o requir e th e distric t judg e t o say ho w man y time s a perso n shoul d brus h hi s teeth , g o t o th e bathroom, wip e hi s nose , com b hi s hair , o r scratch?" 61 Her e th e judge wen t ou t o f hi s wa y t o remin d th e reade r o f prisoners ' bodily functions ; b y his choic e o f examples , h e mad e on e thin k o f prisoners eliminatin g urin e an d feces , an d oozin g wit h mucou s and sweat . Judges hav e characterize d criminal s a s filthy b y implicatio n as well , typicall y i n case s focusin g o n th e imprope r behavio r o f government agents . Thus , i n United States v. Valencia, th e govern ment ha d use d a lawyer' s secretar y a s a n informan t t o obtai n evidence o f the lawyer' s involvement i n a criminal conspirac y wit h his clients . Reluctantl y dismissin g th e charge s agains t th e lawye r and thre e co-defendants , th e distric t cour t refuse d t o allo w "th e law i n it s majest y . . . t o b e equall y slimy." 62 Justic e Frankfurte r used simila r languag e t o expres s a simila r admonitio n i n hi s dis senting opinio n i n On Lee v. United States. H e wrot e tha t crimina l prosecution "shoul d no t b e deeme d t o b e a dirt y gam e i n whic h 'the dirt y business' o f criminals i s outwitted b y 'th e dirt y business ' of law officers." 63 A n unusual twis t on th e them e o f contaminatio n by criminal s appear s i n Oakland v. Detroit. I n thi s cas e severa l counties ha d brough t sui t unde r federa l antitrus t law s an d RIC O against th e Cit y o f Detroi t i n it s capacit y a s a provide r o f sewag e services. Dismissin g th e complaint s fo r lac k o f standing , th e dis trict cour t grante d summar y judgmen t fo r th e defendants . T h e Court o f Appeals reversed . I n a footnote t o it s opinion , th e Cour t of Appeals wrote a s follows: "Give n th e natur e o f their crime s an d the element s i n whic h thes e dabbler s i n sludg e an d scu m worked , Shakespeare coul d almos t hav e bee n speakin g fo r th e convicte d defendants whe n h e wrote . . . And almost thence my nature is subdu'd to what it works in, like the dyer's hand."64 By workin g i n actua l filth, th e cour t suggested , peopl e becom e metaphorically filthy, o r criminal . Even i f th e metapho r o f filth mean s onl y wha t i t says , i t ca n

184

Stirring the Odorous Pile

have damagin g effect s o n th e crimina l justic e system , affectin g both th e proces s an d th e result , th e appearanc e o f fairnes s an d actual fairness . Beyon d this , whe n th e metapho r o f filt h function s to defen d agains t a deep-seated , illici t attractio n t o criminals , undesirable consequence s follow . First , th e attorne y o r judge' s anticriminal behavio r wil l ten d t o b e exaggerate d an d undiscrimi nating. Second , sinc e repressio n i s neve r complete , ther e wil l b e occasional expression s o f th e othe r sid e o f th e conflict—admira tion an d attractio n t o th e criminal—th e so-calle d "breakthroug h of th e repressed. " W e canno t predic t exactl y wha t outwar d for m the inne r conflic t wil l take , bu t w e ca n sa y this: whe n a n attorne y uses criminal s t o maintai n hi s ow n intrapsychi c equilibrium , hi s behavior towar d criminal s wil l ofte n b e inappropriate , becaus e h e is responding t o interna l a s well a s external forces . With thes e point s I com e t o th e en d o f th e argumen t I hav e developed throug h literar y works, lega l history,* and American cas e law, and it is time now to reflect o n where thi s journey has brough t us.

Conclusion to

Part Three:

Metaphor Understood

In thes e pages I have endeavore d t o explor e th e metapho r likenin g the crimina l t o filth—to penetrat e it s origin s an d unrave l it s vicissitudes i n crimina l justice policy. In th e cours e o f this explora tion, I hav e sometime s treate d th e metapho r o f filth a s a cause , a t other time s a s a sympto m o f a deepe r dynamic . Viewin g i t a s a cause, I hav e argue d tha t th e metapho r o f filth ha s functione d a s a powerful determinan t o f crimina l justic e policies . I n particular , i t has le d t o a vie w o f criminal s a s contaminate d an d contagious . This perspective , i n turn , ha s promote d a n emphasi s o n variou s pollution-avoidance measures , suc h a s segregatio n an d banish ment o f th e criminal . I n addition , whe n combine d wit h th e mea sure-for-measure theor y o f punishment , th e metapho r ha s fos tered a tendency t o immers e criminal s i n dark , dirty , feti d places . On a deepe r level , I hav e examine d th e metapho r o f filth a s a symptom o f noncriminals ' unconsciou s ambivalence , o r simulta neous lov e an d hate , towar d criminals . Viewe d i n thi s way , th e metaphor serve s to explai n th e hyperbolic qualit y of some crimina l justice practices ; fo r instance , th e mask s tha t prisoner s wer e re quired t o wea r i n th e separat e system , th e oustin g o f Alexande r Maconochie, whe n h e rehabilitate d th e mos t hardene d offenders , and th e transportatio n o f convict s t o a little-know n plac e o n th e far sid e o f th e globe . Suc h practices , whic h som e historian s hav e looked upo n a s "bizarre " o r "reckless, " becom e readil y compre hensible i n ligh t o f th e metapho r o f filth an d th e theor y o f intra psychic conflict . Fo r th e exaggerate d natur e o f thes e practice s reflects th e noncriminals ' struggl e with powerfu l feeling s i n them selves—feelings o f attractio n to , an d identificatio n with , crimi nals. A s w e hav e seen , thes e feeling s hav e sometime s emerge d i85

i86

Conclusion to Part Three

transparently, a s in th e crowd s tha t cheere d th e condemne d crimi nals wh o rod e t o Tybur n tre e i n eighteenth-centur y England . More often , thes e feeling s ar e barre d from consciousness , finding expression onl y in excessiv e condemnatio n an d shunnin g o f crimi nals, t o preven t succumbin g t o thei r allure . I t woul d see m then , that i n th e cours e o f ou r effort s t o understan d th e metapho r likening the criminal t o filth, w e have arrive d a t a new metaphor — one tha t liken s th e crimina l justic e system t o th e expressio n o f noncriminals' inne r conflic t ove r criminals . This perspective , I have said, can enhanc e ou r understanding o f past an d presen t crimina l justic e policies , bu t ca n i t d o more ? Ca n this mode l g o beyon d explanatio n t o evaluatio n an d prescription ? It i s at thi s juncture—where a theory i s obliged t o addres s practi cal an d future-oriente d concerns—tha t effort s t o appl y psycho analysis t o la w encounte r thei r greates t difficulty . Fo r wherea s la w is a syste m designe d t o transfor m gra y int o blac k an d white, 1 psychoanalysis i s a syste m designe d t o transfor m blac k an d whit e into gray . An d a disciplin e tha t yield s black-and-whit e result s i s better suite d t o offe r unequivoca l proposal s fo r actio n tha n a discipline tha t focuse s o n comple x idiosyncrati c meanings . To mak e thi s poin t mor e compelling , le t u s conside r wha t options migh t b e availabl e t o us , wer e w e t o tr y t o squeez e bloo d from th e stone—t o mak e ou r psychoanalyti c mode l yiel d norma tive judgment s an d practica l solutions . I f w e wer e t o tak e suc h a n approach t o ou r subject , ou r reasonin g migh t g o somethin g lik e this: th e metapho r o f filth, lik e al l metaphors , abstract s from reality and , i n s o doing , obfuscate s som e aspect s o f it s subject , while highlightin g others . Fo r example , th e equatio n o f the crimi nal and filth tend s to hide the criminal' s humanity while encourag ing u s t o se e th e crimina l a s a n object . Moreover , th e metapho r invites a particula r emotiona l respons e t o th e criminal , th e sam e one we consciousl y fee l towar d slime : disgust . Having judge d th e metapho r t o b e a problem , w e migh t pro ceed t o conside r appropriat e solutions . Fo r instance , w e migh t tr y to abolis h th e metapho r o f filth an d supplan t i t with another , suc h as th e crimina l a s "a n unfortunat e one," 2 o r "on e wh o mad e a

Conclusion to Part Three

i87

mistake." 3 Bu t thi s solutio n seem s Utopian , fo r severa l reasons . First, unlike othe r figures o f speech suc h a s "standing," "ripeness, " and "frui t o f th e poisonou s tree, " th e metapho r equatin g th e criminal with filth ha s never bee n incorporate d int o lega l doctrine . Since i t has not bee n adopte d b y law, the metapho r o f filth canno t be supplante d b y law . In addition , th e metapho r i s extraordinaril y pervasive an d deepseated . A s we hav e seen , i t goe s bac k millennia , traversing culture s an d continent s i n a way that suggest s a n arche typal symbol . Besides , th e metapho r o f filth seem s uniquel y suite d to reflec t ou r emotiona l stanc e towar d th e criminal—ou r mingle d loathing an d admiration , ou r repudiatio n an d attraction . If i t i s no t possibl e t o supplan t thi s metapho r wit h another , might w e dispens e wit h metaphor s altogethe r whe n talkin g abou t criminals? Upo n reflection , thi s solutio n to o mus t b e rejected , fo r virtually al l ou r word s ar e metaphors , o r originat e i n metaphors . We ar e left , a s C . S . Lewi s notes , wit h onl y on e option : "Eithe r literalness, o r els e metapho r understood : on e o r othe r o f thes e w e must have ; th e thir d alternativ e i s nonsense . Bu t literalnes s w e cannot have." 4 T o man y lawyers , "metapho r understood " wil l seem a poo r solution , o r n o solutio n a t all , bu t I believe , a s Socrates did , tha t ther e i s n o voluntar y evil , onl y ignorance. 5 I t follows tha t understandin g automaticall y lead s t o change ; mor e exactly, understanding, i n itself , is change.

Conclusion: The Criminals and

Romanticization the

Defense

of

against

Despair

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation . —Henry David Thoreau We tell ourselves stories in order to live. —Joan Didion

In th e essay s that for m th e cor e o f this book, I have explore d thre e central paradoxe s o f crimina l justice : belove d prisons , romanti c outlaws, an d a metapho r tha t render s criminal s a s attractiv e filth. In thi s final chapter , I wil l discus s theme s presen t i n al l thre e essays, themes tha t we—like traveler s looking back over the coun try we have crossed—ar e onl y now i n a position t o survey . A pervasiv e theme , perhap s th e mos t genera l one , i s tha t o f complexity: th e highly differentiated an d paradoxica l natur e o f ou r feelings abou t crim e an d punishment . Mor e specifically , I hav e tried t o sho w tha t th e crimina l justic e system , fa r from bein g a simple, straightforwar d expressio n o f ou r antipath y fo r crim e an d criminals, i s in fac t deepl y psychologicall y roote d an d base d upo n conflicting feeling s o f attraction an d repulsion , lov e an d hatred . I n the America n crimina l justic e syste m a t th e presen t time , on e sid e of thi s ambivalenc e i s o n th e rise . T h e increase d us e o f capita l punishment, th e rag e o f priso n construction , an d suc h policie s a s "Three Strike s an d You'r e Out"—al l expres s a conscious fea r an d hatred o f criminal s an d a desire t o restrai n lawbreaker s an d wrea k vengeance upo n them . Bu t thi s boo k ha s attempte d t o highligh t the dialectica l undersid e o f ou r ambivalence : th e romanti c allur e of both criminal s an d thei r priso n homes . What i s th e origi n o f thi s strang e attractio n t o th e ver y peopl e 188

Conclusion

189

and place s w e woul d expec t t o abhor ? O n on e level , th e intricate , many-faceted characte r o f ou r feeling s towar d criminal s stem s from ou r inabilit y t o apprehen d realit y directly . A s Juliet Mitchel l has written , w e "acquire " reality , an d d o s o i n a proces s heavil y mediated b y ou r early-lif e experience s an d unconsciou s menta l processes. 1 T h a t ou r feeling s towar d criminal s mus t b e comple x i s inevitable o n thi s account , thoug h no t o n thi s accoun t alone . For beside s th e mediatin g proces s throug h whic h "events " be come "experience, " ther e i s a n additiona l reaso n wh y th e law , crime, an d punishmen t ten d t o evok e complicate d responses . A s we hav e seen , th e law , whic h enjoy s authorit y ove r th e citizen , represents th e parent , wh o enjoy s authorit y ove r th e child . Thus , the la w inherit s powerfu l feeling s o f lov e an d hatre d tha t wer e directed towar d th e paren t i n earl y life . Mor e particularly , th e la w stands fo r bot h fathe r an d mother . Insofa r a s i t manifest s itsel f a s an infallibl e judg e o r a n agen t o f punishment , th e la w resonate s with th e archetypa l father . W h e n i t finds expressio n a s a prison , on th e othe r hand , th e la w evokes the archetypa l mother , th e grea t container wh o nurture s an d holds . If th e la w i s th e parent , the n th e crimina l i s th e child . Mor e exactly, th e crimina l i s th e perpetual chil d tha t w e all , a t times , yearn t o be . I t seem s strang e a t first tha t criminals , wh o ar e thought o f a s guilty , shoul d b e equate d wit h children , wh o ar e imagined a s the mos t innocen t o f beings. Yet we have seen numer ous example s o f imprisone d lawbreaker s wh o conceiv e o f them selves a s dependen t childre n envelope d i n a protectiv e womb . Moreover, the y experienc e thi s wom b a s timeless , evokin g th e child's happy obliviousnes s t o th e passag e o f the years . From th e perspectiv e o f the noncriminal , a s well, th e criminals ' allure flows partl y from thei r childlik e qualities—thei r "charm ing" unscrupulousness , thei r refusa l t o accep t responsibility , an d their embodimen t o f freedom . Criminal s are , o f course , free i n their refusa l t o abid e b y th e law s tha t othe r peopl e obey , wherea s children symboliz e freedom i n their incarnatio n o f limitless poten tial. As Friedrich Schille r ha s written, i t is this qualit y o f th e chil d that fascinate s adults :

190

Conclusion

We are moved in the presence of childhood, but it is not because from the height of our strength and of our perfection w e drop a look of pity on it; it is, on the contrary, because from th e depths of our impotence . . . w e raise our eyes to the child's determinable ness and pure innocence.... I n the child all is disposition and destination; in us all is in the state of a completed, finished thing, and the completion always remains infinitely below the destination.. . . This is the reason why . .. th e child will always be a sacred thing."2 As this passag e suggests , w e romanticiz e children , endowin g the m with a greatness w e n o longe r possess , an d viewin g the m a s exoti c creatures who "comet h from afar. " Similar t o th e childre n wit h who m the y ar e linked , criminal s likewise ar e viewe d a s glamorou s an d romanti c figures. N o t onl y are the y associate d wit h th e exoti c (a s we saw , fo r instance , i n The Great Gatsby an d Kidnapped), bu t als o the y ar e connecte d wit h a view o f lif e a s intens e an d exalted , wit h a romanti c "denia l o f the present " an d a "rejectio n o f th e world-as-it-is." 3 Thi s them e pervades th e priso n memoir s w e examine d i n "Cradle d o n th e Sea." Thus, Nerzhin , th e inmat e i n The First Circle, expressed hi s fear o f wallowing in dail y living with th e Russia n proverb : "It' s no t the se a tha t drown s you ; it' s th e puddle. " Pena l confinement , Nerzhin reflected , wa s th e sea , th e plac e wher e h e ha d avoide d immersion i n th e mundan e an d trivial , wher e h e ha d bee n abl e t o learn "abou t peopl e an d event s abou t whic h h e coul d lear n no where els e o n earth. " I n anothe r romanti c appraisa l o f pena l con finement, Eugeni a Ginsbur g declared: "Ther e ar e no more ferven t friendships tha n thos e mad e i n prison. " Just a s these prisoner s inves t their prison s with a romantic aura , so als o societ y endow s criminal s wit h a passio n an d intensit y tha t enhance life' s meaning. On e thinks , fo r instance , o f Martin Dysart , the psychiatris t i n Equus wh o poignantl y expresse d hi s env y o f Alan Strang , th e bo y wh o ha d stabbe d horses , puttin g ou t thei r eyes. Whil e recognizin g tha t th e bo y ha d bee n dangerous , an d might b e again , Dysar t coul d no t hel p bu t contras t hi s ow n "shrunken," "pallid, " and "provincial " lif e with the passionate exis tence tha t Alan' s crim e reflected . I n anothe r example , Marlow , i n

Conclusion

191

Heart of Darkness, admire d th e crimina l Kurtz , notwithstandin g that th e ma n ha d committe d "abominabl e terrors, " for Kurt z a t least ha d a vision, i n contras t t o th e ordinar y citizen s o f Brussel s with thei r "insignifican t an d sill y dreams. " If criminals , wh o def y th e law , ar e "romance-empurpled," 4 larger-than-life figures, i t follow s tha t lawyers , wh o serv e th e law , are r o m a n c e d figures, prosai c an d dull . I n thi s vein , th e Englis h essayist Charle s Lam b observe d dubiously : "Lawyers , I suppose , were childre n once." 5 Distan t fro m childhood , lawyer s ar e por trayed a s uncomfortabl e wit h lifelon g yearnings . Fo r example , i n Great Expectations, when Pi p trie s t o tel l hi s guardia n ho w h e ha d always longe d fo r a n education , Jagger s cut s hi m of f wit h th e words: "Neve r min d wha t yo u hav e alway s longe d for , Mr . Pip , . . . kee p t o th e record . I f you lon g fo r i t now, that' s enough." 6 Although i n theor y th e la w is pedantic an d dull , thi s dullnes s i s partly a defense ; i n practice , th e la w i s ofte n drive n b y th e ver y romanticism i t claim s t o despise . Fo r example , i n Par t Thre e o f this boo k w e sa w ho w a fascinatio n wit h criminal s motivate d seemingly straightforwar d policie s o f crimina l justice—policie s emphasizing order , routine , an d segregatio n o f th e "contami nated" crimina l from th e "uncontaminated " law-abidin g citizen . N o r di d th e romanti c root s o f thes e policie s remai n submerged ; rather the y surface d i n th e lega l institutio n o f banishment , whic h featured th e crimina l a s th e protagonis t o f a n exoti c drama , th e Fall. What i s the functio n o f romanticizing criminal s an d thei r plac e of punishment? Romanticis m serve s to ward of f the various narcis sistic wound s t o whic h ou r flesh i s heir—th e fea r o f leadin g prosaic, meaningless live s and th e pai n o f recognizing ou r ultimat e solitude an d ou r morta l condition . A scen e from a wor k w e hav e examined i n anothe r contex t beautifull y illustrate s th e defensiv e function o f romancin g th e criminal . I refe r t o th e scen e i n The Playboy of the Western World wher e Pegee n Mik e an d th e othe r villagers hav e jus t learne d tha t Christ y ha s not , afte r all , kille d hi s father. Pegee n speak s scornfull y t o Christy : "An d it' s lies you told , letting o n yo u ha d hi m slitted , an d yo u nothin g a t all. "

192

Conclusion

In ceasin g t o b e a patricide , Christ y ha s become , no t a n ordi nary, decen t citizen , bu t "nothin g a t all. " Pegeen' s languag e re flects th e narcissisti c premis e tha t withou t greatness , on e i s noth ing. I n th e dream s o f ou r youth , w e aspir e t o greatness ; w e demand tha t lif e giv e us everything . Bu t a s time goe s on , we mus t relinquish suc h expectations ; i n th e end , i n death , w e fac e th e relinquishment o f everything. 7 Wit h Wordsworth , w e mus t ask : "Where i s it now, th e glor y an d th e dream?" 8 A s I discusse d i n " A Strange Liking, " w e neve r completel y accep t thes e losses . Rather , we defen d agains t awarenes s o f ou r limited , morta l stat e b y imag ining ourselve s a s "extraordinary " an d "great, " o r b y identifyin g with thos e w e conceiv e o f a s havin g thes e qualities . I n th e con struction o f suc h defenses , criminals , w e hav e seen , pla y a specia l role. Becaus e the y ignor e th e limit s an d mora l compunction s tha t bind ordinar y people , the y ar e easil y assimilated t o the categor y o f greatness. And s o Christy , a s a glamorous patricide , investe d th e villagers ' drab live s wit h excitemen t an d meaning . W h e n i t turn s ou t tha t he ha s not , i n fact , kille d hi s father , th e villager s fee l diminishe d by his loss of criminal stature . Reflectin g th e collectiv e disappoint ment, Pegee n Mik e say s ruefully : "An d t o thin k o f th e coaxin g glory we had give n him. " For m y fina l example , I tur n t o th e classi c children' s boo k A Little Princess, b y Frances Hodgson Burnett . Lik e The Playboy of the Western World, this story shows the defensiv e us e of the crimina l t o participate i n glor y and assuag e feeling s o f powerlessness. I n addi tion, i t depict s a variation o n ou r theme : th e noncrimina l who , o n the verg e o f hopelessness , gratefull y embrace s th e statu s o f pris oner. Near th e beginnin g o f the book , Sar a Crewe , a pupil a t Mis s Minchin's Londo n School , i s banished t o th e garre t an d force d t o work a s a servan t afte r he r fathe r die s penniless . I n th e followin g scene, Sara' s frien d Ermengard e visit s Sar a i n he r col d an d cheer less abode : Ermengarde looked around the attic with a rather fearsome curi osity. "Sara," she said, "do you think you can bear living here?" Sara looked round also.

Conclusion

IO

3

"If I pretend it's quite different, I can," she answered. "Or if I pretend it is a place in a story." She spoke slowly. Her imagination was beginning to work for her. It had not worked for her at all since her troubles had come upon her. She had felt as if it had been stunned . "Other people have lived in worse places. Think of the Coun t of Monte Cristo in the dungeons of the Chateau d'If. And think of the people in the Bastille!" "The Bastille," half whispered Ermengarde, watching her and beginning to be fascinated... . A well-known glow came into Sara's eyes. "Yes," she said, hugging her knees. "That will be a good place to pretend about . I am a prisoner in the Bastille. I have been here for years and years; and everybody has forgotten abou t me. Miss Minchin is the jailer—and Becky"— a sudden light adding itself to the glow in her eyes—"Becky is the prisoner in the next cell." She turned to Ermengarde, looking quite like the old Sara. "I shall pretend that," she said, "and it will be a great comfort."9 Like Sara , lik e the villagers, we to o us e criminal s an d prison s t o exalt ou r lives , t o comfor t ourselve s i n th e fac e o f ou r finitude , t o defend agains t despair . Thi s paradox , o f course , i s no t th e whol e story; i t is only on e stran d o f a mingled yarn , th e silve r linin g o f a sable cloud .

Appendix

AMERICAN CASE S W H E R E PROSECUTO R DESCRIBE D DEFENDANT, DEFENDANT' S WITNESS , O R DEFENDANT'S ACT S O R MILIE U WIT H A

METAPHO R

OF F I L T H

I. Filthy, Filth U.S. v. Lowenberg, 85 3 F.id 295 , 302 (5th Cir. 1988 ) ("filthy" ) State v. Comer, 79 9 P.2d 333, 346 (Ariz. 1990 ) ("filth" ) People v. McMahon, 25 4 P.2d 903, 906 (Cal. App. 1953 ) ("filthy" ) People v. Stiff, 54 2 N.E.2d 392 , 395 (111. App. 1 Dist. 1989 ) ("dirty, filthy . .. needs" ) State v. Connors, 7 6 S. 611, 612 (La. 1917 ) ("filthy hides" ) Williams v. State, 226 P.2d 989, 997 (Okla. Crim. App. 1951 ) ("filthy" ) 2. Slime, Slimy U.S. v. Moran, 194 F.2d 623, 625 (2d Cir. 1952 ) ("slimy underworld") Volkmorv. United States, 1 3 F.2d 594, 595 (6th Cir. 1926 ) ("skunk," "slimy crow") Rogers v. State, 157 So.2d 13 , 17 (Ala. 1963) ("slimy crow") Biondo v. State, 533 So.2d 910, 911 (Fla. App. 1988 ) ("slime") People v. Myers, 22 0 N.E.2d 297 , 311 (111. 1966) ("slimy beast," "like a snake") Commonwealth v. Cicere, 12 8 A. 446, 447 (Pa. 1925 ) ("slimy creature") 5. Scum, Scumbag Lindsey v. Smith, 820 F.2d 1137 , 115 5 ( n th Cir . 1987 ) ("scum," "degenerate scum") People v. Apalatequi, 14 7 Cal. Rptr. 473, 474 (Cal. App. 1978 ) ("scum") People v. Nightengale, 52 3 N.E.2d 136 , 14 1 (111. App. 1 Dist. 1988 ) ("scum") Ferguson v. Commonwealth, 51 2 S.W.2d 501 , 504 (Ky 1974) ("two little scums") State v. Burge, 51 5 S.2d 494, 505 (Ct. App. La. 1987 ) ("scum") J

95

196

Appendix

People v. Guenther, 46 9 N.W.2d 59 , 65 (Mich. App. 1991 ) ("scum") Monk v. State, 532 So.2d 592, 601 (Miss. 1988 ) ("scum") Ohio v. Watkins, No. 46144, slip. op. at 1 1 (Ohio Ct. App. Nov. 23, 1983) ("scum and filth") State v. Earich, No. 80-C-54, SU P- °P- at J 4 (Ohio Ct. App. Nov. 19, 1981) ("scum") Duque v. State, 498 So.2d 1334 , 133 7 (Fla. App. 2 Dist. 1986 ) ("scumbag") 4. Dirty, Dirt U.S. v. Tisdale, 81 7 F.2d 1552 , 155 5 ( n th Cir . 1987 ) ("dirty") U.S. v. Fowler, 60 8 F.2d 2, 9 (D.C. Cir. 1979 ) (prosecutor character ized offenses charge d against defendants a s "dirty") U.S. v. Crane, 445 F.2d 509, 520 (5th Cir. 1971 ) ("dirty work") Peterson v. State, 376 So.2d 1230 , 123 1 (Fla. App. 1979 ) ("into the dirt, into the slime") People v. Buckner, 29 3 N.E.2d 622 , 623 (111. App. 1 Dist. 1973 ) ("snake," "dirty, rotten") Anderson v. State, 4 N.E. 63, 67 (Ind. 1885 ) ("dirty") State v. Young, 1 2 S.W. 879, 883 (Mo. 1890 ) ("dirty") Hathcox v. State, 230 P.2d 927, 937 (Okla. Crim. App. 1951 ) ("dirty rats," "three rats") Brito v. State, 459 S.W.2d 834, 836 (Tex. Crim. App. 1970) ("dirty") 5. Worm U.S. v. Walker, 19 0 F.2d 481, 484 (2d Cir. 1951 ) ("type of worm") State v. Green, 43 2 N.W.2d 547 , 550 (Neb. 1988 ) (defendant an d her sister, a defendant i n another trial, described as "two worms") 6. Viruses U.S. v. Wolfson, 32 2 F. Supp. 798, 825 (D. Del. 1971 ) ("viruses," "germs")

Notes

NOTES T O TH E INTRODUCTIO N i. Morto n Sobell, On Doing Time (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974), 502. 2. Eric a Wallach, Light at Midnight (Garde n City , N.Y.: Doubleday, 1967) , 285. 3. Northro p Frye, The Great Code: The Bible and Literature (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982), xviii. 4. Walte r Scott, Rob Roy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1923) , 104. NOTES T O CHAPTE R I 1. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Cancer Ward, trans. Rebecca Frank (New York: Dial Press, 1968), 576-77 (emphasis added). 2. Ibid. , 562. 3. James Blake, The Joint (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971), 326 (emphasis added). 4. Ibid. , 72-73. 5. See , e.g., Eugenia Ginzburg, Journey into the Whirlwind, trans. Paul Stevenson and Max Hayward (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1967) ; Malcolm Braly, False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons (Boston : Little , Brown, 1976), 251. Eldridge Cleaver also perceived the similarity between prisons and monasteries, but denied the allure of either. See Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice (New York: Dell, 1968), 32. 6. Blake , The Joint, 33 0 (emphasis added). 7. Ibid. , 147 . For the rock as a symbol of the eternal, see M. L. von Franz, "The Process of Individuation," in Man and His Symbols, ed . Carl Jung (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964) , 209 ("man's innermost cente r is in a strange and special way akin to it.... I n this sense the stone symbolizes what is perhaps the simplest and deepest experience—the experience of something eternal"). 8. Willia m Shakespeare , The Tragedy of King Lear: The Folio Text, 5.3.8-1 9 (emphasis added). 197

ip8

Notes to Chapter i

9. Aleksand r Solzhenitsyn, The First Circle, trans . Thomas P. Whitney (New York: Bantam Books, 1969), 340 (emphasis added). 10. Ibid. , 339-40. 11. Ibid. , 181 (emphasis in original). 12. Stendhal , The Charterhouse of Parma, trans . C. K. Scott Moncrieff (Ne w York: Boni and Liveright), 2:86. 13. Ibid. , 2:87. 14. Ibid. , 2:88. 15. Ibid. For a discussion of the happy prison them e in Stendha l and other nineteenth-century French writers, see Victor Brombert, The Romantic Prison: The French Tradition (Princeton , N.J. : Princeton Universit y Press, 1978) , 62-87. I*1 this fascinating book , Brombert explore s a number o f themes, focusin g o n the relationship between physical confinement and artistic freedom. In the concluding pages, however, he suggests that the Holocaust and the Soviet penal camps have changed the way we imagine prison, relegating the nineteenth-century motif to the "statu s o f a reactionar y anachronism. " H e observe s tha t th e Romantics ' "dream o f a happy priso n ha s becom e har d t o entertai n i n a world o f pena l colonies and extermination camps, in a world which makes us fear that somehow even our suffering can no longer be our refuge." Like Brombert, linguist Joseph Shipley assumes that the paradoxical image of prison as a refuge an d a place of freedom has become difficult t o maintain in the context of contemporary priso n conditions . In discussin g kagh, th e Indo-Euro pean root of the word jail, Shipley quotes Richard Lovelace's famous poem "To Althea, fromprison" (1642), which reads as follows: Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for an hermitage, If I have freedomin my love And in my soul am free, Angels alone, that soar above, Enjoy such liberty. Shipley comments: "Ther e i s little roo m fo r suc h feeling s i n th e overcrowded prisons o f today. " Joseph Shipley , The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots (Baltimore : Johns Hopkin s Universit y Press , 1984), 153 . By contrast, th e presen t stud y demonstrates tha t th e psychological sources of the attractio n t o prison ar e deeper than eithe r Bromber t o r Shipley perceived, and that, in consequence, the theme of the happy prison has withstood the realities of the twentieth century's particularly nightmarish forms of incarceration.

Notes to Chapter i

199

16. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn , One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, trans . Ronald Hingley and Max Hayward (New York: Bantam Books, 1963) , 198 (emphasis added). 17. Ibid. , 199. 18. Graha m Greene, The Power and the Glory (New York: Viking Press, 1970), 206 (emphasis added). 19. Solzhenitsyn , The First Circle, 38 . 20. Ibid . 21. Le o Tolstoy, War and Peace, trans . Louise and Alymer Maude (New York: W. W. Norton, 1966), 1176. 22. Samue l Melville, Letters from Attica (New York: Morrow, 1972), 101. 23. Malcolm X and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Ne w York: Ballantine Books , 1965) , 180 . Compare th e remarks of an anonymous prisoner quoted i n Jaakov Kohn , "Time : Tw o Interviews, " i n Getting Busted: Personal Experiences of Arrest, Trial, and Prison, ed . Ros s Firestone (N.p. : Dougla s Book Corp., 1970), 249-50. The situation I got myself into [in prison] was just perfect for me. For a long time prior to getting busted, I lived a very hectic life. Running around like crazy trying to make a lot of money and do a lot of things.... What I needed and what I always was aware of needing was some literary enrichment. . . . After coming to Auburn, I started right from the beginning and went through the Myths, the Greek Classics and everything else fromCervantes to Dostoevsky, Tolstoi, and Balzac. For othe r illustration s o f th e them e o f priso n a s an academy , se e Brendan Behan, Borstal Boy (Boston : David Godine , 1959) ; Thomas Gaddis , Birdman of Alcatraz: The Story of Robert Stroud (New York: Random House, 1955) ; Wallach, Light at Midnight, 196-97 , 396; Michael Kroll, "Counsel Behind Bars," California Lawyer (June 1987): 34 . 24. Solzhenitsyn , The First Circle, 340 . 25. Ginzburg , Journey into the Whirlwind, 99 . 26. Vera Figner , Memoirs of a Revolutionist (Ne w York : Greenwoo d Press , 1968), 302. 27. Ibid. , 303. 28. Solzhenitsyn , The First Circle, 340 . 29. Ibid. , 372 (emphasis added). 30. Se e Julian Beck, "Thoughts on the Theater fromJail: Three Letters to a Friend," in Getting Busted, 319 .

200

Notes to Chapter i

31. Blake , The Joint, 209 . 32. Eugeni a Ginzburg, Within the Whirlwind, trans . Ian Boland (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981), 156-57 (emphasis in original). 33. Cf . Semyon Gluzman, "Fear of Freedom: Psychological Decompensation or Existentialis t Phenomenon, " American Journal of Psychiatry 13 9 (1982) : 5 7 (Soviet psychiatrist arguing that political prisoners who fear freedom ar e healthy in that they are experiencing specific, realistic fears). 34. Rober t Lane , Political Ideology: Why the American Common Man Believes What He Does (New York: Free Press, 1962), 27 (emphasis added). 35. Ibid , (quotin g Freud, "Beyon d th e Pleasure Principle," in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works ofSigmund Freud [London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis], 18: 53). 36. Fyodo r Dostoevsky, Notes fromaDead House, trans . L. Navrozov and Y. Guralsky (Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1950), 63. 37. Immediatel y following the passage I have quoted, Dostoevsky writes: "It may be tha t hi s lif e befor e wa s miserable , tha t h e neve r at e hi s fill and was compelled t o work for hi s master from mor n till night, while the work in the convict prison is easier, there's enough bread, and better bread than he ever hoped to eat, let alone meat on holidays." Ibid. 38. Wallach , Light at Midnight, 207 . In our own society, the Depression-era movie Modern Times depicts Charlie Chaplin preferring life in jail to the difficul ties o f keeping a job outside. One inter-title describes Chaplin as "[h]appy in his comfortable cell." When the sheriff tells him, "Well, you're a freeman," Chaplin objects, "Can't I stay a little longer? I'm so happy here." After his release, Chaplin is characterized a s "[determined t o go back to jail." In an effort t o get arrested he buy s mor e foo d tha n h e ca n pa y for . Th e polic e d o arres t him ; however, Chaplin's new acquaintance, Paulette, pushes him out of the van and back to the hardships o f life outsid e prison . Modern Times, prod . Charle s Chaplin , Unite d Artists, 1936. 39. Se e Nadezhd a Mandelstam , Hope against Hope: A Memoir, trans . Max Hayward (New York: Atheneum, 1975), 88, 334, and passim. 40. Ruo-Wan g Ba o and Rudolp h Chelminski , Prisoner of Mao (Ne w York: Coward McCan n an d Geoghegan , 1973) , 1 2 (emphasi s added) . Cf . Gluzman , "Fear of Freedom: Psychological Decompensation or Existentialist Phenomenon," American Journal of Psychiatry 13 9 (1982): 61 ("A paradoxical conclusion can be reached: th e transitio n from life i n th e priso n t o 'free ' lif e i n th e U.S.S.R . is characterized by a substantial reduction of the degree of internal freedomand of the possibilities of defending one' s dignity from encroachment by social institutions").

Notes to Chapter i

201

41. Rober t Brain, Friends and Lovers (New York: Basic Books, 1976), 256-60. 42. Ibid. , 257. 43. Se e Edith Jacobson, "Observations on the Psychological Effect of Imprisonment on Female Political Prisoners," Searchlights on Delinquency, ed . Kurt Eissler (New York: International Universities Press, 1949) , 341. Dr. Jacobson made all of her observations between 1935 and 1938 during her confinement in a Nazi State Penitentiary. By contrast with the concentration camps, the City and State Prisons at that time were not under the control of the Gestapo. Ibid., 342. 44. Ibid. , 359, 363. 45. Ibid. , 359. 46. Ibid. , 359-60. 47. Se e ibid. 48. Ibid. , 365. 49. Rober t J. Lifton, Thought Reform and the Psychology ofTotalism (New York: W. W. Norton, 1969), 238. 50. Ibid. , 238-39. 51. Se e Otto Kernberg, Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism (New York: Aronson, 1975), 12. 52. Ott o Fenichel , The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis (Ne w York: W. W. Norton, 1945), 368. 53. Se e ibid., 369. 54. Blake , The Joint, 6 0 (emphasis added). 55. Ibid. , 137 (emphasis added). 56. Ibid. , 132. 57. Ibid , 135. 58. Consider , for example, the following description of a love affair he has in prison: "But the beauty part is the shared laughter , Fve never known that in a relationship before, it's novel and precious to me." Ibid, 195 . See also ibid, 197. 59. Bria n Moore, review of Brendan, by Ulick O'Connor, New York Times Book Review, 2 5 April 1971, 35. 60. Ibid . 61. Francois e D'Eaubonne, "Jean Genet, Or, The Inclement Thief," in Genet: A Collection of Critical Essays, ed . Peter Brooks and Joseph Halpern (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1979), 65-66. 62. Robert o Suro, "A Model and a Murder: Italy's High Life on Trial," New York Times, 1 6 June 1986, sec. A, p. 6.

202 Notes

to Chapter 2

63. Caro l Kirschenbaum , "Women : Th e Ne w White-Colla r Criminals, " Glamour 306 (March 1987): 359.

NOTES T O CHAPTE R 2 i. Blake , The Joint, 148 . 2. Ibid. , 51. 3. Dian a Christina and Pat Carlen, "Christina: In Her Own Time," in Criminal Women, ed. Pat Carlen (Cambridge, England: Polity Press, 1985), 88. 4. Ibid. , 100 (emphasis added). 5. Ibid. , 89. 6. Ibid. , 92. 7. Malcolm Braly , False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons (Boston: Little, Brown, 1976), 10. 8. Ibid. , 7. 9. Ibid. , 9. 10. Ibid. , 16. 11. Ibid. , 372 (emphasis added). 12. Ibid. , 369. 13. Ibid. , 346. 14. Malcolm Braly, It's Cold Out There (Ne w York: Pocket Books, 1966) , 35, 64. On the them e o f prison a s a place where one feels care d for , conside r th e words of an old Russian prisoners' ballad: Here are we, the Emperor's guests, As befits our station. Ginzburg, Journey into the Whirlwind, 325 . 15. Tamsin Fitzgerald, Tamsin (Ne w York: Dial Press, 1973) , 11 2 (emphasis added). Margaret Drabble expresses the same idea in her fictionalwork, The Ice Age (New York: Knopf, 1977) . The protagonist, Anthony Keating, searches for a place where he will be protected from choice, eventually findingit in prison. See, e.g., ibid., 225 ("Yet again, he was going to have to decide what to do with his life. It was too exhausting. It was too much of an effort...; H e wished profoundl y that he was where Len Wincobank was [in prison], out of harm's way"). 16. Dyla n Thomas, "Fern Hill," in Selected Writings (New York: New Directions, 1946) , 79. 17. Blake , The Joint, 149 . 18. Braly , False Starts, 21 7 (emphasis added).

Notes to Chapter 5

203

19. Mary Renault, The King Must Die (London: Sceptre, 1958), 169 (emphasis added). 20. Algerno n Charles Swinburne, The Triumph of Time, in The Complete Works of AlgernonCharles Swinburne (New York: Russel and Russel, 1925), st. 33. 21. Charle s Dickens , Little Dorrit, editio n d e luxe (New York: Nottingham Society, n.d.), 2:837. 22. Blake , The Joint, 378-79 . 23. Fo r th e semina l discussio n o f th e concep t o f th e tota l institution , se e Erving Goffman , Asylums (Garde n City , N.Y. : Anchor Books , 1961) . Goffma n defines a total institution as "a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situate d individuals , cu t of f fro m th e wide r societ y fo r a n appreciabl e period o f time, together lea d an enclosed, formally administere d roun d of life." Ibid., xiii. 24. Blake , The Joint, 379 . 25. Se e Fran z Alexande r an d Willia m Healy , Roots of Crime: Psychoanalytic Studies (1935; reprint, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1969), 284. 26. Se e ibid. 27. Se e Norman O. Brown, Life against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History (Middletown , Conn. : Wesleyan Universit y Press , 1959) , 284 . Cf. Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom (Ne w York: H. Holt, 1941) , passim. Fromm maintains that over the course of history people have been liberated from prejudice s and limitations. Such liberations, however, have exacted a high price: loneliness and anxiety owing to the loss of a sense of belonging. These feelings, in turn, may give rise to the longing for a Fuehrer and sado-masochistic submission.

NOTES T O CHAPTE R 3 1. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, trans . Harry Willetts (New York: Harper and Row, 1978), 98 (emphasis added). 2. Literally , "chthonic" means "in or under the earth," "dwelling or reigning in the underworld," or "relating to infernal deities or spirits." Websters Third New International Dictionary (1981) (unabridged), s.v. "chthonic." 3. Se e Philip Wheelwright, The Burning Fountain: A Study in the Language of Symbolism, rev. ed. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1968), 176. 4. Bil l Sands, My Shadow Ran Fast (New York: New American Library, 1964), 48-49 (emphasis added). 5. John Cheever, Falconer (New York: Ballantine Books, 1977), 203-4. 6. Ibid. , 211. 7. Malcol m X and Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, 170.

204

Notes to Chapter 3

8. Charle s Colson, Born Again (Old Tappan, N.J.: Chosen Books, 1976), 283. 9. Christin a and Carlen, "Christina: In Her Own Time," in Criminal Women. 10. Manuel Puig, Kiss of the Spider Woman, trans. Thomas Colchie (New York: Vintage Books, 1978), 261 passim. 11. Greene , The Power and the Glory, 153 . 12. Ibid. , 162. 13. Ibid. , 199. 14. Figner , Memoirs of a Revolutionist, 209 . 15. Jawaharlal Nehru, Toward Freedom: The Autobiography of JawaharlalNehru (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), 181. 16. Telephone interview with Professor James Jacobs, author of Stateville and Director, Center for Research in Crime and Justice, NYU Law School (23 June 1987). 17. John Edga r Wideman , Brothers and Keepers (Ne w York: Holt, Rinehar t and Winston, 1984). 18. Ibid. , 201-2 (emphasis added). 19. See John 15:1-8 . 20. Eleano r Blau, "Poet Rebuilds Life in U.S. after Soviet Prison Term," New York Times, 2 4 March 1987 , sec. C, p. 13 . Compare Chekhov' s exultin g words after hi s 1890 sojourn o n the island of Sakhalin, which the Russian government had selected as the place of exile for its most dangerous criminals: "I am so filled with joy and satisfaction tha t it would not bother me in the least if I succumbed to paralysis or departed this world by way of dysentery. I can say: / have lived! I have had everything I want! I have been in Hell, which is Sakhalin, and in Paradise, which is the island of Ceylon!" Letter to Leontiev-Shcheglov, quoted in Robert Payne, introduction to The Island: A Journey to Sakhalin, by Anton Chekhov (New York: Washington Squar e Press , 1967) , xxxiv. Before undertakin g thi s journey, Chekhov ha d bee n sufferin g from a sever e depressio n ove r th e deat h o f hi s brother Nikolay. Ibid., xii-xiii. 21. Fo r a discussion of the two kinds of hero myth, see Joseph L. Henderson, "Ancient Myth s an d Moder n Man, " i n Man and His Symbols, ed . Car l Jung (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964), 120. 22. Cf . ibid., 132 , picture caption (describin g the "archetypal great mother" as "the container of all life"); Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 2d ed. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1968), 91 (explaining that in the belly of the whale motif, the hero "goes inward, to be born again"). 23. See , e.g., Romans 5:3-5 ("tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us").

Notes to Chapter 5

205

24. Se e Fenichel, Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,105 , 293. 25. Ginzburg , Within the Whirlwind, 153 . NOTES T O CHAPTE R 4 1. Edga r Smith, "Life in the Death House," in Getting Busted, 346 . 2. Fo r th e distinctio n betwee n positiv e an d negativ e libert y se e Si r Isaia h Berlin's semina l essay , "Tw o Concept s o f Liberty, " i n Political Philosophy, ed . Anthony Quinton (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), 141. For a discussion o f Rousseau' s concep t o f freedom , se e Sheldo n Wolin , Politics and Vision (Boston: Little , Brown , i960) , 371 . Fo r a summary o f T. H . Green' s "idealis t revision o f liberalism," see George Sabine , A History of Political Theory, 3 d ed. (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961), 725-40. 3. Thoma s Flynn, Tales for My Brothers1 Keepers (New York: W. W. Norton, 1976), 46. 4. Albi e Sachs, The Jail Diary ofAlbie Sachs (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966), 134. 5. Colson , Born Again, 307 . 6. Kohn , "Time: Two Interviews," in Getting Busted, 253-54 . 7. Beck , "Thoughts on the Theater from Jail: Three Letters to a Friend," in Getting Busted, 321 . 8. Figner , Memoirs of a Revolutionist, 29 7 (emphasis added). 9. Tolstoy , War and Peace, 1130 . 10. Fitzgerald , Tamsin, 112 . 11. Rober t Bolt, A Man for All Seasons (New York: Vintage Books, i960), 138. 12. Fo r one of the classical discussions of denial, see Anna Freud, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (Ne w York : Internationa l Universitie s Press , 1966) , 69-92 . 13. Berlin , "Two Concepts of Liberty," 141. 14. Dostoevsky , Notes fromaDead House, 289 . 15. Wallach, Light at Midnight, 256 . 16. Se e ibid. NOTES T O CHAPTE R 5 1. Cf . Dickens, Little Dorrit, 2 2 ('"But I bear those monotonous walls no illwill now,' said Mr. Meagles. 'One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it's left behind; I dare say a prisoner begins to relent towards his prison, after he is let

206

Notes to Chapter 5

out' "). See also Tolstoy, War and Peace, 112 3 ("All Pierre's daydreams now turned on the time when he would be free.Yet subsequently, and for the rest of his life, he thought and spoke with enthusiasm of that month of captivity"). 2. Braly , False Starts, 211 . 3. Ibid. , 213, 364. 4. See , e.g. , Krishn a Hutheesing , Shadows on the Wall (Ne w York : J. Day , 1948), 74-75 (describing a thief-arsonist who committed crimes in order to return to prison) ; Chri s Tchaikovsky , "Lookin g fo r Trouble, " i n Criminal Women, 5 3 (describing he r relie f upo n bein g caugh t an d he r surprisin g ineptnes s a t pre venting her capture). 5. Flynn , Tales for My Brothers' Keepers, 20 . 6. Josie O'Dwyer and Pat Carlen, "Josie: Surviving Holloway . .. An d Other Women's Prisons," in Criminal Women, 142 . 7. I t may be objected that political prisoners and common criminals are very different, th e former breakin g the law out of idealistic conviction, the latter out of necessity, passion, or antisocial personality disorder. I have ignored this distinction i n thi s study for a simple reason; namely, that I di d not find a differenc e between the political prisoners and the common criminals with respect to their affirmative image s of prison. Indeed, one of the surprising findingsof this study is precisely the similarity of themes in the two groups. For each of the positive carceral image s delineate d i n Par t One , we find examples from both type s of prisoner. 8. Kennet h Lamott, review of False Starts, b y Malcolm Braly, New York Times Book Review, 2 9 February 1976, 7. Consider also the observation of Joan Shapiro, M.D., a forensic psychiatrist who treated prisoners at Canon City Prison, Colorado. Sh e wa s astonishe d t o find that th e prisoner s fel t care d fo r i n prison . (Personal communication, 10 May 1987). 9. Se e Alexander and Healy, Roots of Crime,5 4 ("Analyst: 'It is rather interesting that deep down the jail has some attraction for you, although consciously you don't like it at all, but this infantile longing for the mother is somehow satisfied in the prison, inasmuch as you don't have to care for yourself ") . See also ibid., 52, 67-68. 10. The findingsof the late British psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott are consistent wit h thi s thesis . Base d o n hi s clinica l wor k wit h delinquents , Winnicot t maintains that the antisocial tendency, with stealing at its core, reflects a hopeful search fo r "tha t amoun t o f environmenta l stabilit y tha t wil l stan d th e strai n resulting from impulsive behavior. " D . Winnicott, Deprivation and Delinquency (London: Tavistock Publications, 1984) , 125. For an example of a murderer with some degree of attraction to imprisonment, see Ann Oberkirch, "Psychotherapy of a Murderer: Excerpts," American Journal of Psychotherapy39 (1985): 505.

Notes to Chapter 6

207

NOTES T O CHAPTE R 6 1. Som e scholars would include restraint, or incapacitation, among the traditional rationales of punishment. This theory states that we are justified in punishing offenders b y isolating them from society to prevent their committing furthe r crimes while they are being punished. I omit discussion of restraint theory from the text because the argument of this study has little application to it. The positive meanings o f incarceratio n canno t alte r th e fac t tha t someon e physicall y con strained will be unable to commit new crimes against society while he is confined. 2. Fo r basic works on the theories of punishment, see Norval Morris, Madness and Criminal Law (Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1982) ; Nigel Walker, Punishment, Danger and Stigma (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980) ; Ernest Van Den Haag, Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question (New York: Basic Books, 1975) ; Johannes Andenaes, Punishment and Deterrence (An n Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1974) ; Norval Morris, The Future of Imprisonment (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974) ; Hans von Hentig, Punishment: Its Origin, Purpose and Psychology (1937 ; reprint, Montclair , N.J. : Patterso n Smith , 1973); Franklin Zimrin g and Gordo n Hawkins , Deterrence: The Legal Threat in Crime Control (Chicago : Universit y o f Chicag o Press , 1973) ; Stanle y Grupp , Theories of Punishment (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1971) ; Joel Feinberg, Doing and Deserving (Princeton , N.J. : Princeto n Universit y Press , 1970) ; Raymond Saleilles, The Individualization of Punishment (1911; reprint, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1968) ; Leon Radzinowicz, Ideology and Crime (New York: Columbia University Press, 1966). 3. Se e Sanford Kadish and Monrad Paulsen, Criminal Law and Its Processes, 3 d ed. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 26. 4. Fo r a poetic description of institutionalization, se e George Gordon, Lord Byron, "The Prisone r o f Chillon," in The Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron (New York: Macmillan, 1927): These heavy walls to me had grown A hermitage—and all my own! and half I felt as they were come To tear me fromasecond home: . .. My very chains and I grew friends, So much a long communion tends To make us what we are;—even I Regain'd my freedomwith a sigh. 5. Se e Braly, False Starts, 32 . 6. Se e Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, 371 ; and Alexander and Healy, Roots of Crime, 109 . 7. Se e Alexander and Healy, Roots of Crime, 102 , 113, 67, 117.

208

Notes to Chapter 6

8. My research has turned up only one legal article on this subject. See Bruce Perry, "Escape from Freedom, Criminal Style: The Hidden Advantages of Being in Jail," Journal of Psychiatry and Law 1 2 (1984): 215-30 (examining the writings of Jack Abbott and Malcolm X and concluding that these two men preferred lif e in prison) . Anothe r articl e mention s i n passin g tha t punishmen t ma y induc e criminal behavior ; however , i t doe s no t discus s th e appea l o f incarceratio n i n particular. Se e C. G . Schoenfeld , "La w and Unconsciou s Motivation," Howard Law Journal 8 (1962): 15 ("What is startling, however, is the realization that by punishing criminal s bese t b y stron g unconsciou s guil t feelings , th e la w ma y actually encourage—rather than discourage—the commission of crimes"). By contrast, many lawyers have written of the sometime attraction of capital punishment. For a partial summary of this research, see Daniel Glaser, "Capital Punishment—Deterrent o r Stimulus to Murder? Ou r Unexamined Death s and Penalties," University of Toledo Law Review 1 0 (1979): 325-27. Without focusing on any particular form of punishment, a few psychoanalytic works broach the subject of punishment as an incentive to criminality. See, e.g., Sigmund Freud, "Some Character Types Met With in Psycho-Analytic Work," in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis), 14:332-3 3 (discussing "criminals from a sense o f guilt") , an d Freud , "Dostoevsk y an d Parricide, " i n ibid., 21:186-87 ("ft ls a f act tha t large groups of criminals want to be punished. Their supereg o demand s i t an d s o saves itsel f th e necessit y fo r inflictin g th e punishment itself"). 9. See , e.g., Gary Becker, "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach," Journal of PoliticalEconomy 76 (1968): 169-217; Richard Sullivan, "The Economics of Crime: An Introduction t o the Orthodox Literature," in Problems in Political Economy, 2 d ed., ed. David Gordon (Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1977) , 37678.

10. Se e Harol d Berman , Law and Revolution (Cambridge , Mass. : Harvar d University Press, 1983), 183. 11. Se e Andre w Vo n Hirsch , Doing Justice (Ne w York : Hil l an d Wang , 1976), 46. 12. H . L. A. Hart, Punishment and Responsibility (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968), 8-9. 13. Se e Oppenheimer, The Rationale of Punishment,24 7 ("If we wish to remain on solid ground we shall have to avow that punishment means the infliction of evil upon the offender, an d that it ceases to be punishment when it ceases to be an evil"). 14. Sa n Quentin inmate Fernando Jackson, quoted in Kroll, "Counsel behind Bars," 99.

Notes to the Epilogue to Part One

209

15. Se e Durkheim, The Division of Labor in Society, 108-9 . 16. Ibid. 17. See , e.g., Franci s A. Allen, "Th e Declin e o f the Rehabilitativ e Idea l in American Criminal Justice," Cleveland State Law Review 2 7 (1978): 148 ("When I speak of the rehabilitativ e idea l I refe r t o th e notion tha t th e sanction s o f the criminal law should or must be employed to achieve fundamental change s in the character, personalities , an d attitude s o f connecte d offenders , no t onl y i n th e interest o f th e socia l defense , bu t als o in th e interes t o f the well-being o f the offender himself") . 18. J. Brewster , "Th e Us e o f Solitud e i n Prisons, " i n A Companion for the Prisoner, 5t h ed. (1828), 15 . Quoted in Adam Hirsch, "From Pillory to Penitentiary: Th e Rise of Criminal Incarceration in Early Massachusetts," Michigan Law Review 80 (1982): 1209. 19. Solzhenitsyn , One Day in the Life of IvanDenisovitch, 198 . 20. Journal of the Senate, 1830-31, 465 . Quoted in Harry Barnes, Evolution of Penology in Pennsylvania (1927 ; reprint, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith , 1968), 160. 21. Quote d i n Harr y E . Barne s an d Negle y K . Teeters , New Horizons in Criminology, rev. ed. (New York: Prentice Hall, 1945), 512-13. 22. Se e Hirsch, "From Pillory to Penitentiary," 1207-10. 23. Journal of the Senate for 1834-35, 467 . Quote d i n Barnes , Evolution of Penology, 162-6 3 (emphasis added). 24. Ibid . 25. Dougla s Martin, "At a Violent Jail, Warden Strives to Ease Tension," New York Times, 4 May 1987, sec. B, p. 21. 26. Warde n James Garvey , Jr., telephon e conversatio n wit h author , 2 0 July 1987. 27. See , e.g., Hirsch, "From Pillory to Penitentiary," 1256. 28. See , e.g., Oppenheimer, Rationale of Punishment,24 2 ("The curative view of punishment according to which its infliction serves to dry up the spring of evil in th e sou l o f the offender , eithe r fo r th e ultimat e goo d o f societ y o r fo r th e benefit of the criminal alone") (emphasis added). NOTE T O TH E EPILOGU E T O PAR T ON E 1. Fitzgerald , Tamsin, 22 .

2IO

Notes to the Prologue to Part Two

NOTES T O TH E PROLOGU E T O PAR T TW O i. Fo r psychoanalytic works that treat fictionalcharacters as clinical examples, see Freud, "Some Character-Types Met With in Psycho-Analytic Work," in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, 14:309-3 3 (discussing Lad y Macbet h an d Ibsen' s Rebecc a Wes t a s example s o f "thos e wrecked by success"); Arnold Rothstein, The Narcissistic Pursuit of Perfection (New York: International Universitie s Press, 1984 ) (examining characters in novels of Tolstoy and John Fowles to illustrate types of narcissism); Leonard Shengold, Soul Murder (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989) (employing novels by Orwell, Dickens, and others to illustrate psychodynamics of child abuse and neglect). For legal works that draw on literature to illuminate life, see Richard Posner, Law and Literature (Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988) , 25-70; Richard Weisberg, The Failure of the Word (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984); Norval Morris, "The Watching Brief," University of Chicago Law Review 54 (1987): 1215 (one of a series of stories that Morris has written to dramatize and examine issues in criminal law); Robin West, "Authority, Autonomy, and Choice: The Rol e o f Consen t i n th e Mora l an d Politica l Visions o f Fran z Kafk a an d Richard Posner," Harvard Law Review 99 (1985): 384. 2. Se e Eri c Hobsbawm , Primitive Rebels: Studies in Archaic Forms of Social Movement in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (New York: W. W. Norton, I959X 53. Eri c Hobsbawm, Bandits (New York: Delacorte Press, 1969), 13. Based on the lives or legends of such outlaws as Robin Hood (England), Diego Corrientes (Spain), Janosik (Polan d an d Slovakia) , Mandri n (France) , an d Stenk a Razi n (Russia), Hobsbawm delineated nine characteristic features of the social bandit: First, the noble robber begins his career of outlawry not by crime, but as the victim of injustice, or through being persecuted by the authorities for some act which they, but not the custom of his people, consider criminal. Second, he "rights wrongs." Third, he "takes fromthe rich to give to the poor." Fourth, he "never kills but in self-defense o r just revenge." Fifth, if he survives, he returns to his people as an honourable citizen and member of the community. Indeed, he never actually leaves the community. Sixth, he is admired, helped and supported by his people. Seventh, he dies invariably and only through treason, since no decent member of the community would help the authorities against him. Eighth, he is—at least in theory—invisible and invulnerable.

Notes to Chapter 7

211

Ninth, he is not the enemy of the king or emperor, who is the fountain of justice, but only of the local gentry, clergy or other oppressors. Ibid., 35-36. 4. Hobsbawm , Primitive Rebels, 5 . 5. Se e Paul Angiolillo, A Criminal as Hero: Angelo Duca (Lawrence : Regents Press of Kansas, 1979), 4-5. 6. Stephe n Tatum , Inventing Billy the Kid: Visions of the Outlaw in America 1881-1981 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982). 7. Ibid. , 196. For scholarly attempts to explain the love of the criminal in the United States in particular, see Robert K. Merton, "Social Structure and Anomie," in Social Theory and Social Structure (Ne w York: Free Press, 1968) , 195-96 (suggesting that Americans' admiration for white-collar criminals flows froma"cultural structur e i n whic h th e sacrosanc t goa l virtually consecrate s th e means") ; Alexander and Healy, Roots of Crime,282-8 3 (implying that the "heroic exhibitionistic evaluatio n o f crimina l deed s i n America " ha s it s root s i n th e America n individualistic ethos, coupled with the absence of opportunities t o express one's individuality); Richard White, "Outla w Gangs of the Middle Border : American Social Bandits, " The Western Historical Quarterly 1 2 (1981): 387 , 397 , 402-406 (arguing tha t i n postwa r Missour i an d Oklahom a i n th e 1890 s bandit s wer e admired becaus e they embodied masculin e virtues in a context where belie f in public law enforcement had been eroded). For an imprisoned criminal's attempt to account for what he calls the "cult of the rogue" among the American public , see Emmett Dalton , When the Daltons Rode (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran, 1931) , 276-77 (suggesting that the criminal represent s th e commo n person' s fight agains t authority , wealth , an d pretension). 8. Hobsbawm , Bandits, 34 . 9. See , e.g., Meredith Anne Skura, The Literary Uses of the Psychoanalytic Process (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981), 200-201. NOTES T O CHAPTE R J 1. Wilkie Collins , The Woman in White (London : Oxfor d Universit y Press, 1975), 195 (emphasis added). 2. Ibid. , 201 (emphasis added). 3. Joseph Conrad , Heart of Darkness (Ne w York: W. W. Norton, 1971) , 69 (emphasis added). 4. "Arthu r Penn as Director," in The Bonnie and Clyde Book, ed . Sandra Wake and Nicola Hayden (London: Lorrimer, 1972), 184-85 (emphasis added).

212

Notes to Chapter 8

5. Se e Joseph Morgenstern , "Bonni e an d Clyde : Tw o Review s b y Joseph Morgenstern," in The Bonnie and Clyde Book, 218-19 . 6. Se e Ruth Eissler, "Scapegoats of Society," in Searchlights on Delinquency, ed. Kurt Eissler (New York: International Universities Press, 1949), 289-90. 7. Se e Adelaide Johnson, "Sanctions for Supereg o Lacunae of Adolescents," in Searchlights on Delinquency, ny-iS. 8. My interpretation her e is consistent with the analysis of vicarious punishment in J. C. FlugePs psychoanalytic work, Man, Morals and Society (Ne w York: International Universities Press, 1985) , 164-74. As Johnson points out, the parents' denunciation of their children may also be an expression of hostile impulses toward the children. See Johnson, "Sanctions for Superego Lacunae," 228. 9. Se e Sigmund Freud, "Negation," in The Standard Edition, 19:235-39 . 10. Brown , Life against Death, 160 . 11. Gangsters: A Golden Age (WVEU television broadcast 28 September 1989). 12. Frederic k Schiller, Preface to the First Edition of "The Robbers," in The Works of Frederick Schiller [hereinafter, Works], vol. 2 (n.d. ) (1781), 133, 135. 13. Ibid. , 135-36. 14. Proverbs 24:1-2. 15. Christophe r Hibbert, Highwaymen (London : Weidenfeld an d Nicholson, 1967), 103. 16. Charle s Dickens, "Prefac e t o the Third Editio n (1867), " in Oliver Twist (1867; reprint, New York: New American Library, 1980), xv. 17. Ibid. , xv-xvi. 18. Se e W. Hogarth, A Harlots Progress, plate 3 (1732) . 19. Trevor Allen , "Crook s Ar e S o 'Romantic,' " Contemporary Review 21 0 (1967): 213-15. 20. Roge r A . MacKinnon an d Rober t Michels , The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice (Philadelphia: Saunders, 1971), 300. 21. Ibid. , 336.

NOTES T O CHAPTE R 8 i. Se e Howard Pyle , The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Ne w York: New American Library, 1985). 2. Se e Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment:The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (Ne w York: Vintage Books , 1989) , 6 9 ("S o th e typica l fairy-tal e splitting of the mother into a good [usually dead] mother and an evil stepmother serves the chil d well. It i s not onl y a means of preserving a n internal all-goo d

Notes to Chapter 8

213

mother when the real mother is not all-good, but it also permits anger at this bad 'stepmother' without endangering the goodwill of the true mother, who is viewed as a different person"). 3. Rober t Loui s Stevenson , Kidnapped (Ne w York: New American Library , 1987), 129. 4. Ibid. , 132. 5. Ibid . 6. United States v. Nusunginya, no. F88-063 CR (unpublished opinion, Alaska, 24 February 1989), 67. 7. Ibid. , 75. 8. Ibid. , 67. 9. Ibid. , 75. 10. John Steinbeck , The Grapes of Wrath (1939 ; reprint, Ne w York: Viking Press, 1958), 65. 11. Ibid. , 116 . The fil m version , eve n mor e tha n th e book , highlight s th e noncriminals' deligh t in supposing that Tom has illegally escaped fro m prison . See The Grapes of Wrath, prod . Darryl F. Zanuck, Twentieth Century-Fo x Film Corp., 1940. 12. Steinbeck , The Grapes of Wrath, 107 . 13. Ibid. , 114-15 (emphasis added). 14. Ibid. , 115. 15. Ibid. , 134. 16. Ibid. , 181-82. 17. Ibid. , 190-91. 18. Ibid. , 191. 19. Ibid. , 482. 20. Sophocles , Antigone, in World Drama, ed. Barrett Clark (New York: Dover Publications, 1933), 13:31-32. 21. Se e Edith Hamilton , The Greek Way to Western Civilization (Ne w York: New American Library, 1942), 263. 2 2. Se e Josue d e Castro, Death in the Northeast (Ne w York: Vintage Books, 1966), 7-8. 23. Se e Mauric e Hug h Keen , The Outlaws of Medieval Legend (London : Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1961), 10. 24. Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed., s.v. "bandit." 25. Se e Keen, Outlaws of Medieval Legend, 10 .

2I4

Notes to Chapter 8

26. Rober t Loui s Stevenson , The Black Arrow (Ne w York: Airmont Books , 1963), 51-52. 27. Anto n Blok , "Th e Peasan t an d th e Brigand : Socia l Banditr y Reconsid ered," Comparative Studies in Society and History 14 (September 1972): 500. 28. Ibid. , 500-501. 29. Se e Bill Richards, "As Legend Has It, He Used Pepper to Elude the Law," Wall Street Journal,1 7 July 1989, sec. 1, p. 1. 30. Ibid . 31. Se e People v. Goetz, 68 N.Y.2d 96, 497 N.E.2d 41 (1986) . 32. See , e.g., Joseph Berger, "Goetz Case: Commentary on Nature of Urban Life," New York Times, 1 8 June 1987 , sec . B , p . 6 (quotin g Professor s Ala n Dershowitz and Burt Neuborne to the effect that what Goetz did was illegal); Toni M. Massaro, "Peremptories or Peers?—Rethinking Sixth Amendment Doctrine, Images, and Procedures," North Carolina Law Review 64 (1986): 512^77. 33. Se e George Fletcher, A Crime of Self-Defense: Bernard Goetz and the Law on Trial (New York: Free Press, 1988) , 28 (referring t o Goetz as a "folk hero"); Ronald Goldfarb , "Violence , Vigilantism an d Justice," Criminal Justice Ethics 6 (1987): 2 (suggestin g tha t Goet z becam e a "nationa l hero " t o man y people) ; "Vigilante Justice," National Law Journal 7, 14 January 1985 , p. 12 (referring t o Goetz's "lawlessness" as "so easily admired by the public"); cf. Allen Lichtenstein, "Polls, Public Opinion, Pre-Trial Publicity and the Prosecution of Bernhard H . Goetz," Social Action and Law 1 0 (1985): 95-97 (describing news reports that the police hotline was inundated with calls expressing support for the still unidentified gunman, an d presentin g th e result s o f poll s showin g tha t th e majorit y o f th e public approved of the gunman's shooting the young men). 34. Quote d in Fletcher, A Crime of Self-Defense,20 1 (emphasis added). 35. Ibid , (emphasis added). 36. Se e Fenichel, The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,73. See generally Freud, "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality," in The Standard Edition, 7:123 , 15760. 37. Psychoanalyst s employ the term resistance to describe patients' opposition to becoming aware of their unconscious mental processes. I have refrained fro m employing thi s word here , becaus e its use is typically confine d t o th e analyti c situation. For a general psychoanalytic discussio n o f the difficultie s o f knowing oneself, se e Phili p Rieff , Freud: The Mind of the Moralist (Garde n City , N.Y.: Doubleday, 1961), 71-112. Psychoanalysis i s not, o f course, alon e in emphasizin g how painful i t i s for human beings to confront the truth about themselves. Consider, for example, the New Testament expression of this idea in Luke 6:41: "And why beholdest thou the

Notes to Chapter 8

2I

5

mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" 38. Fo r example, it was Carmen's freedom frommoral and legal scruples that attracted sopran o Jessye Norman t o her. Asked why she had departed from her usual repertoire to sing Carmen, Ms. Norman replied, "I enjoy having this character who will do whatever is necessary to get what she wants." Jessye Norman Sings "Carmen" (WPBA television broadcast, 20 November 1989). 39. Prospe r Merimee, Carmen, in Colomba and Carmen (New York: D. Appleton, 1901), 72. 40. Fo r a n explanatio n o f th e connectio n betwee n th e ana l zon e an d th e struggle ove r autonomy , se e Eri k Erikson , Childhood and Society (Ne w York : W. W. Norton, 1963) , 81-82 . Se e als o Rut h Munroe , Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought: An Exposition, Critique and Attempt at Integration (Ne w York : Holt , Rinehart and Winston, 1955) , 197 (discussing children whose "inner determination tends to develop in opposition to the outside world"). 41. Se e Walter Slote , "Cas e Analysis of a Revolutionary," i n A Strategy for Research on Social Policy, ed . Frank Bonilla and Jose Silva-Michelena (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1967) , 30 8 (proposing a distinction betwee n th e rebel, who fights against , and the revolutionary, who fightsfor). 42. Schiller , The Robbers, in Works, act 1, sc. 2. 43. George s Bizet, Carmen, librett o by L. Halevy and H. Meilac (New York: Dover Publications, 1970), act 2, sc. 4 (emphasis added). 44. Merimee , Colomba and Carmen, 5 3 (emphasis added). 45. Alfre d Noyes , The Highwayman, i n Collected Poems (London : J. Murray, 1963), 11-14. 46. Quote d in Hibbert, Highwaymen, 115 . 47. Quote d i n Alexande r Grinstein , "Vacations : A Psycho-Analytic Study, " International Journal of Psychoanalysis36 (1955): 183-84. 48. Ibid. , 184. 49. Quote d in Hibbert, Highwaymen, 120 . 50. Fran k Aydelotte , Elizabethan Rogues and Vagabonds (Oxford : Clarendo n Press, 1913) , 137. A similar observation appears in Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona. Valentine , having been ambushed by outlaws and invited to join their band, receives words of encouragement from his servant Speed: "Master, be one of them. It's an honourable kind of thievery." William Shakespeare, The Complete Works, ed . Stanle y Well s an d Gar y Taylo r (Oxford : Clarendo n Press , 1986) , 4.1.35. 51. Hibbert , Highwaymen, 116 , 117.

2l6

Notes to Chapter 8

52. The exampl e from the Daily Chronicle an d the one from Vogue ar e both taken fromthe Oxford English Dictionary, vol. 7, 233. 53. Fo r a discussion of the discrepancy between the myth and the reality of the highwaymen, see Hibbert, Highwaymen, 35-38 , 49-51. For similar discussions about other kinds of noble bandits, see Kent Steckmesser, "Robin Hood and the American Outlaw," Journal of American Folklore 79 (1966): 349-54; Linda Lewin, "Oligarchical Limitation s o f Social Banditry in Brazil: The Cas e of the 'Good ' Thief Antonio Silvino," in Bandidos: The Varieties of Latin American Banditry, ed . Richard Slatta (New York: Greenwood Press, 1987), 69; Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (Boston: Beacon Press, 1966), 214. 54. Se e David Newman and Robert Benton, "Lightning in a Bottle," in The Bonnie and Clyde Book, 17-18 . 55. Rober t Loui s Stevenson , Treasure Island (Ne w York: Charles Scribner' s Sons, 1911), 60. 56. Ibid. , 76, 77. 57. Ibid. , 90. 58. Ibid. , 109. 59. Ibid. , 260. 60. Treasure Island, prod. Hunt Stromberg, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1934. 61. Treasure Island, prod. Perce Pearce, Walt Disney, 1950. 62. Rober t Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (New York: Bantam Books, 1981). 63. Rober t Loui s Stevenson , Treasure Island (Ne w York: Charles Scribner' s Sons, 1911), 264-65. 64. Se e Susan Richmond, Treasure Island: A Play in Six Scenes (London: H. W. Deane, 1946) ; David William Moore, The End of Long John Silver (Ne w York: Thomas Y. Cromwell, 1946).

94.

65. Willia m Shakespeare, J Henry IV, in The Complete Works, 5.4.101-4 . 66. Robert Hapgood , "FalstafP s Vocation, " Shakespeare Quarterly 1 6 (1965): 67. Shakespeare , I Henry IF 2.2.86-88 (emphasis added). 68. Ibid. , 3.3.64-67.

69. Ibid . 70. R . C. Bald, Introduction to The First Part of Henry the Fourth, b y William Shakespeare, ed. R. C. Bald (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1946) . 71. Se e Danie l Defoe , Moll Flanders, Norto n Critica l Editio n (Ne w York: W. W. Norton, 1973 ) (1st ed. 1722 under title The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders).

Notes to Chapter 8

217

72. Arnol d Kettle, "In Defense of Moll Flanders," in ibid., 391. 73. Ibid . 74. Virginia Woolf, "Defoe," in Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe, 342. 75. Ibid. , 339. 76. Kettle , "In Defense of Moll Flanders," 392. 77. Ibid. , 391-92. 78. Se e Julian Symons , Mortal Consequences (Ne w York : Harpe r an d Row , 1972), 183-84. 79. Ibid. , 184. 80. Ibid . For essays offering thoughtful explanations for the widespread appeal of the detectiv e story , se e W. H. Auden, "Th e Guilt y Vicarage: Notes o n the Detective Story , by an Addict," Harpers Magazine 19 6 (1948): 406-12; Charles Rycroft, " A Detective Story : Psychoanalytic Observations, " Psychoanalytic Quarterly 26 (1957): 229-45 (suggesting that the criminal represents the reader). For a summary o f thi s literatur e an d a history o f crim e fiction , se e Symons , Mortal Consequences, 5-13 . 81. Rober t Pen n Warren , All the Kings Men (New York: Modern Library , 1953), 452. 82. Ibid . 83. Ibid . 84. Ibid. , 463. 85. Pete r Shaffer, Equus (New York: Avon Books, 1974), 94. 86. Ibid. , 95. 87. Conrad , Heart of Darkness,48. 88. Ibid. , 72. 89. Ibid . 90. Ibid . 91. I n British slang, nark means stool pigeon. 92. Coli n Maclnnes , Mr. Love and Justice (London : MacGibbo n an d Kee , i960), 59-60. 93. E . L. Doctorow, Billy Bathgate (New York: Random House, 1987), 11, 23. 94. Schiller , The Robbers, in Works, act 1, sc. 2. 95. Ibid . 96. Ibid . 97. Arthu r Cona n Doyle , "Th e Adventur e o f th e Fina l Problem, " i n The

218 Notes

to Chapter 8

Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury [hereinafter , Treasury] (Ne w York : Avenel Books, 1976), 317. 98. Ibid . 99. Ibid . 100. Ibid. , 326. 101. Arthu r Cona n Doyle , "Th e Adventur e o f th e Norwoo d Builder, " i n Treasury, 354 . 102. Ibid . 103. Arthu r Cona n Doyle, "The Adventure of the Missing Three Quarter, " in Treasury, 483, 491. 104. Fyodo r Dostoevsky , Crime and Punishment, Norto n Critica l Editio n (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975), 380 (emphasis added). 105. Se e ibid., 382. 106. Fo r an analysis of Porfiry's relationship with Raskolnikov that highlights Porfiry's fascination with the criminal and willingness to acknowledge his similarity to him, see Richard Weisberg, "Comparative Law in Comparative Literature: The Figur e o f the 'Examinin g Magistrate' i n Dostoevsk i an d Camus, " Rutgers Law Review 29 (1976): 244-48. 107. Margare t Mahler, Fred Pine, and Anni Bergman, The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant: Symbiosis and Individuation (Ne w York: Basic Books, 1975),

71.

108. Se e ibid., 78. 109. Se e ibid. no. Se e Arnold Rothstein , The Narcissistic Pursuit of Perfection (Ne w York: International Universities Press, 1984), 22. i n . Hein z Kohut, The Analysis of the Self (NewYork: International Universities Press, 1971), 27. 112. Rothstein , Narcissistic Pursuit of Perfection,45. 113. Geor g Simmel , "Th e Stranger, " i n The Sociology of Georg Simmel, ed . Kurt H. Wolff (New York: Free Press, 1950), 402. 114. Merimee , Colomba and Carmen, 7 (emphasis added). 115. Stevenson , Kidnapped, 66. 116. F . Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, J925X 44117. Similarly , i n th e Hitchcoc k fil m To Catch a Thief, Francin e Simpso n plainly wants to believe that John Robie has reverted to his former profession of jewelry thief. In her eyes, she implies, he would cut a more glamorous figureas an

Notes to Chapter 9

219

active criminal than as a reformed one . To Catch a Thief prod. Alfred Hitchcock, Paramount Pictures Corporation, 1954. 118. Fitzgerald , The Great Gatsby, 60, 49. 119. Thoma s Mott Osborne , Within Prison Walls (1914 ; reprint, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1969). 120. Ibid. , 15 (emphasis added). 121. Ibid. , 18. 122. See , e.g., ibid., 11, 197; cf. 187-88. 123. Ibid. , 43, 51,63, 74. 124. Ibid. , 76. 125. Se e Frank Tannenbaum, Osborne of Sing Sing (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1933), 66, 71-87. 126. Se e ibid., 279. 127. Le v Tolstoi, Resurrection (Moscow: Foreign Language Publishing House, 1899). For another exampl e of the criminal-as-strange r theme , conside r Albert Camus's nove l The Stranger (Ne w York : Vintage Books , 1954) , i n whic h th e protagonist, Meursault, unlawfully kill s an Arab. Following the crime, Meursault is tried and convicted on legal irrelevancies—aspects o f his character that make Meursault seem a stranger or foreigner in his society (for instance, that he did not cry at his mother's funeral and that he does not believe in God). For an analysis of Meursault's estrangement that focuses on his inability to use words, see Richard Weisberg, The Failure of the Word (Ne w Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, 1984), 115-23. No character in the novel seems to embody an overt admiration for Meursault; however, hi s creator , Camus , exhibit s a sympathy an d regar d fo r him . Camus chooses to write the novel in the firstperson, thereby allowing the reader to enter the criminal's mind. Moreover, as I have already indicated, he portrays Meursault as a victim of injustice. Richard Posner interprets Camus' portrait of Meursault as an admiring one, for he protests that The Stranger has "little . .. t o do with law" and "muc h . . . t o d o wit h a for m o f neoromanticis m i n whic h criminal s ar e made heroes." Richard Posner , Law and Literature (Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988), 90. NOTES T O CHAPTE R 9 1. Se e Guy de Maupassant, Ball-of-Fat, i n The Great Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant (New York: Pocket Books, 1955) . In nineteenth-century France, the legality o f prostitutio n wa s "left : conveniently vague. " Se e Jill Harsin , Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century Paris (Princeton , N.J. : Princeto n Universit y

220

Notes to Chapter p

Press, 1985), xvi. In practice, women were allowed to work as prostitutes provided they registered with the police and abided by the regulations affecting them. Ibid. If arrested for a violation of the rules, they could be imprisoned without trial on the curiou s theory that b y registering with the police they had put themselves "outside the law." Ibid., 6-7. 2. Maupassant, Ball-of-Fat, 237 . 3. Ibid. , 238. 4. Ibid. , 244-45. 5. Ibid. , 246. 6. Charle s Dickens, Great Expectations (New York: Heritage Press, 1939), 21. 7. Ibid. , 23. 8. Ibid. , 24. 9. Ibid. , 42-43. 10. Ibid. , 307. 11. Ibid . 12. Ibid. , 308. 13. Ibid. , 322. 14. Ibid. , 315. 15. Se e Munroe, Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought, 26 1 ("The powe r o f th e repressed impulses is seen in the exaggeration of the opposite tendencies. Excessive tendencies in one direction—the 'virtue s to a fault' o f common parlance— typically (i.e., not always but very often) represent a buttressing of the repression of unacceptable, impulses of contrary nature"). For general discussions of reaction-formation, se e ibid., 251-54, and Fenichel, Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,

151-53.

16. Dickens , Great Expectations, 322 . 17. Ibid. , 253. 18. Ibid. , 254. A. O. J. Cockshut has called attention to the autobiographical significance of this passage: "In these words of Pip, Dickens expressed one of the great enigmas of his own life." See A. O.J. Cockshut, The Imagination of Charles Dickens (New York: New York University Press, 1962), 47. A detailed discussion of Newgate Priso n a s it appear s i n Dickens' s writing s ca n b e foun d i n Phili p Collins, Dickens and Crime (London: Macmillan, 1962), 27-51. 19. Fo r an interesting analysis of Pip's criminal guilt that is different from,yet compatible with , m y interpretation, se e Julian Moynahan , "Th e Hero' s Guilt : The Cas e of Great Expectations, " Essays in Criticism 1 0 (January i960) : 60-79 (arguing that Pip is associated with violent aggressiveness through his surrogates, the sadistic Orlick and Drummle).

Notes to Chapter 9 41.

221

20. Fre d Kaplan , Dickens: A Biography (Ne w York: William Morrow, 1988) , 21. Ibid. , 38.

22. Ibid. , 39. 23. John Forster , The Life of Charles Dickens (London : Dent , 1966) , 1:25 . Quoted i n Leonar d Shengold , Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 191 (Shengold's emphasis deleted; min e added) . Fo r a general discussio n o f Dickens' s experienc e i n th e blacking factory an d its importance i n his life, se e Edmund Wilson , "Dickens : The Two Scrooges," in The Wound and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature (Cambridge, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1941) , 4-8. 24. Se e Kaplan, Dickens, 21 . 25. See , generally, Charle s Brenner , An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis (New York: International Universities Press, 1973), 201-9 (defining and providing illustrations of compromise formation); Munroe, Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought, 259-61 (explaining the technique of compromise). 26. Collins , The Woman in White, 195 . 27. Ibid. , 506. 28. Ibid. , 507. 29. Ibid. , 413. 30. Ibid. , 414. 31. John Millington Synge, The Playboy of the Western World (London: Benn, 1975), act 1, lines 555-59. 32. Ibid. , act 2, lines 30-33. 33. Ibid. , act 3, lines 414-18. 34. Ibid. , act 3, lines 424-25. 35. Ibid. , act 3, line 434. 36. Ibid. , act 3, lines 544-46. 37. Ibid. , act 3, lines 624-25. 38. Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed., unabridged, s.v. "gallows." The firstmeaning is now obsolete; the second is slang. 39. Se e Edward Hirsh , "Th e Gallou s Stor y and th e Dirt y Deed : The Two Playboys," Modern Drama 26 (March 1983) : 85-91; Zack Bowen, "Synge: The Playboy of the Western World," in A J. M. Synge Literary Companion, ed . Edward Kopper, Jr. (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988), 7-8. 40. Se e Sanfor d Kadis h an d Stephe n J . Schulhofer , Criminal Law and Its Processes, 3 d ed. (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 686 (quoting San Francisco Chronicle, 7 September 1974, p. 2).

222

Notes to the Conclusion to Part Two

41. Victo r Hugo, Les Miserables, trans. Charles E. Wilbour (New York: Modern Library, 1938). 42. Ibid. , 1107. 43. Ibid. , 1107-8. NOTES T O TH E CONCLUSIO N T O PAR T TW O 1. Se e Eissler, "Scapegoats of Society," in Searchlights on Delinquency, 299-304. 2. Rut h Eissler suggests that society, needing criminals as scapegoats, ensures the criminals ' existenc e i n tw o ways: (1 ) b y seducing individual s int o live s of crime, and (2) by interfering with measures to prevent delinquency. See ibid., 295. From the discipline of sociology rather than psychoanalysis, Kai Erikson has also raised the question whether society is organized in such a way as to encourage deviant behavior, including criminality. Se e Kai Erikson, "O n th e Sociolog y of Deviance," i n Crime, Law, and Society, ed . Abraha m Goldstei n an d Josep h Goldstein (New York: Free Press, 1971), 94. Erikson's work builds on that of the great French sociologis t Emile Durkheim, who observed, as early as 1895 , that crime was really "an integral part of all healthy societies." Emile Durkheim, The Rules of Sociological Method (1895; reprint, Glencoe, 111.: Free Press, 1958). Quoted in Ka i Erikson , "O n th e Sociolog y o f Deviance, " 87 . In hi s classi c work The Division of Labor in Society, Durkhei m had already proposed that crime performs an important function b y uniting people in a common stance of righteous indignation, thereb y strengthenin g th e group' s bon d o f solidarity. Se e Emile Durk heim, The Division of Labor in Society (1893; reprint, New York: Free Press, 1933), 108-9. 3. Cf . Erikson, "On the Sociology of Deviance," 94 ("[T]he agencies built by society for preventing deviance are often s o poorly equipped for the task that we might well ask why this is regarded a s their 'real ' functio n i n th e first place"). For the suggestion that prisons actually generate crime, see Johannes Andenaes, Punishment and Deterrence (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1974), 179; Peter Low , John Jeffries an d Richar d Bonnie , Criminal Law, 2d ed . (Mineola , N.Y.: Foundation Press, 1986) , 27 ("[M]uch of the recent criminological literature" include s claim s tha t "prison s bree d crime") ; Rober t Blecker , "Have n o r Hell? Inside Lorton Central Prison: Experiences of Punishment Justified," Stanford Law Review 42 (1990): 1194-95 (quoting prisoners who assert that doing time makes a person more dangerous upon release). NOTES T O TH E PROLOGU E T O PAR T THRE E 1. See , e.g. , Aristotle , The Rhetoric of Aristotle, trans . Richar d C . Jebb, ed . John E . Sandys (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1909) , 149

Notes to the Prologue to Part Three 22

3

(referring t o the "supreme importance of metaphor both in poetry and prose"); Owen Barfield, "Poetic Diction and Legal Fiction," in The Rediscovery of Meaning and Other Essays (Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1977), 45 ("But figurative expressio n is found everywhere; its roots descend very deep . .. int o the nature . .. of language itself"); C. S. Lewis, "Bluspels and Flalansferes: A Semantic Nightmare," in Rehabilitations (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1972), 135-58 passim (arguing that metaphors are necessary for meaning, which is the precondition of truth or falsehood); John M. Murry, "Metaphor," in Countries of the Mind (London: Oxford University Press, 1931), 1 ("Metapho r is as ultimate as speech itself, and speech as ultimate as thought"). 2. See , e.g., Barfield, "Poeti c Diction an d Legal Fiction," 63. More specifi cally, Judge Cardozo warned, "Metaphors in law are to be narrowly watched, for starting as devices to liberate thought, they end often b y enslaving it." Berkey v. Third Ave. Ry. Co., 15 5 N.E. 58, 61 (N.Y. 1926). 3. I have uncovered onl y one legal article that touche s on the metaphor of filth in crimina l justice . Se e Pete r Linebaugh , "(Marxist ) Socia l Histor y an d (Conservative) Legal History: A Reply to Professor Langbein," New York University Law Review 60 (1985): 212 . In a section o f his articl e entitle d "Garbage, " Linebaugh addresses Professor John Langbein's claim that in eighteenth-century England, "th e crimina l justice syste m occupie s a place not muc h mor e centra l than th e garbag e collectio n system. " Ibid. , 238 . Linebaug h respond s tha t th e comparison betwee n garbag e collectio n an d crimina l justic e i s indee d apt , fo r prisons an d court s wer e locate d nea r th e ditc h tha t carrie d sewag e throug h London to the Thames River. Moreover, crime prevention, like garbage collection, wa s a basic functio n o f government . I n contras t t o Langbein' s belittlin g intent, Linebaugh argues that the metaphor actually highlights the importance of criminal justic e i n eighteenth-centur y England . A t tha t tim e an d place , when sewage was nearly omnipresent, the disposal of filthwas hardly a trivial concern. Ibid., 238-42. Numerous legal scholars have examined metaphors in noncriminal contexts. See, e.g., Milner S. Ball, Lying Down Together: Law, Metaphor, and Theology (Madison: Universit y o f Wisconsi n Press , 1985) ; James B . White, When Words Lose Their Meaning (Chicago : University o f Chicag o Press , 1984) ; Michael Boudin , "Antitrust Doctrin e an d th e Swa y o f Metaphor, " Georgetown Law Journal 7 5 (1986): 395; Burr Henly, "'Penumbra': The Roots of a Legal Metaphor," Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 1 5 (1987): 81; Steven L. Winter, "The Metaphor of Standing and the Problem of Self-Governance," Stanford Law Review 40 (1988): 1371. The particular metaphor comparing filth to evil has been addressed in some works of literary criticism. See, e.g., Victor Brombert, Victor Hugo and the Visionary Novel (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Universit y Press, 1984) , 112-3 5 passim (dis-

224 Notes

to the Prologue to Pan Three

cussing the excremental motif in Les Miserables); Carolin e E E. Spurgeon, Shakespeare's Imagery and What It Tells t/jr (1935; reprint, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968) , 159-6 1 (showing that Shakespear e conceive d o f evi l as dirty, black, and diseased); Gary S. Morson, "Verbal Pollution in The Brothers Karamazov," in Critical Essays on Dostoevsky, ed . Robin Miller (Boston: G. K. Hall, 1986), 234-42 passim (analyzing the theme of filthin The Brothers Karamazov). 4. Accordin g t o th e lates t figures from the Unite d State s Departmen t o f Justice, 1.2 million persons were held in local jails or in state or federal prisons in 1991. See U.S. Department of Justice, Correctional Populations in the United States, 1991 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1993), 1.11. 5. See , e.g., Norval Morris and Michael Tonry, Between Prison and Probation (New York: Oxford Universit y Press, 1990) , 6-9 ("[T]here is general agreement about the need to expand 'intermediate punishments,' " such as "intensive probation, the fine,the community service order"); Fox Butterfield, "Are American Jails Becoming Shelters from the Storm?" New York Times, 1 9 July 1992, sec. E, p. 4 (citing Norval Morris, who believes that "increased imprisonment has made no difference i n the crime rate," and citing exorbitant expenditures on new prisons); Don Terry, "More Familiar, Life in Cell Seems Less Terrible," New York Times, 13 Septembe r 1992 , sec . A, p . 1 (quoting Ne w Have n polic e chie f Nichola s Pastore o n the "mean-spirite d syste m of justice" that warehouses criminals but lacks genuine concern for them); Joseph B. Treaster, "Two U.S.Judges, Protesting Policies, Are Declining to Take Drug Cases," New York Times, 1 7 April 1993, sec. A, p. 7 (discussing two prominent judges who refuse to preside over drug cases to protest our society's emphasis on arrests and imprisonment). 6. Thus , Judge Richard Posner cites our "exceptionally severe criminal punishments (many for intrinsicall y minor, esoteric, or archaic offenses)" a s one of the factor s makin g th e Unite d State s "on e o f th e mos t pena l o f th e civilize d nations . .. a disturbing state of affairs." Revie w of Hitlers Justice: The Courts of the Third Reich, b y Ingo Muller, The New Republic 20 4 (1991): 42. O n a more specific level, Judge Harold Greene recently declared the Federal Sentencing Guidelines unconstitutional as applied to a defendant in a drug case. The defendant had been convicte d o f possessing abou t one-fourt h o f a n ounc e o f heroin an d cocaine—an offense requirin g thirty-years' imprisonment, according to the Guidelines. Sentencin g the defendant to ten years in prison, Judge Greene observed that the mandated sentence was "grossly out of proportion to the seriousness" of the crime. He added, "We cannot allow justice and rationality to become casualties of a war o n drug s bein g waged with Draconian , politicall y expedien t sentences. " Michael York, "Judge Rejects Federal Sentencing Guidelines; Mandatory 30-Year Imprisonment fo r Repea t Drug Offender Calle d Unconstitutional, " Washington Post, 3 0 April 1993, sec. D, p. 5. 7. Fo r the idea of feces as an artistic creation, consider the following incident:

Notes to Chapter 10

22

5

"[A] three-year-old bo y . .. cam e into the parental bedroom carrying a chamber pot containing three turds: one large, one middle-sized, and one small...; th e boy exclaimed with great joy, 'Look, I've made a daddy, a mommy, and a me!' " Leonard Shengold, Halo in the Sky: Observations on Anality and Defense (New York: Guilford Press , 1988) , 46. See also ibid., 47 (quoting a letter in which Gustave Flaubert jubilantly looks forward t o his future creativ e writing with the words, "[T]hen the shitting: and the shit had better be good!"). For th e notio n o f excremen t a s a gift, se e Freud , "O n Transformation s o f Instincts Exemplified i n Anal Erotism," in The Standard Edition, 1 7 (1955): 130 (describing feces as "the infant's first gift, a part of his body which he will give up only on persuasion by someone he loves"). As this quotation implies, excrement can also signify wealth. To a child, feces are " a very precious substance. " Fenichel , The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, 281. Indeed, feces may be considered the prototypical possession, being "actually outside [the body] but symbolically inside." Ibid. Cf. N. Brown, Life against Death, igi, ("Possessions are worthless to the body unless animated by the fantasy that they are excrement").

NOTES T O CHAPTE R I O 1. Charle s Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (New York: New American Library, !93 )> 772. United States v. Barker, 54 6 F.2 d 940 , 97 3 (D.C . Cir . 1976 ) (emphasi s added). 3. Se e Criminal Victimization in the United States, 199 0 (Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department o f Justice, 1992) , 73 (stating that 47.2% o f all violent crimes occur in the daytime). 4. Bartlett , Familiar Quotations, 1098 . 5. P . D. James, Devices and Desires (New York: Knopf, 1990) , 66-67. 6

6. Ibid . 7. Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed., s.v. "dark." Cf. Joseph T. Shipley, The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots (Baltimore : Johns Hopkin s Universit y Press , 1984) , 68 (deriving dark fromaroot meaning muddied). 8. Rober t Coles, Children of Crisis (Boston: Little, Brown, 1967), 357. 9. Patrici a Williams, The Alchemy of Race and Rights (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991), 198. 10. Willia m Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth, i n The Complete Works, ac t 1, sc. 5.

226

Notes to Chapter 10

ii. Ibid. , act 3, sc. 2. 12. Roselle n Brown, Before and After (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1992), 5713. Lucill e E Becker, Georges Simenon (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1977), 31. 14. Shakespeare , The Tragedy of Macbeth,in The Complete Works, act 1, sc. 1. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid. , act 4, sc. 1. 17. Ibid. , act 3, sc. 5. 18. Ibid. , act 4, sc. 1. 19. Ibid. 20. Daphn e du Maurier, Jamaica Inn (New York: Sun Dial Press, 1937), 1. 21. Ibid. , 2. 22. Se e Shipley, Origins of English Words, 240 . 23. Psycho, prod . Alfred Hitchcock , Paramount Pictures Corp. , i960 . Films, which must do with pictures what books can do with words, afford many examples of our theme . See , e.g., Murder by Decree, prod . Bo b Clark and Ren e Dupont, Highlight Theatrica l Production , 197 9 (usin g thic k fo g t o evok e a n ominou s feeling i n thi s movi e abou t Jack th e Ripper) ; The Princess Comes Across, prod . Arthur Hornblow , Jr., Paramoun t Picture s Corp. , 193 6 (settin g th e stag e fo r attempted murder with heavy fog and darkness). 24. Dickens , Bleak House (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1956) , 1. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. Ibid. 28. Ibid. 29. Ibid., 5. 30. Lawrenc e Kubie, "The Fantasy of Dirt," Psychoanalytic Quarterly 6 (1937): 39531. Ibid. , 393. Likewise, the distinguished anthropologis t Mary Douglas believes that realistic concerns cannot explain our attitudes toward dirt. She writes: "Nor d o ou r idea s abou t diseas e accoun t fo r th e rang e o f ou r behaviou r i n cleaning or avoidin g dirt. In chasin g dirt,... w e are positively reordering our environment, making it conform t o an idea." Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger (London: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966), 2. 32. Kubie , "Th e Fantas y o f Dirt, " 391 . Bu t se e Walter O . Weyrauc h an d Maureen A. Bell, "Autonomous Lawmaking: The Case of the Gypsies," Yale Law

Notes to Chapter 10 22

7

Journal 103 (1993): 323 (discussing gypsies' view that bodily products emanating from th e top half of the body are clean; only products emerging from the lower half of the body are considered polluting). 33. Kubie , "The Fantasy of Dirt," 391-92. 34. Erwi n Strauss, On Obsession: A Clinical and Methodological Study, Nervou s and Menta l Diseas e Monographs , no . 7 3 (1948 ; reprint , Ne w York : Johnson Reprint Corp., 1968), 13. 35. Ibid . 36. Genesis 2:7 (New American Catholic ed. 1952). 37. The Book of J,trans. David Rosenberg and ed. Harold Bloom (New York: Vintage Books, 1991), 61. 38. Ibid. , 175. 39. Langdo n Smith, "Evolution," in Evolution: A Fantasy (Boston: J. W. Luce, 1909), unpaginated. 40. Arthu r Cona n Doyle , The Hound of the Baskervilles, i n Sherlock Holmes Treasury, 544 . 41. Ibid. , 535. 42. See , e.g., ibid., 575, 585. 43. Ibid. , 617. 44. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed. , s.v . "moor." 45. Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed., s.v. "bog." 46. Doyle , The Hound of the Baskervilles, 625. 47. Ibid . 48. Ibid . 49. Fo r the distinction between a chance image and a network of images, see Yevgeny Zamyatin, "Backstage, " in A Soviet Heretic: Essays by Yevgeny Zamyatin (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970), 198. 50. John Fowles, foreword t o The Hound of the Baskervilles, b y Arthur Conan Doyle (London: John Murray and Jonathan Cape, 1974), 11. 51. John Bunyan , The Pilgrims Progress (Nashville : Cokesbur y Press , n.d.) . (Part I was first published in 1678; Part II in 1684). 52. Ibid. , 8. 53. Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed., s.v. "slough."

228

Notes to Chapter 10

54. Boethius , The Consolation of Philosophy,trans. I.T., revised by H. F. Stewart, in The Theological Tractates and The Consolation of Philosophy (Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1918), 315. 55. Boethius , The Consolation of Philosophy (Quee n Elizabet h trans. , 1593) , quoted in Oxford English Dictionary 15:740 (1989). 56. Georg e Eliot, Middlemarch (New York: W. W. Norton, 1977), 475. 57. Dickens , Oliver Twist (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987), 135. 58. Dickens , Great Expectations (New York: Heritage Press, 1939), 11-12. 59. Ibid. , 14. 60. Peter Pan (National Broadcasting Co., Inc., 8 December i960). 61. Ibid . 62. James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, i n The Portable James Joyce, ed. Harry Levin (New York: Viking Press, 1947), 374. 63. Willia m Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet,in The Complete Works, ac t 3, sc. 3 . 64. Ephesians 5:2 (King James); Ephesians 5:2 (Revised Standard Version). 65. Fyodo r Dostoevsky , The Brothers Karamazov, trans . Richar d Pevea r and Larissa Volokhonsky (San Francisco: North Point Press, 1990), 327, 330. 66. Ibid., 783 n. 2. 67. Ibid. , 225. 68. Ibid. , 98. For an analysis of the theme of filthin The Brothers Karamazov, see Gary S . Morson, "Verba l Pollution i n The Brothers Karamazov," i n Critical Essays, passim. 69. Feodo r Dostoevsky , Crime and Punishment, Norto n Critica l Edition , 2d ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1975), 2. 70. Ibid. , 132, 407. 71. Se e George Gibian, "Traditional Symbolism in Crime and Punishment," in ibid., 525. 72. Fo r a discussion of children's attraction to anal things, see Ruth Munroe, Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought, 194-96 . 73. Slime (Nickelodeon trademark, MTV Networks 1992). 74. The Official lcky-Poo Book (Palo Alto: Klutz Press, 1990). 75. Munroe, Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought, 252 . 76. Se e Brenner, An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis,91-93. 77. Fo r discussions of cleanliness and orderliness as components of the obsessive character , se e Kar l Abraham , "Contribution s t o th e Theor y o f th e Anal

Notes to Chapter 10

229

Character," in Selected Papers of Karl Abraham (London : Hogarth Press , 1948) , 371, 388-89; Sigmund Freud, Character and Anal Erotism, in The Standard Edition, 9:167-75; MacKinnon and Michels, The Psychiatric Interview, 90-91 . 78. Eri k Erikson, Young Man Luther (New York: W. W. Norton, 1962), 246. 79. Cf . V. E. von Gebsattel, "The World of the Compulsive," in Existence, ed . Rollo May et al. (New York: Basic Books, 1958), 187 ("Now the image of dirt or of death afflicts him with constant contamination"). 80. Se e Philip Wheelwright, Metaphor and Reality (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1962), 130. 81. Se e Han J. W . Drijvers, "Ablutions, " in Encyclopedia of Religion (Mirce a Eliade ed . 1987) , 1:9-1 3 passim ; Miche l Meslin , "Baptism, " i n Encyclopedia of Religion, 2:59-6 3 passim. 8 2. Bunyan , Pilgrim s Progress, 2 2. 83. Sophocles , Oedipus Tyrannus, quote d in Philip Wheelwright, The Burning Fountain: A Study in the Language of Symbolism, rev . ed. (Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1968), 181. 84. Georg e Gordo n Byron , Cain: A Mystery, ac t 3 , line s 520-23 , i n Lord Byrons Cain, b y Thomas Guy Steffan (Austin : University of Texas Press, 1968), 256. 85. Shakespeare , The Tragedy of Macbeth,ac t 2, sc. 2. 86. Ibid. , act 5, sc. 1. 87. Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis, s.v . "undoing." See also Fenichel, Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,289 . 88. Munroe , Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought, 257 . 89. Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 2 d ed., s.v. "offal." 90. Se e Kubie, "Th e Fantas y of Dirt," 416 ("That which is dirty will make one sick, and sickness and dirt become synonymous"). 91. Dickens, ^ Tale of Two Cities, 237 . 92. Carolin e F. E. Spurgeon, Shakespeares Imagery and What It Tells Us (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968), 213. 93. Dickens , Great Expectations, 204 . 94. Ibid. , 200. 95. Sophocles , Oedipus Tyrannus (New York: W. W. Norton, 1970), 1st performance c. 429 b.c. For discussions of murder and pollution in ancient Greece, see Douglas M. MacDowell, Athenian Homicide (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963); Richard A. Posner, "Retribution an d Related Concepts of Punishment," Journal of Legal Studies 9 (1980): 71, 83-90.

230

Notes to Chapter 10

96. John Milton, Paradise Lost, i n Great Books of the Western World, 2 d ed., ed. Mortimer J. Adler (Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1990) 29:11.48-52. 97. Harr y Blamires, Miltons Creation: A Guide through ^Paradise Lost" (London: Methuen, 1971), 273. 98. Se e Genesis/\:i6. 99. Se e Matthew 25:32-33; The Interpreters Bible 7:563. 100. Luke 16:20-21. 101. Luke 16:26. 102. James Frazer, The Golden Bough (New York: Macmillan, 1950), 260. 103. Ibid . In primitive societies, persons to whom taboos apply are sometimes considered polluted , at other times, sacred. Ibid.; Mary Douglas, "Taboo," New Society 3 (1964): 24. So also criminals are considered unclean, and they, too, are sometimes viewed as holy. Thus, in Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods and became, by the same act, the savior of mankind. Likewise, according to Christian theology , Christ was convicted o f crimes under Roman law; in the act o f bein g punished , h e redeeme d th e sin s o f humanity . Eve n th e ordinar y criminal was, in Dostoevsky's view, "almost a Redeemer, who . .. ha d taken on himself the guilt which must else have been borne by others." Sigmund Freud, "Dostoevsky and Parricide," in The Standard Edition, 21:190 . See also Philip Rieff, Freud: The Mind of the Moralist (Garde n City , N.Y. : Doubleday , 1961) , 303- 5 (discussing the "ethical criminal"). 104. Fenichel , Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,288 . 105. Se e Martha Himmelfarb, Tours of Hell(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983), 106-7. 106. Se e I. H . Gorski , "Gehenna, " i n New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol . 6 , ed. The Catholi c University of America (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967) , 312-13; Leonard Bushinsk i an d J. T Nelis , "Gehenna, " in Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, ed . Louis E Hartman (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963) , 847-48; A. Viard, "Gehenna," i n Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion, vol . F-N , ed . Pau l Meagher , Thomas O'Brien, and Sister Consuelo Maria Aherne (Washington, D.C.: 1979), 1457107. Milton, Paradise Lost, book 1, lines 61-63. 108. Ibid. , book 1, lines 71-74. 109. Se e Philippe Aries, The Hour of Our Death (Ne w York: Alfred Knopf , 1981), 43-44. no. Euclid v. Ambler, 27 2 U.S. 365, 381 (1926) .

Notes to Chapter n

2

3i

NOTES T O CHAPTE R I I i. Se e Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore (Ne w York: Alfred A . Knopf, 1987) , 611 n. 2.1 am indebted to The Fatal Shore for awakening my interest in Australian history. This beautifully crafted book, while not explicitly psychoanalytic, provides the kind of material that the psychoanalytically oriented interpreter requires. 2. Willia m Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England,3 d ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1768), 137-38. 3. Ibid. 4. Ibid . 5. Se e Hughes, Fatal Shore, 40. 6. Se e ibid., 40-42. 7. Se e C. M. H. Clark, A History of Australia(Parkville, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1962), 73-75. 8. Se e ibid., 76, 81-82. 9. See , e.g. , Geoffre y Blainey , The Tyranny of Distance (Sout h Melbourne : Macmillan, 1982), passim; D. J. Mulvaney and J. Peter White, eds., Australians: A Historical Library (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 394. 10. Alan Frost, Convicts and Empire (Melbourne and New York: Oxford Uni versity Press, 1980) , 182 . In significant language , Frost also observes, "The rag and bone shop of Australia's beginning was perhaps not so foul as we have for so long supposed." Ibid., 135. 11. Davi d MacKay, A Place of Exile (Melbourne and New York: Oxford University Press, 1985), 3. 12. Se e ibid., 61; Hughes, Fatal Shore, 65. 13. Se e Hughes, Fatal Shore, 64-66 ; see also MacKay, A Place of Exile, 59-6 1 (providing detailed evidence that New South Wales had no credibility as a strategic base). 14. MacKay, A Place of Exile,56 . 15. Ibid. , 57. 16. Hughes , Fatal Shore, 42. 17. Ibid. , 57. 18. Se e Blainey, Tyranny of Distance,19 . 19. Cora l Lansbury, Arcady in Australia (Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1970), 13 (quoting Charles Lamb). 20. Godfre y C . Mundy , Our Antipodes, 3 vols. (London : Richar d Bentley , 1852).

232 Notes

to Chapter 11

21. Willia m Ullathorne, D.D., The Catholic Mission in Australasia (Liverpool: Rockliff and Duckworth, 1837), iv. 22. Rev . Sydney Smith, Edinburgh Review, quote d in Hughes, Fatal Shore, 35 5 (emphasis added). 23. The Times, 2 9 March 1849 , quote d i n Willia m Parke r Morrell , British Colonial Policy in the Age of Peel and Russell, 404 (emphasis added). 2 4. Mundy , Our Antipodes, 3:112 . 25. Jeremy Bentham, "Panopticon Versus New South Wales," in The Works of Jeremy Bentham, ed . John Bowring (Edinburgh: William Tate, 1843), 4:176. Nor is thi s a n accidenta l choic e o f images , fo r Bentha m goe s o n t o describ e th e banished convicts as "this fruitlessly expelled mass of corruption." Ibid., 191. 26. The Times, 1 8 December 1846 , quoted in Morrell, British Colonial Policy, 396 (emphasis added). 27. Mundy, Our Antipodes, quote d in A. G. L. Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies (1966; reprint , Melbourne : Melbourn e Universit y Press , 1978) , 34 9 (emphasis added). 28. Quarterly Review, 1828 , quoted in Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies, 143 . 29. Bathurst Free Press, 1 1 January 1851, quoted in Michael Sturma, Vice in a Vicious Society (St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1983) , 51 (emphasis added). 30. Se e Websters New International Dictionary, 2 d ed., 2252. 31. Hughes , Fatal Shore, 556 . 32. The Times, 1 7 August 1852 , reprinted i n Lloyd Evans and Paul Nichols, eds., Convicts and Colonial Society: 1788-1853 (Stanmore, N.S.W.: Cassell Australia, 1976), 236. 33. Morrell, British Colonial Policy, 39 3 (quoting Latrobe's report to Grey, 31 May 1847). 34. Lansbury , Arcady in Australia, 16 4 (emphasis added). 35. Se e Mundy, Our Antipodes, 1:105 ; Sturma, Vice in a Vicious Society, 20 . 36. Mundy, Our Antipodes, 3:112 . 37. Nineteenth Century, Januar y 1889 , quote d i n Sidne y Rosenberg , "Blac k Sheep an d Golde n Fleece : A Study o f Nineteenth-Centur y Englis h Attitude s toward Australian Colonials" (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1954), 202-3. 38. Parliamentar y History, xxviii, cols. 1223-2 5 (1791), reprinted i n Convicts and Colonial Society: 1788-1853, 35 . 39. Quarterly Review 27 (1828), quoted in Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies, 143 . 40. The Molesworth Report, reprinte d i n Convicts and Colonial Society: IJ88i853, 76 , 79.

Notes to Chapter n

2

33

41. Thi s follows from the principle of psychic determinism: "In the mind, as in physical nature about us, nothing happens by chance." Brenner, An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis,2 . Much of traditional literary criticism presupposes that the author's choice of metaphors provides insight into the author's mind. For a rare explici t acknowledgmen t o f thi s assumption , se e Spurgeon , Shakespeare's Imagery, 4 : "In the case of a poet, I suggest it is chiefly through his images that he, to some extent unconsciously, 'gives himself away.' " 42. Lewis , "Bluspels and Flalansferes," 141. 43. Ibid . 44. Hughes , Fatal Shore, 285 . 45. Chaplai n Johnson, who witnessed the disembarkation of the Second Fleet, wrote that the prisoners were "covered, almost, with their own nastiness." Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies, 108 . After the exceedingly high death rate on the Second Fleet, authorities attempted to improve conditions; nevertheless, missionaries on later ships described the "loathsomeness," "perfect darkness, " and "dreary darkness" of the convicts' habitation. Ibid., i n . 46. Fo r a detailed discussion of repression, see Munroe, Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought, 245-49 . 47. Se e Jack Novick and Kerry Kelly, "Projection and Externalization," in The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 2 5 (1970): 81 (defining externalization a s "those processes whic h lea d t o th e subjective allocation of inner phenomena to the outer world"). 48. The Gentlemans Magazine, Octobe r 1786, quoted in Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies, 50 . 49. Nathanie l Wraxall, A Short Review of the Political State of Great Britain at the Commencement of the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-Seven, 77 83, reprinted in Convicts and Colonial Society: 1788-1853, 33 . 50. Ibid . This languag e recall s th e priso n t o whic h th e falle n angel s were banished in Paradise Lost: As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n As fromthe center thrice to th' utmost Pole. —Milton, Paradise Lost, book 1, lines 73-74 51. Wraxall , A Short Review, reprinte d i n Convicts and Colonial Society: 17881853, 33 . Compare Jeremy Bentham's view of transportation: " 'I sentence you,' says the judge , 'bu t t o wha t I kno w not—perhap s t o shipwreck—perhap s t o famine—perhaps t o be devoured by wild beasts.... I rid myself of the sight of you.' " Quoted in F. L. W. Wood, "Jeremy Bentham versus New South Wales," Royal Australian Historical Society: Journal and Proceedings 19 (1933): 343. 52. Wraxall , A Short Review, reprinte d i n Convicts and Colonial Society: 1788**S3> 33 -

2

34

Notes to Chapter n

53. Se e Hughes, Fatal Shore, 16 0 ("[M]any early convicts, up to the end of the Napoleonic Wars , went o n boar d th e 'Ba y Ships ' fo r small , ofte n ridiculousl y slight, offenses"). Whether the people transported to Australia were serious criminals or only trivial offenders ha s been the subject o f much debate. On the one hand, many Australians maintain that the convicts were basically innocent victims of harsh laws—poachers who needed food for starving children, for example, or oppressed politica l prisoners . O n th e othe r hand , historian s hav e increasingl y come to reject thi s view, especially as regards th e late r period . See , e.g., ibid., 158-60, 163; Shaw, Convicts and the Colonies, 146-65 . 54. Se e Novick and Kelly, "Projection and Externalization," 69, 89. 55. Ibid . 56. Ibid. , 88-89. 57. Se e David Punter, "Fictional Representation of the Law in the Eighteenth Century," Eighteenth Century Studies 16 (Fall 1982): 47, 70-72. 58. Se e ibid., 47, 69. 59. Se e ibid., 47, 68-69. 60. Se e Hibbert, Highwaymen, 65, 103. 61. Se e ibid., 23. 62. Se e Hughes, Fatal Shore, 31-33 . 63. Foucault , Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, trans. Alan Sheridan (New York: Vintage Books, 1979), 61; see also Hughes, Fatal Shore, 33-35 . 64. Hughes , Fatal Shore, 13 7 (emphasis in original). 65. Se e John Everingham, "Children of the First Fleet," National Geographic 173 (February 1988): 236, 243, 245; John Rickard, "Psychohistory: An Australian Perspective," History Today 31 (1981) : 10. 66. Joh n Vincent Barry , Alexander Maconochie of Norfolk Island: A Study of a Pioneer in Penal Reform (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1958), 90. 67. Se e ibid., 91. 68. Se e Christophe r Hibbert , The Roots of Evil (1963; reprint , Westport , Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1978), 149. 69. Thi s punishment replicates that of Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this crime, Zeus had Prometheus seized and chained "with iron bonds" to a "friendless rock" at the outer regions of the earth. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, i n World Drama, ed . Barrett H. Clark (New York: Dover Publications, 1933), 1:1-19. 70. Barry , Alexander Maconochie, 124 . 71. Hughes , Fatal Shore, 505 . See also Hibbert, Roots of Evil,149 .

Notes to Chapter n

2

35

72. Se e Hughes, Fatal Shore, 508 . 73. Se e Barry, Alexander Maconochie, 146 . 74. Sheldo n Glueck, foreword to Alexander Maconochie, by Barry, vii. 75. Jo£ 10:22 (Revised Standard Version). 76. Fo r the distinction betwee n th e conflic t mode l and the narrative model in psychoanalysis , I a m indebte d t o Rober t Michels , Addres s a t th e Atlant a Psychoanalytic Societ y Meeting (2 3 September 1992) . The writing s of Charles Brenner have done most to establish the dominance of the conflict paradigm. See, e.g., Charles Brenner, The Mind in Conflict (New York: International Universities Press, 1982). Roy Schafer has advanced the "model of narration" to explain what happens in psychoanalysis. See, e.g., Roy Schafer, Narrative Actions in Psychoanalysis (Worcester, Mass.: Clark University Press, 1981) ; Roy Schafer, "Narratio n in the Psychoanalytic Dialogue," Critical Inquiry 7 (1980): 29-53. See ^so Donal d P. Spence, Narrative Truth and Historical Truth (Ne w York: W. W. Norton, 1982) ; Kenneth Burke , Permanence and Change, rev . ed . (Indianapolis : Bobbs-Merrill , 1965), 275. 77. Se e Donal d Greene , The Age of Exuberance: Backgrounds to EighteenthCentury English Literature (Ne w York: Random House, 1970) , 93. (Eighteenthcentury English writers were "writing for a n audience thoroughly indoctrinated from childhoo d onward, with the King James Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, the Articles, the Creeds, and Catechism"). 78. Eri c Auerbach, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature (New York: Doubleday, 1953), 151 (writing about the Mystere D'Adam, a twelfthcentury Christmas play based on the story in Genesis). jg. 1st Corinthians 15:22 . Cf . Roman s 5:1 2 ("[S]i n cam e int o th e worl d through one man, and death through sin"). 80. "Article s of Religion," in The Book of Common Prayer (New York: Church Hymnal Corp., 1979), 869. 81. Genesis 3:16-19. 82. The Interpreters Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952), 1:515 n.24. 83. Fo r works discussing human beings' need for storie s to give meaning to their lives , se e Brun o Bettelheim , The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (New York: Vintage Books, 1989) , 3, 65-66 (explaining how fair y tale s externaliz e a child' s inne r conflicts , renderin g thos e conflict s understandable and controllable); John Hellman, American Myth and the Legacy of Vietnam (Ne w York : Columbi a Universit y Press , 1986) , i x (" A people canno t coherently function without myth"); J. R. R. Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories," in Tree and Leaf (London:Unwin Hyman, 1988), 55-63 (arguing that fairy tales promote recovery and afford escap e and consolation); cf. Carl G. Jung, "Approaching the

236

Notes to Chapter 12

Unconscious," in Man and His Symbols, ed. Carl Jung (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964), 89 (discussing the need for symbols to give meaning to life). 84. Fo r a beautiful discussio n o f exile as human beings' essentia l condition, see Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity,2 d ed. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), 62-67. ^ee a ^so Edward Said, "The Min d o f Winter : Reflection s o n Lif e i n Exile, " Harpers Magazine 269 (September 1984) : 49-55; Hebrews 13:1 4 ("For here we have no continuing city but we seek one to come"). 85. Gregor y Rochlin, "The Dread of Abandonment," The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 16 (1961): 460. See also Bettelheim, Uses of Enchantment,14 5 ("There is no greater fear in life than that we will be deserted"). 86. Se e "Hansel and Gretel," in The Complete Grimms Fairy Tales (New York: Pantheon Books , 1944) , 86-94 ; s e e a l so The Pied Piper of Hamelin, i n Rober t Browning, The Poems (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981), 1:383-91. For a general discussion of abandonment in fairy tales, see David Bakan, Slaughter of the Innocents (Boston: Beacon Press, 1971), 65-68. 87. Rochlin , Dread of Abandonment,453. 88. J. Martin Evans, "Topics: Book X," in Paradise Lost: Books IX-X, by John Milton (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1973), 188. 89. Fo r a fascinating discussio n o f "salvation from below" in Les Miserables, see Victo r Brombert , Victor Hugo and the Visionary Novel (Cambridge , Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1984), 112-35. 90. "Botan y Bay, " reprinte d i n C . M . H . Clark , ed. , Sources of Australian History (London: Oxford University Press, 1957), 76. 91. Hughes , Fatal Shore, 583 . 92. Ibid. , 584-85. 93. Everingham , "Children of the First Fleet," 240. 94. Judith Wright , Preoccupations in Australian Poetry (Melbourne : Oxfor d University Press, 1965), xi. 95. Rober t Hughes refers to Australia as a "jail of infinite space." Fatal Shore, 596. NOTES T O CHAPTE R 1 2 i. People v. Bell, 20 4 Misc. 71 , 74 , 12 5 N.Y.S.2d 117 , 11 9 (Nassau Count y Ct.), aff'd., 30 6 NY. no, 11 5 N.E.2d 821 (1953) . 2. Edwards v. Calif 31 4 U.S. 160, 167 (1941). 3. Douglas , Purity and Danger (London: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966), 35-36.

Notes to Chapter 12

2

37

4. An Act to Amend and Make More Effectual the Laws Relating to Rogues, Vagabonds, and Other Idle and Disorderly Persons, and to Houses of Correction,1 7 Geo. 2, ch. 5 (1744) (Eng.). For a fascinating account of vagrancy laws and vagrants in the earlier, Elizabethan period, see Frank Aydelotte, Elizabethan Rogues and Vagabonds (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913). 5. Blackstone , Commentaries, 4:169, quoted in Gary V. Dubin and Richard H. Robinson, "The Vagrancy Concept Reconsidered: Problems and Abuses of Status Criminality," New York University Law Review 37 (1962): 104. 6. Thi s definition represents two scholars' attempt to summarize a number of statutes. See Dubin and Robinson, "Vagrancy Concept Reconsidered," 109. 7. Se e Arthur H. Sherry, "Vagrants, Rogues, and Vagabonds—Old Concepts in Need of Revision," California Law Review 48 (i960): 560. Increasingly, courts have struck dow n vagrancy laws, usually on a void-for-vagueness rationale . For articles discussing the recent history and status of vagrancy laws, see Harry Simon, "Town without Pity: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis of Official Effort s to Drive Homeless Persons fromAmerican Cities," Tulane Law Review 66 (1992): 631-76; Jordan Berns, "Is There Something Suspicious about the Constitutionality of Loitering Laws?" Ohio State Law Journal 50 (1989): 717-36. 8. Danie l DeFoe , The History of The Devil (Eas t Ardsley, U.K.: E. P. Pub., 1972), 949. Christophe r Tiedeman, Limitations of Police Power (St. Louis: F. H. Thomas Law Book Co., 1886), 117. 10. State v. Harlow, 17 4 Wash. 227, 233, 24 P.2d 601, 603 (1933). 11. People v. Pieri, 269 N.Y. 315, 323, 199 N.E. 495, 498 (1936). I am indebted to an article by Caleb Foote for calling my attention to this quotation and the two preceding ones. See Caleb Foote, "Vagrancy-Type Law and Its Administration," University of Pennsylvania Law Review 10 4 (1956): 625-26. 12. Se e Foote, "Vagrancy-Type Law," 627-28. 13. Se e ibid. , passim . Foot e quote s magistrate s wh o repeatedl y admonis h vagrants to "[S]tay where you belong," and "go back where you belong." Ibid., 606. 14. Se e Michae l Ignatieff , A Just Measure of Pain: The Penitentiary in the Industrial Revolution 1750-1850 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978), 15. 15. Alexander Smith, A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen, ed . Arthur L . Hayward (London : G . Routledge , 1933) , quoted i n John Bender , Imagining the Penitentiary: Fiction and the Architecture of Mind in Eighteenth-Century England (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), 26. 16. Bender , Imagining the Penitentiary, 14 .

238

Notes to Chapter 12

17. First Biennial Report of the Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of Illinois 175-8 4 (1871), quoted in Frederic L. Faust and Paul J. Brantingham, Juvenile Justice Philosophy (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1979),

31.

18. Mary Douglas, "Pollution," in International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences 12 (1968): 336, 338. 19. Janine Chassequet-Smirgel, Creativity and Perversion (Ne w York: W. W. Norton, 1984), 12. 20. First Annual Report, Bosto n Prison Disciplin e Societ y 36-3 7 (1826) , reprinted in Harry E. Barnes and Negley K. Teeters, New Horizons in Criminology, rev. ed. (New York: Prentice Hall, 1945), 523 (emphasis added). 21. Ibid . 22. Gustav e de Beaumont and Alexis de Tocqueville, On the Penitentiary System in The United States and Its Application in France, trans. Francis Lieber (New York: A. M. Kelley, 1970), 32. 23. Fo r description s o f the "silent " and "separate " systems , se e Barnes and Teeters, New Horizons in Criminology, 505-45 ; David J. Rothman, The Discovery of the Asylum (Boston: Little, Brown, 1971), 82-83. For a discussion of the hood that prisoners wore, see Negley K. Teeters and John D. Shearer, The Prison at Philadelphia (New York : Publishe d fo r Templ e Universit y Publication s b y Columbi a University Press, 1957), 75, 78. 24. Barne s and Teeters, New Horizons in Criminology, 533 . 25. Se e ibid., 533-34; Rothman, Discovery of the Asylum, 81 . 26. Davi d Shapiro, Neurotic Styles (New York: Basic Books, 1965), 49-50; cf. Fenichel, Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,28 8 (describing the obsessional neurotic's "inhibition in the experiencing oi gestalten"). 27. Hibbert , Roots of Evil,160 . 28. Ibid . 29. A modern recreatio n o f the separat e syste m exist s at Pelican Ba y State Prison in California, whic h is based on "extreme, around-the-clock isolatio n of prisoners from virtually al l human contact. " Jennifer Warren , " A Modern-Day Dungeon," Los Angeles Times, 7 September 1993, sec. A, p. 3. During a visit to this prison in 1993, 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace expressed hi s amazemen t i n languag e tha t evoke s Tocqueville an d Beaumont' s description of Auburn a century and a half earlier: WALLACE: Do they mix with each, the—all the guys in this pod? LT. DEINES: No they do not. Any communication they have is through the door. If they come out of their pods, they will come in contact with no other inmate. They can talk, but they have no physical contact.

Notes to Chapter 12

239

WALLACE: Good God. And—and this can go on for years in here? LT. DEINES: Depending on the circumstances of the case, it could go on for years. WALLACE: There's an eerie quality here, Al. LT. DEINES: It's different from—yo u ge t when you walk into most prisons, in the—in the old prisons. You don't have the yelling and screaming.

WALLACE: Right .

LT. DEINES: It's very quiet. WALLACE: What goes on inside those cells? What goes on inside the minds of those people in there? I mean, in this silent, otherworldly atmosphere? 60 Minutes (CBS television broadcast, 12 September 1993). 30. Se e Francis B. McCarthy and James G. Carr, Juvenile Law and Its Processes (Charlottesville, Va.: Michie, 1989), 11-12. 31. Rut h Eissler, "Scapegoats of Society," in Searchlights on Delinquency, 288 , 297. For a detailed discussion of the Houses of Refuge, see Rothman, Discovery of the Asylum, 207-36 . 32. Augus t Aichhorn, Wayward Youth (1925 ; reprint, Evanston , 111. : Northwestern University Press, 1983), 147. 33. Ne w York Society of the Reformation o f Juvenile Delinquents, 10th Annual Report (1835) , 6-7 , quote d i n McCarth y an d Carr , Juvenile Law and Its Processes, 28 . According to Rothman, historians agree about the central features of the prisons, reformatories, and other asylums that arose in the nineteenth century. As he summarizes, "[A] 11 the institutional routines were segmented into carefully defined block s of time, scrupulously maintained an d punctuated b y bells. There was nothing casual or random abou t daily activities." Rothman, Discovery of the Asylum, xxv. 34. Se e Fenichel, Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,284 . 35. Wilhel m Reich, Character Analysis,3 d ed. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972X215. 36. Fenichel , Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis,284 . 37. Ibid. , 285. 38. Se e Eissler, "Scapegoats of Society," 297; Aichhorn, Wayward Youth, 147 . 39. Se e Rothman, Discovery of the Asylum, 258-59 . 40. Steve n L. Schlossman, Love and the American Delinquent (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977) , 45. This passag e recalls Dickens's Oliver Twist, i n which Oliver oscillates between a filthy city environment where he is a captive of Fagin's thieving gang , and a n idyllic country home where he is, temporarily at least, safe from the corrupting influence o f criminals. See Dickens, Oliver Twist, 55"57> 237-39-

240

Notes to Chapter 12

41. Se e Maso n P . Thomas, "Chil d Abus e an d Neglect , Par t I : Historica l Overview, Legal Matrix, and Social Perspectives," North Carolina Law Review 5 0 (1972): 307. 42. Fo r a highly critical discussion of the Orphan Train Movement, see Richard Wexler, Wounded Innocents (Buffalo , N.Y. : Prometheus Books , 1990) , 33-36 (citing religious bigotry and child stealing in the placing-out system) . Even the more balanced account of Marilyn I. Holt concludes on this profoundly negative note: "The image of human 'cargoes'... or 'human freight' . .. i s more reminiscent of America's history of slavery than of humanitarian efforts." Se e Marilyn I. Holt, The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992). 43. Cf . Lewis H. Lapham, "Notebook: City Lights," Harpers Magazine 28 5 (1992): 4-6 (decrying Americans' long-standing prejudice agains t cities, and defending urban disorder and danger as the inevitable price of freedom). 44. Fo r a list of these cases, see the Appendix. 45. Peterson v. State, 37 6 So.2d 1230, 1231 (Fla.App. 1979) (emphasis added). 46. U.S. v. Corona, 55 1 F.2d 1386, 1388 (5th Cir. 1977). 47. Ibid. , 1388. 48. Dougla s Frantz and Robert L. Jackson, "The Spooks, the Kooks, and the Dictator: If Noriega Goes Down, He's Threatening to Take the CIA, the DEA, and the White House with Him," Los Angeles Times, 2 1 July 1991, magazine sec, p. 8. 49. State v. Bennefield, 56 7 A.2d 863, 864 (Del. 1989). 50. In re Castellano, 36 1 N.Y.S.2d 23, 24 (App. Div. 1974). 51. Se e Volkmorv. U.S., 1 3 F.2d 594, 595 (6th Cir. 1926); Rogers v. State, 15 7 So.2d 13, 17-18 (Ala. 1963); Duque v. State, 498 So.2d 1334, 1337, 1339 (Fla.App. 2 Dist. 1986); Peterson v. State, 37 6 So.2d 1230, 1232, 1235 (Fla.App. 1979); People v. Nightengale, 52 3 N.E.2d 136 , 141-42 (IlLApp. 1 Dist . 1988); State v. Young, 1 2 S.W. 879, 879, 884 (Mo. 1890). 52. People v. Tucker, 33 1 P.2 d 160, 163 (CaLApp. 1958). 53. Christophe r Herbert , "Ra t Worship an d Tabo o in Mayhew's London," Representations 2 3 (1988): 14 . A discussion of the rat as the "demonized Other, " which both fascinates and horrifies, appears in Peter Stallybrass and Allon White, The Politics and Poetics of Transgression (Ithaca , N.Y. : Cornel l Universit y Press , 1986), 143-47. 54. Se e U.S. v. McPhaul, 2 2 M.J. 808, 814 (ACMR 1986); State v. Conners, 7 6 So. 611, 612 (La. 1917); People v. Myers, 22 0 N.E.2d 297, 311 (111. 1966) ; Williams v. State, 22 6 P.2d 989, 997 (Okla. Crim. App. 1951).

Notes to the Conclusion to Part Three 24

1

55. Williams v. State 226 P.2d 989, 997 (Okla. Grim. App. 1951). 56. People v. Myers, 22 0 N.E.2d 297, 311 (111. 1966) . 57. U.S. v. McPhaul, 2 2 M.J. 808, 814 (ACMR 1986). 58. Barfield , "Poetic Diction and Legal Fiction," 63. 59. Barnettv. Ohio, 13 5 N.E. 647, 649 (Ohio 1922). 60. Taylor v. Strickland, 411 F. Supp. 1390, 1395-96 n.15 (S.C. 1976) (emphasis added). 61. Ibid. , 1395 n.13. 62. U.S. v. Valencia, 541 F.2d 618, 621 (6th Cir. 1976) (quoting District Judge), cited approvingly, U.S. v. Omni Intern. Corp . 634 E Supp. 1414, 1440 (Md. 1986). 63. On Lee v. U.S., 34 3 U.S. 747, 758 (1952) cited approvingly, U.S. v. Ross, 54 1 F.2d 690, 703-4 (8th Cir. 1976). 64. Oakland v. Detroit, 86 6 F.2d 839, 843 n.3 (6th Cir. 1989). NOTES T O TH E CONCLUSIO N T O PAR T THRE E 1. Fo r thi s wa y of characterizin g law , I a m indebted t o m y late colleague , Donald Fyr. But see Estin v. Estin, 33 4 U.S. 541 (1948) ("But there are few areas of the law in black and white. The greys are dominant and even among them the shades are innumerable"). Walte r Weyrauc h ha s suggested tha t elit e American law schools teach law as gray, whereas less prestigious law schools teach law as black and white. See Ekkehard Klausa, review of Hierarchie der Ausbildungsstatten, Rechtsstudium und Recht in den Vereinigten Staaten, b y Walter Weyrauch, American Journal of Comparative Law 25 (1977): 167. 2. I n fact, Russian peasants have traditionally employed this metaphor for the criminal. See Harold Berman, Justice in the U.S.S.R. (Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963), 248. Cf. John Maynard, The Russian Peasant (London: V. Gollancz, 1943), 189 ("the Russian people . .. pitie s the condemned criminal"). 3. Aristotle used this example in discussing the importance of metaphor: "So we may speak of th e wrong-doe r a s 'making a mistake,' o r th e errin g ma n as 'guilty of a wrong.' We may say that the thief has merely 'taken,' or that he has 'plundered.' " The Rhetoric of Aristotle,trans . Richard C. Jebb, ed. John E. Sandys (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1909), 150. 4. Lewis , "Bluspels and Flalansferes," 153. 5. Aristotle attribute s thre e distinctiv e tenet s t o Socrates : "(a ) virtue, moral excellence, is identical with knowledge .. .; (b) vice, bad moral conduct, is therefore in all cases ignorance... ; (c) wrong-doing is therefore alway s involuntary, and there is really no such state of soul as . .. 'mora l weakness' (acrasia), 'knowing

242

Notes to the Conclusion

the good and yet doing the evil.' " A. E. Taylor, Socrates: The Man and His Thought (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1953), 140-41. NOTES T O TH E CONCLUSIO N 12.

1. Juliet Mitchell, Psychoanalysis and Feminism (Ne w York: Pantheon, 1974) ,

2. Friedric h Schiller , Naive and Sentimental Poetry, i n Naive and Sentimental Poetry and On the Sublime: Two Essays, trans . Julius A. Elias (New York: Frederick Ungar, 1966), 87, as quoted in Great Treasury of Western Thought, ed . Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren (New York: R. R. Bowker, 1977), 49. 3. Iren a Grudzinska Gross, The Scar of Revolution: Custine, Tocqueville, and the Romantic Imagination (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991). 4. Mortimer Collins , Sweet Anne Page (London : Hurst an d Blackett , 1868) , 1:232 (describing an island as "romance-empurpled Monte Cristo"). 5. Harpe r Lee , To Kill a Mockingbird (Ne w York: Warner Brothers , 1982) , epigraph (quoting Charles Lamb). 6. Charle s Dickens, Great Expectations (New York: Heritage Press, 1939), 138. 7. Fo r a psychoanalytic discussion of the concepts of "everything" and "nothing," see Leonard Shengold, "Father Dorft You See Vm Burning?" Reflections on Sex, Narcissism, Symbolism, and Murder: From Everything to Nothing (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991). 8. Wordsworth , "Ode: Intimations of Immortality fromRecollections of Early Childhood," in Poems by William Wordsworth, st. 58. 9. France s Hodgso n Burnett , A Little Princess (Boston : Davi d R . Godine , 1989), 81.

Bibliography

BOOKS AN D ARTICLE S

Abraham, Karl. "Contributions to the Theory of the Anal Character." In Selected Papers of Karl Abraham, 370-92 . London: Hogarth Press, 1948. Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound. In World Drama, edited by Barrett H. Clark, vol. 1, 1-19. New York: Dover Publications, 1933. Aichhorn, August. Wayward Youth. 1925 . Reprint. Evanston, 111.: Northwestern University Press, 1983. Alexander, Franz, and William Healy. Roots of Crime: Psychoanalytic Studies. 1935 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1969. Allen, Francis A. "The Decline of the Rehabilitative Ideal in American Criminal Justice." Cleveland State Law Review 27 (1978): 147-56. Allen, Trevor. "Crooks Are So 'Romantic.' " Contemporary Review 210 (April 1967): 213-15. Andenaes, Johannes. Punishment and Deterrence. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1974. Angiolillo, Paul. A Criminal as Hero: Angelo Duca. Lawrence : Regents Press of Kansas, 1979. Aries, Philippe. The Hour of Our Death. Translated by Helen Weaver. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1981. Aristotle. The Rhetoric of Aristotle.Translated by Richard C. Jebb and edited by John E. Sandys. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1909. "Arthur Penn as Director." In The Bonnie and Clyde Book, edite d by Sandra Wake and Nicola Hayden, 182-94. London: Lorrimer, 1972. Auden, W. H. "The Guilty Vicarage: Notes on the Detective Story, by an Addict." Harpers Magazine 196 (May 1948): 406-12. Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. New York: Doubleday, 1953. Aydelotte, Frank. Elizabethan Rogues and Vagabonds. Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1913. Bakan, David. Slaughter of the Innocents. Boston : Beacon Press, 1971. Bald, R. C. "Introduction." In The First Part of Henry the Fourth, by William Shakespeare. Edited by R. C. Bald, iii-vi. New York: Appleton-CenturyCrofts, 1946. 243

244

Bibliography

Ball, Milner S. Lying Down Together: Law, Metaphor and Theology. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985. Bao, Ruo-Wang, and Rudolph Chelminski. Prisoner of Mao.New York: Coward McCann and Geoghegan, 1973. Barfield, Owen. "Poetic Diction and Legal Fiction." In The Rediscovery of Meaning and Other Essays, 44-64. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1977. Barnes, Harry. The Evolution of Penology in Pennsylvania. 1927 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1968. Barnes, Harry E., and Negley K. Teeters. New Horizons in Criminology. Rev. ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 1945. Barrett, William. Irrational Man: A Study in Existentialist Philosophy. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1977. Barry, John Vincent. Alexander Maconochie of Norfolk Island: A Study of a Pioneer in Penal Reform. With a foreword by Sheldon Glueck. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1958. Bartlett, John. Familiar Quotations. 14t h ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1968. Beck, Julian. "Thoughts on the Theater fromJail: Three Letters to a Friend." In Getting Busted: Personal Experiences of Arrest,Trial, and Prison, edite d by Ross Firestone, 319-23. N.p.: Douglas Book Corp., 1970. Becker, Gary S. "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach." Journal of Political Economy 76 (1968): 169-217. Becker, Lucille Frackman. Georges Simenon. Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1977. Behan, Brendan. Borstal Boy. Boston : David Godine, 1959. Bender, John B. Imagining the Penitentiary: Fiction and the Architecture of Mind in Eighteenth-Century England. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1987. Bentham, Jeremy. "Panopticon versus New South Wales." In The Works of Jeremy Bentham, edite d by John Bowring, vol. 4, 173-248. Edinburgh: William Tate, 1843. Berger, Joseph. "Goetz Case: Commentary on Nature of Urban Life." New York Times, 1 8 June 1987, sec. B, p. 6. Berlin, Sir Isaiah. "Two Concepts of Liberty." In Political Philosophy, edited by Anthony Quinton, 141-52. New York: Oxford University Press, 1967. Berman, Harold J. Justice in the U.S.S.R. Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963. . Law and Revolution. Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983. Berns, Jordan. "Is There Something Suspicious about the Constitutionality of Loitering Laws?" Ohio State Law Journal 50 (1989): 717-36. Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Bienfeld, Franz Rudolf. "Prolegomena to a Psychoanalysis of Law and Justice." California Law Review 53 (October 1965): 957-1028.

Bibliography

2

45

Bizet, Georges. Carmen. Translated by Ellen H. Bleiler. New York: Dover Publications, 1970. Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England.3 d ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1768. Blainey, Geoffrey. The Tyranny of Distance.Sout h Melbourne: Macmillan, 1982. Blake, James. The Joint. Garde n City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971. Blamires, Harry. Miltons Creation: A Guide through u Paradise Lost." London: Methuen, 1971. Blau, Eleanor. "Poet Rebuilds Life in U.S. after Soviet Prison Term." New York Times, 2 4 March 1987, sec. C, p. 13. Blecker, Robert. "Haven or Hell? Inside Lorton Central Prison: Experiences of Punishment Justified." Stanford Law Review 42 (May 1990): 1149-1249. Blok, Anton. "The Peasant and the Brigand: Social Banditry Reconsidered." Comparative Studies in Society and History 14 (September 1972): 494-503. Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy.With the English translation of "I.T" revised by H. F. Stewart. In The Theological Tractates and the Consolation of Philosophy. Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1918. Bollinger, Lee C. "The Homer of the Pacific: Melville's Art and the Ambiguities of Judging Evil." Michigan Law Review 75 (1977): 823-44. Bolt, Robert. A Man for All Seasons. New York: Vintage Books, i960. The Book of Common Prayer. New York: The Church Hymnal Corp., 1979. The Book of J.Translated by David Rosenberg and edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Vintage Books, 1991. Boudin, Michael. "Antitrust Doctrine and the Sway of Metaphor." Georgetown Law Journal 75 (December 1986) : 395-422. Bowen, Zack R. "Synge: The Playboy of the Western World." In A J.M. Synge Literary Companion, edite d by Edward A. Kopper, Jr., 69-86. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. Brain, Robert. Friends and Lovers. New York: Basic Books, 1976. Braly, Malcolm. False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons. Boston : Little, Brown, 1976. . Its Cold Out There. New York: Pocket Books, 1966. Brenner, Charles. An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis.Rev . ed. New York: International Universities Press, 1973. . The Mind in Conflict. New York: International Universities Press, 1982. Brochier, J. "Prison Talk: An Interview with Michel Foucault." Radical Philosophy 16(1977): 10-15. Brombert, Victor. The Romantic Prison: The French Tradition. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1978. . Victor Hugo and the Visionary Novel. Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984,

246

Bibliography

Brown, Claude, and Arthur Dunmeyer. "A Way of Life in the Ghetto." In Problems in Political Economy. 2 d ed., edited by David Gordon, 362-64. Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1977. Brown, Norman O. Life against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1959. Brown, Rosellen. Before and After. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1992. Browning, Robert. The Pied Piper ofHamelin. In The Poems, vol. 1. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981. Bunyan, John. The Pilgrims Progress. Nashville: Cokesbury Press, n.d. Burke, Kenneth. Permanence and Change. Rev . ed. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965. Burnett, Frances Hodgson. A Little Princess. Boston : David R. Godine, 1989. Bushinski, Leonard, and J. T. Nelis. "Gehenna." In Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, edited by Louis F. Hartman, 847-48. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963. Butterfield, Fox. "Are American Jails Becoming Shelters fromthe Storm?" New York Times, 1 9 July 1992, sec. E, p. 4. Byron, George Gordon, Lord. The Prisoner ofChillon. In The Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron, 457-63. New York: Macmillan, 1927. Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1968. Camus, Albert. The Stranger. New York: Vintage Books, 1954. Castro, Josue de. Death in the Northeast. New York: Vintage Books, 1966. Chasseguet-Smirgel, Janine. Creativity and Perversion. New York: W. W. Norton, 1984. Cheever, John. Falconer. New York: Ballantine Books, 1977. Christina, Diana, and Pat Carlen. "Christina: In Her Own Time." In Criminal Women, edite d by Pat Carlen, 59-103. Cambridge, England: Polity Press, 1985. Clark, C. M. H. A History of Australia.Parkville, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1962. , ed. Sources of AustralianHistory. London : Oxford University Press, 1957. Cleaver, Eldridge. Soul on Ice. New York: Dell, 1968. Cockshut, A. O. J. The Imagination of Charles Dickens. New York: New York University Press, 1962. Coles, Robert. Children of Crisis. Boston : Little, Brown, 1967. Collins, Mortimer. Sweet Anne Page, vol. 1. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1868. Collins, Philip. Dickens and Crime. London : Macmillan, 1962. Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. London: Oxford University Press, 1975. Colson, Charles. Born Again. Ol d Tappan, N.J.: Chosen Books, 1976.

Bibliography

247

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness.New York: W. W. Norton, 1971. Crockett, Busby. "The Prison Trip." In Getting Busted: Personal Experiences of Arrest, Trial, and Prison, edite d by Ross Firestone, 259-63. N.p.: Douglas Book Corp., 1970. Dalton, Emmett. When the Daltons Rode. Garde n City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Doran, 1931. Davis, Jennifer. "The London Garotting Panic of 1862: A Moral Panic and the Creation of a Criminal Class in Mid-Victorian England." In Crime and the Law: The Social History of Crime in Western Europe since 1500, edited by V. A. C. Gatrell, Bruce Lenman, and Geoffrey Parker , 190-213. London: Europa Publications, 1980. D'Eaubonne, Francoise. "Jean Genet, Or, The Inclement Thief." In Genet: A Collection of Critical Essays, edite d by Peter Brooks and Joseph Halpern, 47-67. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1979. De Beaumont, Gustave, and Alexis de Toqueville. On the Penitentiary System in the United States and Its Application in France. Translated by Francis Lieber. New York: A. M. Kelley, 1970. Defoe, Daniel. The History of the Devil. Eas t Ardsley, England: E. P. Pub., 1972. . Moll Flanders. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 1973De Maupassant, Guy. Ball-of-Fat. In The Great Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant, 200-251. New York: Pocket Books, 1955. Dickens, Charles. Bleak House. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1956 . . Great Expectations. New York: Heritage Press, 1939. . Little Dorrit. Edition De Luxe. 2 vols. New York: Nottingham Society, n.d. . Oliver Twist. New York: New American Library, 1980. . A Tale of Two Cities. New York: New American Library, 1936. Didion, Joan. The White Album. London : Flamingo, 1979. Doctorow, E. L. Billy Bathgate. New York: Random House, 1987. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1990. . Crime and Punishment. Translated by Jessie Coulson. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 1975. . Notes fromaDead House. Translated by L. Navrozov and Y. Guralsky. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1950. Douglas, Mary. "Pollution." International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences 12 (1968): 336-42. . Purity and Danger. London: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966. . "Taboo." New Society 3 (1964) : 24-25.

248

Bibliography

Doyle, Arthur Conan. "The Adventure of the Final Problem." In The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury, 315-26 . New York: Avenel Books, 1976. . "The Adventure of the Missing Three Quarter." In The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury, 483-511. New York: Avenel Books, 1976. . "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder." In The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury, 354-67 . New York: Avenel Books, 1976. . The Hound of the Baskervilles. In The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury, 529-631. New York: Avenel Books, 1976. Drabble, Margaret. The Ice Age. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. Drijvers, J. W. "Ablutions." In Encyclopedia of Religion,vol. 1, edited by Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams, 9-13. New York: Macmillan, 1987. Dubin, Gary V., and Richard H. Robinson. "The Vagrancy Concept Reconsidered: Problems and Abuses of Status Criminality." New York University Law Review 37 (1962): 102-36. du Maurier, Daphne. Jamaica Inn. New York: Sun Dial Press, 1937. Durkheim, Emile. The Division of Laborin Society. 1893 . Reprint. New York: Free Press, 1933. . The Rules of Sociological Method. 1895 . Reprint. Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1958. Ehrenzweig, Albert A. "Psychoanalytic Jurisprudence: A Common Language for Babylon." Columbia Law Review 65 (1965): 1331-60. Eidelberg, Ludwig, ed. Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis.New York: Free Press, 1968. Eissler, Ruth. "Scapegoats of Society." In Searchlights on Delinquency, edite d by K. Eissler, 288-305. New York: International Universities Press, 1949. Eliot, George. Middlemarch. New York: W. W. Norton, 1977. Erikson, Erik. Childhood and Society. New York: W. W. Norton, 1963. . Young Man Luther. New York: W. W. Norton, 1962. Erikson, Kai. "On the Sociology of Deviance." In Crime, Law and Society, edited by Abraham Goldstein and Joseph Goldstein, 87-97. New York: Free Press, 1971. Euripides. Iphigenia at Taurus. In The Complete Greek Tragedies, edited by David Grene and Richard Lattimore. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959. Evans, J. Martin. "Topics: Book X." In Paradise Lost: Books IX-X, by John Milton. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1973. Evans, Lloyd, and Paul Nichols, eds. Convicts and Colonial Society. Stanmore , N.S.W.: Cassell Australia, 1976. Everingham, John. "Children of the First Fleet." National Geographic 173 (February 1988): 233-45. Faust, Frederick, and Paul Brantingham. Juvenile Justice Philosophy. St . Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1979.

Bibliography

249

Feinburg, Joel. Doing and Deserving. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1970. Fenichel, Otto. The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis.New York: W. W. Norton, J945Figner, Vera. Memoirs of a Revolutionist. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. Fitzgerald, Tamsin. Tamsin. New York: Dial Press, 1973. Fletcher, George. A Crime of Self-Defense: Bernhard Goetz and the Law on Trial. New York: Free Press, 1988. Flugel, J. C. Man, Morals and Society. New York: International Universities Press, !945Flynn, Thomas. Tales for My Brothers' Keepers. New York: W. W. Norton, 1976. Foote, Caleb. "Vagrancy-Type Law and Its Administration." University of Pennsylvania Law Review 10 4 (March 1956): 603-50. Forster, John. The Life of Charles Dickens. London: Dent, 1966. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan. New York: Vintage Books, 1979. Fowles, John. Foreword to The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle, 7-11. London: John Murray and Jonathan Cape, 1974. Frank, Jerome. Law and the Modern Mind. New York: Brentano's, 1930. Frantz, Douglas, and Robert L. Jackson. "The Spooks, the Kooks, and the Dictator: If Noriega Goes Down, He's Threatening to Take the CIA, the DEA, and the White House with Him." Los Angeles Times, 2 1 July 1991, magazine sec, p. 8. Franz, M. L. von. "The Process of Individuation." In Man and His Symbols, edited by Carl G.Jung, 158-229 . Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964. Frazer, James. The Golden Bough. New York: Macmillan, 1950. Freud, Anna. The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense.Rev . ed. New York: International Universitie s Press, 1976. Freud, Sigmund. "Character and Anal Erotism." In The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, edited by James Strachey. London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis, 1953-74, vol. 9, 167-75. . "Civilization and Its Discontents." In The Standard Edition, vol. 21, 57145. . "Dostoevsky and Parricide." In The Standard Edition, vol. 21, 173-94. . "Negation." In The Standard Edition, vol. 19, 233-39. . "On Transformations of Instincts As Exemplified in Anal Erotism." In The Standard Edition, vol. 17, 125-33. . "Some Character-Types Met with In Psycho-Analytic Work." In The Standard Edition, vol. 14, 309-33.

250

Bibliography

Freud, Sigmund. "Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality." In The Standard Edition, vol. 7, 123-245. Fromm, Erich. Escape fromFreedom.New York: H. Holt, 1941. Frost, Alan. Convicts and Empire. Melbourne and New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Frye, Northrup. The Great Code: The Bible and Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. Gaddis, Thomas. Birdman ofAlcatraz: The Story of Robert Stroud. New York: Random House, 1955. Gass, William H. "Paul Valery: Crisis and Resolution." New York Times Book Review, 2 0 August 1972, p. 6. Gibian, George. "Traditional Symbolism in Crime and Punishment." In Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoevsky, edited by George Gibian. 2d ed., 51936. New York: W. W. Norton, 1975. Ginzburg, Eugenia Semyonovna. Journey into the Whirlwind. Translated by Paul Stevenson and Max Hayward. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1967. . Within the Whirlwind. Translated by Ian Boland. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981. Glaser, Daniel. "Capital Punishment—Deterrent or Stimulus to Murder? Our Unexamined Deaths and Penalties." University of Toledo Law Review 10 (Winter 1979): 317-33. Glueck, Sheldon. Introduction to Alexander Maconochie of Norfolk Island: A Study of a Pioneer in Penal Reform, by John Vincent Barry. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1958. Gluzman, Semyon. "Fear of Freedom: Psychological Decompensation or Existentialist Phenomenon." American Journal of Psychiatry139 (January 1982): 5761. Goffman, Erving . Asylums. Garde n City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1961. Goldfarb, Ronald L. "Violence, Vigilantism and Justice." Criminal Justice Ethics 6 (Summer/Fall 1987): 2, 72. Goldstein, Joseph. "Psychoanalysis and Jurisprudence." Yale Law Journal 77 (1968): 1053-77. Goldstein, Joseph, Anna Freud, and Albert Solnit. Beyond the Best Interests of the Child. New York: Free Press, 1979. Gorski, I. H. "Gehenna." In New Catholic Encyclopedia, edited by the Catholic University of America, Vol. 6, 312-13. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Greene, Donald. The Age of Exuberance: Backgrounds to Eighteenth-Century English Literature. New York: Random House, 1970. Greene, Graham. The Power and the Glory. New York: Viking Press, 1970. Grinstein, Alexander. "Vacations: A Psycho-Analytic Study." International Journal of Psychoanalysis36 (1955): 177-86.

Bibliography

25 1

Gross, Irena Grudzinska. The Scar of Revolution: Custine, Tocqueville, and the Romantic Imagination. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1991. Grupp, Stanley. Theories of Punishment.Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1971. Hamilton, Edith. The Greek Way to Western Civilization. New York: New American Library, 1942. "Hansel and Gretel." In The Complete Grimms Fairy Tales, 86-94 . New York: Pantheon, 1944. Hapgood, Robert. "Falstaff's Vocation." Shakespeare Quarterly 16 (1965): 91-98. Harsin, Jill. Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century Paris. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985. Hart, H. L. A. Punishment and Responsibility. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Hellman, John. American Myth and the Legacy of Vietnam. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. Henderson, Joseph L. "Ancient Myths and Modern Man." In Man and His Symbols, edite d by Carl J. Jung, 104-57. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964. Henly, Burr. "'Penumbra': The Roots of a Legal Metaphor." Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 15 (Fall 1987): 81-100. Herbert, Christopher. "Rat Worship and Taboo in Mayhew's London." Representations 23 (Summer 1988): 1-24. Hibbert, Christopher. Highwaymen. London : Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1967. . The Roots of Evil.1963 . Reprint. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1978. Himmelfarb, Martha. Tours of Hell.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983. Hirsch, Adam J. "From Pillory to Penitentiary: The Rise of Criminal Incarceration in Early Massachusetts." Michigan Law Review 80 (1982): 1179-1269. Hirsch, Edward. "The Gallous Story and the Dirty Deed: The Two Playboys." Modern Drama 26 (March 1983): 85-102. Hobsbawm, Eric J. Bandits. New York: Delacorte Press, 1969. . Primitive Rebels: Studies in Archaic Forms of Social Movement in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. New York: W. W. Norton, 1959. Hogarth, William. A Harlots Progress (1732), plate 3. Reproduced in John Bender, Imagining the Penitentiary: Fiction and the Architecture of Mindin Eighteenth-Century England, 117 . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. Holt, Marilyn I. The Orphan Trains: Placing Out in America. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992. Hughes, Robert. The Fatal Shore. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987. Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. Translated by Charles E. Wilbour. New York: Modern Library, 1938.

252

Bibliography

Hutheesing, Krishna Nehru. Shadows on the Wall. New York: J. Day, 1948. Ignatieff, Michael. A Just Measure of Pain: The Penitentiary in the Industrial Revolution, 1750-1850. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. Ives, George. A History of Penal Methods. 1914 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1970. Jacobson, Edith. "Observations on the Psychological Effect of Imprisonment on Female Political Prisoners." In Searchlights on Delinquency, edited by K. Eissler, 341-68. New York: International Universities Press, 1949. James, P. D. Devices and Desires. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Johnson, Adelaide. "Sanctions for Superego Lacunae of Adolescents." In Searchlights on Delinquency, edited by K. Eissler, 225-45. New York: International Universities Press, 1949. Jonas, Hans. The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity.2 d ed. rev. Boston: Beacon Press, 1963. Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. In The Portable James Joyce, edited by Harry Levin, 243-525. New York: The Viking Press, 1947. Jung, Carl G. "Approaching the Unconscious." In Man and His Symbols, edited by Carl G.Jung, 18-103. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1964. Kadish, Sanford, and Monrad Paulsen. Criminal Law and Its Processes. 3 d ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1975. Kadish, Sanford, and Stephen Schulhofer. Criminal Law and Its Processes. 5t h ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989. Kaplan, Fred. Dickens: A Biography. New York: William Morrow, 1988. Katz, Jay, Joseph Goldstein, and Alan Dershowitz. Psychoanalysis, Psychiatry and Law. New York: Free Press, 1967. Keen, Maurice Hugh. The Outlaws of MedievalLegend. London: Routlege and Kegan Paul, 1961. Kernberg, Otto. Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism. New York: Aronson, 1975. Kettle, Arnold. "In Defense of Moll Flanders." In Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe, 385-96. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 1973. Kirschenbaum, Carol. "Women: The New White Collar Criminals." Glamour 306 (March 1987). Klausa, Ekkehard. Review of Hierarchie der Ausbildungsstatten, Rechtsstudium und Recht in den Vereinigten Staaten, by Walter Weyrauch. American Journal of Comparative Law 25 (1977): 164-68. Kohn, Jaakov. "Time: Two Interviews." In Getting Busted: Personal Experiences of Arrest, Trial, and Prison, edited by Ross Firestone, 246-57. N.p.: Douglas Book Corp., 1970. Kohut, Heinz. The Analysis of the Self New York: International Universities Press, 1971.

Bibliography

2

53

Kroll, Michael A. "Counsel behind Bars." California Lawyer (June 1987): 34-38, 99. Kubie, Lawrence. "The Fantasy of Dirt." Psychoanalytic Quarterly 6 (1937): 388 — 425. Lamott, Kenneth. Review ofFalse Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Other Prisons, by Malcolm Braly. New York Times Book Review, 2 9 February 1976, 7. Lane, Robert. Political Ideology: Why the American Common Man Believes What He Does. New York: Free Press, 1962. Lansbury, Coral. Arcady in Australia. Carlton , Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 1970. Lapham, Lewis. "Notebook: City Lights." Harpers Magazine 4 (1992): 4. Leventhal, Harold. "Law and Literature: A Preface." Rutgers Law Review 32 (March/April 1979): 603-7. Lewin, Linda. "The Oligarchical Limitations of Social Banditry in Brazil: The Case of the 'Good' Thief Antonio Silvino." In Bandidos: The Varieties of Latin American Banditry, edited by Richard Slatta, 67-96. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. Lewis, C. S. "Bluspels and Flalansferes: A Semantic Nightmare." In Rehabilitations, 135-58 . Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1972. Lichtenstein, Allen. "Polls, Public Opinion, Pre-trial Publicity and the Prosecution of Bernhard H. Goetz." Social Action and Law 1 0 (1985): 95-103. Lifton, Robert. Thought Reform and the Psychology ofTotalism. New York: W. W. Norton, 1969. Linebaugh, Peter. "(Marxist) Social History and (Conservative) Legal History: A Reply to Professor Langbein." New York University Law Review 60 (1985): 212-43. Low, Peter, John Jeffries, an d Richard Bonnie. Criminal Law. 2 d ed. Mineola, N.Y.: Foundation Press, 1986. MacDowell, Douglas. Athenian Homicide. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1963. Maclnnes, Colin. Mr. Love and Justice. London : MacGibbon and Kee, i960. Mackay, David. A Place of Exile.Melbourne and New York: Oxford University Press, 1985. MacKinnon, Roger, and Robert Michels. The Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice. Philadelphia : Saunders, 1971. Mahler, Margaret, Fred Pine, and Anni Bergman. The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant: Symbiosis and Individuation. New York: Basic Books, 1975. Mandelstam, Nadezhda. Hope against Hope: A Memoir. Translated by Max Hayward. New York: Atheneum, 1970. Martin, Douglas. "At a Violent Jail, Warden Strives to Ease Tension." New York Times, 4 May 1987, sec. B, p. 1.

2

54

Bibliography

Massaro, Toni M. "Peremptories or Peers?—Rethinking Sixth Amendment Doctrine, Images, and Procedures." North Carolina Law Review 64 (March 1986): 501-64. Maturin, Charles. Melmoth the Wanderer. London: Oxford University Press, 1968. Maynard, John. The Russian Peasant. London : V. Gollancz, 1943. McCarthy, Francis B., and James G. Carr. Juvenile Law and Its Processes. Char lottesville, Va.: Michie, 1989. Melville, Samuel. Letters fromAttica.New York: Morrow, 1972. Merimee, Prosper. Colomba and Carmen. New York: D. Appleton, 1901. Merton, Robert K. "Social Structure and Anomie." In Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press, 1968. Meslin, Michael. "Baptism." In Encyclopedia of Religion,edite d by Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams, Vol. 2, 59-63. New York: Macmillan, 1987. Milton, John. Paradise Lost. In Great Books of the Western World. 2 d ed., edited by Mortimer J. Adler, Vol. 29, 93-319. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1990. Mitchell, Juliet. Psychoanalysis and Feminism. New York: Pantheon Books, 1974. Moore, Barrington. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Boston : Beacon Press, 1966. Moore, Brian. Review of Brendan, by Ulick O'Connor. New York Times Book Review, 2 5 April 1971, 35. Moore, Burness E., and Bernard D. Fine, eds. A Glossary of Psychoanalytic Terms and Concepts. 2 d ed. New York: American Psychoanalytic Association, 1968. Moore, David William. The End of LongJohn Silver. New York: Thomas Y. Cromwell, 1946. Morgenstern, Joseph. "Bonnie and Clyde: Two Reviews by Joseph Morgenstern." In The Bonnie and Clyde Book, edited by Sandra Wake and Nicola Hayden, 218-19. London: Lorrimer, 1972. Morrell, William Parker. British Colonial Policy in the Age of Peel and Russell. Ox ford: The Clarendon Press, 1930. Morris, Norval. "The Best Interests of the Child." University of Chicago Law Review 51 (Sprin g 1984): 447-516. . The Future of Imprisonment.Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1973. . Madness and Criminal Law. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1982. . "The Watching Brief." University of Chicago Law Review 54 (1987): 121592. Morris, Norval, and Michael Tonry. Between Prison and Probation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Morson, Gary S. "Verbal Pollution in The Brothers Karamazov." In Critical Essays on Dostoevsky, edite d by Robin F. Miller, 234-42. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1986.

Bibliography

255

Moynahan, Julian. "The Hero's Guilt: The Case of Great Expectations." Essays in Criticism 1 0 (January i960): 60-79. Mulvaney, D. J., and J. Peter White, eds. Australians: A Historical Library. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Mundy, Godfrey. Our Antipodes. 3 vols. London: R. Bentley, 1852. Munroe, Ruth. Schools of Psychoanalytic Thought: An Exposition, Critique and Attempt at Integration. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1955. Murry, John M. "Metaphor." In Countries of the Mind. London : Oxford University Press, 1931. Nehru, Jawaharlal. Toward Freedom: The Autobiography ofjawaharlal Nehru. Bos ton: Beacon Press, 1963. Newman, David, and Robert Benton. "Lightning in a Bottle." In The Bonnie and Clyde Book, edited by Sandra Wake and Nicola Hayden, 13-30. London: Lorrimer, 1972. Novick, Jack, and Kerry Kelly. "Projection and Externalization." The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 25 (1970): 69-95. Noyes, Alfred. The Highwayman. In Collected Poems. London: J. Murray, 1963. Oberkirch, Ann. "Psychotherapy of a Murderer: Excerpts." American Journal of Psychotherapy 39 (1985): 499-514. O'Dwyer, Josie, and Pat Carlen. "Josie: Surviving Holloway . .. an d Other Women's Prisons." In Criminal Women, edite d by Pat Carlen, 139-81. Cambridge, England: Polity Press, 1985. The Official Icky-Poo Book. Palo Alto: Klutz Press, 1990. Oppenheimer, Heinrich. The Rationale of Punishment.1913 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1975. Osborne, Thomas Mott. Within Prison Walls. 1914 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1969. Payne, Robert. Introduction to The Island: A Journey to Sakhalin, by Anton Chekhov, xi-xxxvii. New York: Washington Square Press, 1967. Perry, Bruce. "Escape fromFreedom, Criminal Style: The Hidden Advantages of Being in Jail." Journal of Psychiatry and Law 1 2 (Summer 1984): 215-30. Posner, Richard A. Law and Literature. Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988. . "Retribution and Related Concepts of Punishment." Journal of Legal Studies 9 (January 1980): 71-92. . Review of Hitlers Justice: The Courts of the Third Reich, by Ingo Muller. New Republic 204 (June 1991): 36-42. Puig, Manuel. Kiss of the Spider Woman. Translated by Thomas Colchie. New York: Vintage Books, 1978. Punter, David. "Fictional Representation of the Law in the Eighteenth Century." Eighteenth Century Studies 16 (Fall 1982): 47-74.

256 Bibliography Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. New York: New American Library, 1985. Radzinowicz, Leon. Ideology and Crime. New York: Columbia University Press, 1966. Reich, William. Character Analysis. 3 d ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972. Renault, Mary. The King Must Die. London: Sceptre, 1958. Richards, Bill. "As Legend Has It: He Used Pepper to Elude the Law. Wall Street Journal, 1 7 June 1989, sec. 1, p. 1. Richmond, Susan. Treasure Island: A Play in Six Scenes. London: H. W. Deane, 1946. Rickard, John. "Psychohistory: An Australian Perspective." History Today 31 (Ma y 1981): 10-13. Rieff, Philip. Freud: The Mind of the Moralist. Garde n City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1961. Rochlin, Gregory. "The Dread of Abandonment." The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 16 (1961): 451-70. Rosenberg, Sidney. "Black Sheep and Golden Fleece: A Study of NineteenthCentury English Attitudes toward Australian Colonials." Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1954. Rothman, David J. The Discovery of the Asylum. Boston : Little, Brown, 1971. Rothstein, Arnold. The Narcissistic Pursuit of Perfection.New York: International Universities Press, 1984. Rycroft, Charles. "A Detective Story: Psychoanalytic Observations." Psychoanalytic Quarterly 26 (1957): 229-45. Sabine, George. A History of Political Theory. 3 d ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961. Sachs, Albie. The Jail Diary ofAlbie Sachs. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966. Said, Edward. "The Mind of Winter: Reflections on Life in Exile." Harpers Magazine 269 (September 1984): 49-55. Saleilles, Raymond. The Individualization of Punishment.1911 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1968. Sands, Bill. My Shadow Ran Fast. New York: New American Library, 1964. Schafer, Roy. "Narration in the Psychoanalytic Dialogue." Critical Inquiry 7 (1980): 29-53. . Narrative Actions in Psychoanalysis. Worcester, Mass.: Clark University Press, 1981. Schiller, Frederich. Naive and Sentimental Poetry. In Naive and Sentimental Poetry and On the Sublime: Two Essays. Translated by Julias A. Elias. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1966. . Preface to the First Edition of The Robbers. In The Works of FrederichSchiller. Vol. 2, Romances and Dramas, 133-37 . New York: John W. Lovell, n.d.

Bibliography

257

Schlossman, Steven L. Love and the American Delinquent. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1977. Schoenfeld, C. G. "Law and Unconscious Motivation." Howard Law Journal 8 (1962): 15-26. . Psychoanalysis and the Law. Springfield , 111.: Thomas, 1973. Scott, Sir Walter. Rob Roy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1923 . Shaffer, Peter. Equus. New York: Avon Books, 1974. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet.In William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, edited by Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor, 735-77. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986. . I Henry IV. In The Complete Works, 509-41 . . The Tragedy of King Lear. The Folio Text. In The Complete Works, 1063-98 . . The Tragedy of Macbeth.In The Complete Works, 1099-1126 . . The Tragedy of Othello. In The Complete Works, 925-64 . . Two Gentlemen of Verona. In The Complete Works, 1-27 . Shapiro, David. Neurotic Styles. New York: Basic Books, 1965. Shaw, A. G. L. Convicts and the Colonies. 1966 . Reprint. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1978. Shengold, Leonard. "Father, Don't You See Vm Burning?" Reflections on Sex, Narcissism, Symbolism, and Murder: From Everything to Nothing. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991. . Halo in the Sky: Observations on Anality and Defense. New York: Guilford Press, 1988. . Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. Sherry, Arthur H. "Vagrants, Rogues, and Vagabonds—Old Concepts in Need of Revision." California Law Review 48 (October i960): 557-73. Shipley, Joseph. The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984. Simmel, Georg. Conflict. In Conflict and the Web of Group Affiliations, translated by Kurt H. Wolff and Reinhard Bendix, 11-123. New York: Free Press, 1955. . "The Stranger." In The Sociology of Georg Simmel, translated and edited by Kurt H. Wolff, 402-8. New York: Free Press, 1950. Simon, Harry. "Town without Pity: A Constitutional and Historical Analysis of Official Efforts to Drive Homeless Persons fromAmerican Cities." Tulane Law Review 66 (March 1992): 631-76. Skura, Meredith Anne. The Literary Uses of the Psychoanalytic Process. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981. Slote, Walter. "Case Analysis of A Revolutionary." In A Strategy for Research on Social Policy, edited by Frank Bonilla and Jose Silva Michelena, 241-311. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1967.

258

Bibliography

Smith, Alexander. A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen. Edited by Arthur L. Hayward. London: G. Routledge, 1933Smith, Edgar. "Life in the Death House." In Getting Busted: Personal Experiences of Arrest,Trial, and Prison, edited by Ross Firestone, 339-46. N.p.: Douglas Book Corp., 1970. Smith, Langdon. Evolution: A Fantasy. Boston: J. W. Luce, 1909. Sobell, Morton. On Doing Time. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974. Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr. The Cancer Ward. Translated by Rebecca Frank. New York: Dial Press, 1968. . The First Circle. Translated by Thomas P. Whitney. New York: Bantam Books, 1969. . The Gulag Archipelago. Translated by H. Willetts. New York: Harper and Row, 1978 . . One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Translated by Ronald Hingley and Max Hayward. New York: Bantam Books, 1963. Sophocles. Antigone. In World Drama, edited by Barrett H. Clark, vol. 13, 20-42. New York: Dover Publications, 1933. . Oedipus Tyrannus. New York: W. W. Norton, 1970. Spence, Donald. Narrative Truth and Historical Truth. New York: W. W. Norton, 1982. Spurgeon, Caroline F. E. Shakespeares Imagery and What It Tells Us. 1935 . Reprint. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1968. Stallybrass, Peter, and Allon White. The Politics and Poetics of Transgression. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1986. Steckmesser, Kent L. "Robin Hood and the American Outlaw." Journal of American Folklore 79 (1966): 348-55. Steffan, Thomas Guy, ed. Lord Byrons Cain. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1968. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. 1939 . Reprint. New York: The Viking Press, 1958. Stendhal. The Charterhouse of Parma.Translated by C. K. Scott Moncrieff. 2 vols. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1925. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Black Arrow. New York: Airmont Books, 1963. . Kidnapped. New York: New American Library, 1987. . Treasure Island. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911. . Treasure Island. New York: Bantam Books, 1981. Strauss, Erwin W. On Obsession: A Clinical and Methodological Study. Nervous and Mental Disease Monographs, no. 73. 1948. Reprint. New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1968.

Bibliography

259

Sturma, Michael. Vice in a Vicious Society. St . Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1983. Sullivan, Richard F. "The Economics of Crime: An Introduction to the Orthodox Literature." In Problems in Political Economy. 2 d ed. Edited by David Gordon, 374-78. Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath, 1977. Suro, Roberto. "A Model and a Murder: Italy's High Life on Trial." New York Times, 1 6 June 1986, sec. A, p. 5. Swinburne, Algernon Charles. The Triumph of Time. In The Complete Works of Algernon Charles Swinburne. New York: Russel and Russel, 1925. Symons, Julian. Mortal Consequences. New York: Harper and Row, 1972. Synge, John Millington. The Playboy of the Western World. London: Benn, 1975. Tannenbaum, Frank. Osborne of Sing Sing. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1933. Tatum, Stephen. Inventing Billy the Kid: Visions of the Outlaw in America, i88i\1981. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982. Taylor, A. E. Socrates: The Man and His Thought. Garde n City, N.Y: Doubleday,

1953.

Tchaikovsky, Chris. "Looking for Trouble." In Criminal Women, edited by Pat Carlen, 14-58. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity Press, 1985. Teeters, Negley K., and John D. Shearer. The Prison at Philadelphia. New York: Published for Temple University Publications by Columbia University Press, 1957. Terry, Don. "More Familiar, Life in Cell Seems Less Terrible." New York Times, 13 September 1992, sec. A, p. 1. Thomas, Dylan. "Fern Hill." In Selected Writings. New York: New Directions, 1946. Thomas, Mason P. "Child Abuse and Neglect, Part I: Historical Overview, Legal Matrix, and Social Perspectives." North Carolina Law Review 50 (1972): 293349Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Philadelphia: Courage Books, 1987. Tiedeman, Christopher. Limitations of Police Power. St . Louis: E H. Thomas Law Book Co., 1886. Tolkien, J. R. R. "On Fairy Stories." In Tree and Leaf 9-73. London: Unwin Hyman, 1988. Tolstoi, Lev. Resurrection. Translated by Louise Maude. Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1899. . War and Peace. Translated by Louise and Alymer Maude. New York: W. W. Norton, 1966. Treaster, Joseph. "Two U.S. Judges, Protesting Policies, Are Declining to Take Drug Cases." New York Times, 1 7 April 1993, p. 7.

260

Bibliography

U.S. Department of Justice. Correctional Populations in the United States: 1991. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1993. . Criminal Victimization in the United States, 1990. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, 1992. Ullathorne, William. The Catholic Mission in Australasia. Liverpool: Rockliff and Duckworth, 1837. Van den Haag, Ernest. Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question. New York: Basic Books, 1975. Viard, A. "Gehenna." In Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion,edited by Paul Meagher, Thomas O'Brien, and Sister Consuelo Maria Aherne, vol. F-N, 1457. Washington, D.C.: Corpus Publications, 1979. "Vigilante Justice." National Law Journal 7 (1985): 12. von Gebsattel, V. E. "The World of the Compulsive." In Existence, edited by Rollo May, Ernest Angel, and Henri F. Ellenberger, 170-87. New York: Basic Books, 1958. Von Hentig, Hans. Punishment: Its Origin, Purpose and Psychology. 1937 . Reprint. Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1973. Von Hirsch, Andrew. Doing Justice. New York: Hill and Wang, 1976. Wake, Sandra, and Nicola Hayden, eds. The Bonnie and Clyde Book. London: Lorrimer, 1972. Walker, Nigel. Punishment, Danger and Stigma. Oxford : Basil Blackwell, 1980. Wallach, Erica. Light at Midnight. Garde n City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1967. Warren, Jennifer. "AModern-Day Dungeon." Los Angeles Times, 7 September 1993, sec. A, p. 3 . Warren, Robert Penn. All the Kings Men. New York: Modern Library, 1953. Weisberg, Richard H. "Comparative Law in Comparative Literature: The Figure of the 'Examining Magistrate' in Dostoevski and Camus." Rutgers Law Review 29 (1976): 237-58. . The Failure of the Word. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1984. . "Wigmore's 'Legal Novels' Revisited: New Resources for the Expansive Lawyer." Northwestern University Law Review 71 (1976): 17-28. Wertenbaker, Timberlake. Our Country s Good. Roya l Court Writers Series. London: Methuen in Association with the Royal Court Theatre, 1988. Wesley, John. "On Dress." In Sermons on Several Occasions, 3:417 . Nashville, Tenn.: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1879. West, Robin. "Authority, Autonomy and Choice: The Role of Consent in the Moral and Political Visions of Franz Kafka and Richard Posner." Harvard Law Review 99 (1985): 384-428. Wexler, Richard. Wounded Innocents. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1990. Weyrauch, Walter O., and Maureen A. Bell. "Autonomous Lawmaking: The Case of the Gypsies." Yale Law Journal 103 (1993): 323-99.

Bibliography

261

Wheelwright, Philip. The Burning Fountain: A Study in the Language of Symbolism. Rev. ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1968. . Metaphor and Reality. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1962. White, James Boyd. The Legal Imagination: Studies in the Nature of Legal Thought and Expression. Boston : Little, Brown, 1973. . When Words Lose Their Meaning. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1984. White, Richard. "Outlaw Gangs of the Middle Border: American Social Bandits." The Western Historical Quarterly 12 (October 1981): 387-408. Wideman, John Edgar. Brothers and Keepers. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1984. Williams, Patricia. The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Cambridge , Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991. Winnicott, D. W. Deprivation and Delinquency. London: Tavistock Publications, 1984. Winter, Steven L. "The Metaphor of Standing and the Problem of Self-Governance." Stanford Law Review 40 Quly 1988): 1371-1516. Wolin, Sheldon. Politics and Vision: Continuity and Innovation in Western Political Thought. Boston : Little, Brown, i960. Wood, F. L. W. "Jeremy Bentham versus New South Wales." Royal Australian Historical Society: Journal and Proceedings 19(1933): 32 9-51. Woolf, Virginia. "Defoe." In Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe, 377-43. Norton Critical Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 1973. Wordsworth, William. "Ode: Intimations of Immortality fromRecollections of Early Childhood." In Poems by William Wordsworth, edited by Edward Dowden. Boston: Ginn, 1897. Wright, Judith. Preoccupations in Australian Poetry. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1965. X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of MalcolmX. New York: Ballantine Books, 1965. York, Michael. "Judge Rejects Federal Sentencing Guidelines: Mandatory 30Year Imprisonment for Repeat Drug Offender Calle d Unconstitutional." The Washington Post, 3 0 April 1993, sec. D, p. 5. Zamyatin, Yevgeny. "Backstage." In A Soviet Heretic: Essays by Yevgeny Zamyatin, 190-201. Translated by Mirra Ginsburg. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970. Zilboorg, Gregory. The Psychology of the Criminal Act and Punishment. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1954. Zimring, Franklin, and Gordon Hawkins. Deterrence: The Legal Threat in Crime Control. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1973.

262

Bibliography F I L M S AN D T E L E V I S I O N SHOW S

"Gangsters: A Golden Age" (WVEU television broadcast, 28 September 1989). The Grapes of Wrath. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 1940. "Jessye Norman Sings Carmen" (WPBA television broadcast, 20 November 1989). Modern Times. Produced by Charles Chaplin. United Artists, 1936. Murder by Decree. Produced by Bob Clark and Rene Dupont. Embassy Pictures, 1978. Otello. Produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Cannon Films, Inc., and Cannon International, B.V., 1986. Videocassette. Peter Pan (NBC television broadcast, 8 December i960). The Princess Comes Across. Produced by Arthur Hornblow, Jr. Paramount Pictures, 1936. Psycho. Produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Paramount Pictures, i960. 60 Minutes (CBS television broadcast, 12 September 1993). To Catch a Thief. Produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Paramount Pictures, 1954. Treasure Island. Produced by Perce Pearce. Disney, 1950. Treasure Island. Produced by Hunt Stromberg. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1934.

Index

Barrow, Clyde, 85-86. See also Bonnie Abandonment, childhood fear of, 168 and Clyde (Penn) Academy, prison as, 13-15, 52-53 Beauty, unaffected by penal confinement, Adam and Eve. See Fall Aichhorn, August: Wayward Youth, 176 - 1,43 Beck, Julian, 40 77 Ainsworth, Harrison: Rookwood, 83-84, Before and After (Brown), 12 6 85 Beggars Opera, The (Gay), 68, 16 0 Behan, Brendan, 50; Borstal Boy, 22 Alexander, Franz, and William Healy: Bentham, Jeremy, 5, 152, 233 n. 51(157) Roots of Crime: Psychoanalytic Studies, 30, 46^7 Biblical references: Cain and Abel, 142 ; All the King's Men (Warren), 90-91, 95- cleanliness, 138; creation, 131; death and rebirth, 32; envy of evil men, 68, 96 90; exile, 236 n. 84(168); Fall, 165-67; Ambivalence: defined, 80; and negation, knowing as painful, 64, 81; mote in the 67; toward criminals, 188; toward law, eye, 214-15 n. 37(81); Rich Man and 59,71,159-61 Lazarus, 143; sheep and goats parable, Anality, motifs of, 106. See also Defeca142-43; suffering leading to knowltion, and transportation; Excrement; edge, 36, 204 n. 23(36); "sweet-smellFilth ing savour," 135; vine, 35 Anal matters: attraction for children, 136-37; examples of, 145 Bizet, Georges: Carmen, 82-83 Black Arrow, The (Stevenson), 78 Anal zone, 138; and freedom, 82 Blackstone, William, 148, 171-72 Angiolillo, Paul, 61-62 Blainey, Geoffrey, 150 Antigone (Sophocles), 76-77 Blake, James: The Joint, 11 , 17, 44, 50; "Articles of Religion," 166 failed robbery, 29-30; and impulse neuAsylums (Goffman), 203 n. 23(29) rosis, 21, 22, 30; negative images of life Australia: reasons for creating penal coloutside, 10, 16, 53; on prison friendony, 148-50; symbol of the unknown, ship, 16; yearning for prison, 10, 24, 151; unconscious aims of penal colony, 27, 29-30 150 Bleak House (Dickens), 128-29 Ball-of-Fat (Maupassant), 4, 102-3, 10 7 Blok, Anton, 78 Bandit: etymology of, 77; in industrialBloom, Harold, 131 ized society, 78; noble, 60-63. See also Boethius, 13 3 Criminal; Noble bandit; Outlaw Bog, defined, 132 Bandits (Hobsbawm), 61-62, 82 Bolt, Robert: A Man for All Seasons, 41 Banishment: to Australia, 147-48; of the Bonnie and Clyde (Penn), 65-66. See also diseased criminal, 140-44; as removal Barrow, Clyde; Parker, Bonnie from law' s protection, 77-78; of the Book of Common Prayer, The, 12 3 self, 141^2 Born Again (Colson), 33, 39^-0 Bao, Ruo-Wang: Prisoner of Mao,1 8 Borstal Boy (Behan), 22 Barfield, Owen, 18 2 Boston Prison Discipline Society, 174 263

264

Index

Christina, Diana, 24-25, 29, 30, 34 Botany Bay. See Australia Chronicles of San Quentin (Lamott), 46 Brain, Robert, 18-19 Braly, Malcolm, 30; False Starts: A Mem-Chthonic: defined, 203 n. 2(32); spacial oir of San Quentin and Other Prisons, dimension and prison, 32 25-27, 44-45, 46, 48-49; Its Cold Out Cities, associated with criminality, 179 There, 27 Civilization and Its Discontents (Freud), 82 Brewster, John: "The Use of Solitude in Cleansing, of guilt as futile, 139^40 Coles, Robert, 125 Prisons," 52 Brombert, Victor: The Romantic Prison: Collins, Wilkie: The Woman in White, 64, The French Tradition, 19 8 n. 15(13); Vic108-10 tor Hugo and the Visionary Novel,223— Colson, Charles: Born Again, 33, 39-40 24 n. 3(121), 236 n. 89(169) Complete Poetical Works of Lord Byron, The (Gordon), 207 n. 4(48) Brothers and Keepers (Wideman), 35 Brothers Karamazov, The (Dostoevsky),Compromise formation: and persecution, 113; and prosecution, 114-15; and 135 punishing criminals, 108; stealing as, Brown, Claude, and Arthur Dunmeyer: 30,47 A Way of Life in the Ghetto, 38 Conflict (Simmel), 11 6 Brown, Norman O., 30, 67 Brown, Rosellen: Before and After,12 6 Conflict model, defined, 165 Bunyan, John: The Pilgrim s Progress, 133 , Conrad, Joseph: Heart of Darkness,3, 4, 138-39 93, 95, 108; admiration for Kurtz, 91Burnett, Frances Hodgson: A Little Prin- 92, 96, 190-91; "unforeseen partnership," 64-65 cess, 192-9 3 Byron, George Gordon: Cain: A Mystery,Contamination, by criminals, 106, 140139; "The Prisoner of Chillon," 207 n. 42, 154, 18 0 4(48) Cost/benefit analysis, and criminals, 49 Crime: fostered by prison, 222 n. 3(117); Cain: A Mystery (Byron), 13 9 as function of criminal's virtue, 90-92; and water, 138-40 Camus, Albert: The Stranger, 219 n. 127(101) Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky), 4, Cancer Ward, The (Solzhenitsyn), 9-10 95, 135-36 Capital punishment, criminal attraction Criminal: as child, 28, 86-88,189; as conto, 208 n. 8(49) taminating, 106, 140-42, 154, 180; as diseased, 140-44, 153-54; as filth Carmen (Bizet), 82-83 (judge's view), 181-83; as filth(lawCarmen (Merimee), 4, 82, 83, 97-98 yer's view), 179-81; as great, 90-97; as Chance image, 13 3 Chaplin, Charlie: Modern Times, 200 n. instrument of justice, 70-81; as making a mistake, 186-87; as rat, 181; as re38(18) Charterhouse of Parma, The (Stendhal), fuse, 152, 158; as Sancho Panza to our Don Quixote, 117; as scapegoat, 112, 12-13 222 n. 2(117); as scum, 152, 153; as Chasseguet-Smirgel, Janine, 17 4 slime, 131-34; as slimy reptile, 134-35; Cheever, John: Falconer, 32-33 Chekhov, Anton: The Island: A Journey to as smelly, 135-36; as stained/staining, Sakhalin, 204 n. 20(36); The Three Sis- 153-54; as a stranger, 97-101, 113; as symbol of freedom, 82-90; as unclean ters, 40 and holy, 230 n. 103(143); as unfortuChild: criminal as, 28, 86-88, 189; ronate, 186; as worthy opponent, 93-95. manticization of, 189-90 See also Bandit; Noble bandit; Outlaw Children: attraction to anal matters, 13637; criminality in, fostered by parents, Criminality: associated with cities, 179; causes of, 116-17; and darkness, 12366; and freedom of movement, 84—85

Index 29; fostered in children by parents, 66; fostered by society, 112, 11 7 Criminals: admiration for, 61, 73, 76, 78; appeal of in United States, 211 n. 7(61); attraction to, 59-60; banishment of, 14(M4; belonging to "the Realm," 93; bodies used as dumpsite, 145; common and political, 46; cost/benefit analysis by, 49; defiling officers of the law, 180; idealization of, 101; and negation, 67; and prohibitions, 67-68; respected for fightagainst foreign rule, 70-72; seeing beyond the obvious, 9293; serving on jury, 15 3 Crockett, Busby: "The Prison Trip," 38 "Crooks Are So Romantic" (Allen), 68 Cross, meaning of, 36

265

95, 135-36; Notes From a Dead House, 17-18,42 Douglas, Mary, 174; Purity and Danger, 171, 226 n. 31(130) Downward spacial dimension, and prison, 32 Doyle, Arthur Conan: "The Adventure of the Final Problem," 93-94; "The Adventure of the Missing Three Quarter," 95; "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder," 94-95; The Hound of the Baskervilles, 4, 131-33, 152, 15 5 Drabble, Margaret: The Ice Age, 202 n. 15(27) du Maurier, Daphne: Jamaica Inn, 4, 127-28 Durkheim, Emile, 51, 222 n. 2(117)

Earth: as mother of life, 32; as recipient of dead, 32 Darkness: and criminality, 123-29; essential in punishment, 144-46; etymology Ego: confronting id in prison, 19-20; and of, 125; and evil, 124-25; and filth, freedom, 84-85; regression of in 125-29; and filthin films,226 n. prison, 1 9 23(128); and ghoulies, 124; as having Eissler, Ruth, 66 mass, 125-29 Eliot, George: Middlemarch, 13 4 Environment, as cause of crime, 54 Dead, rights of the, 77 Equus (Shaffer), 91, 95, 19 0 Death, and rebirth, 32-37, 54 Erikson, Erik, 138 Defecation, and transportation, 158 Defoe, Daniel: The History of the Devil, Escape fromFreedom(Fromm), 203 n. 172; Moll Flanders, 4, 88-89, 160 27(30) Euclid v. Ambler, 14 5 Denial: defined, 41-42; and narcissism, Euripides, 123 96-97 Evil, and darkness, 124—2 5 Deterrence, 48-50; defined, 48; and orExcrement: as an artistic creation, 122; as thodox economists, 49 Devices and Desires (James), 124-25 a gift, 122; infant attraction to, 136; signifying wealth, 12 2 Diaphor, defined, 126 Dickens, Charles, 68, 106-7, 169; Bleak Exile. See Banishment House, 128-29 ; Great Expectations, 4,Exile, forced. See Transportation Externalization, 157-59; defined, 158; 103-7, 134, 141^2, 180, 191; Little and transportation, 158-59 Dorrit, 28-29, 205-6 n. 1(44); Oliver Twist, 85, 134, 152, 239 n. 40 (179);^ Fairy tales: Hansel and Gretel, 168 ; love Tale of Two Cities, 123 , 14 1 and hate of mother in, 71 Didion,Joan, 188 Falconer (Cheever), 32-33 Dignity, restored in prison, 53 Dirt, criminals as. See Filth, criminals as Fall, 142, 165-67; resemblance to Botany Bay story, 167; themes of, 167-69 (metaphor) False consciousness, and liberty, 40, 42 Disease, and filth,140-41, 17 2 False Starts: A Memoir of San Quentin and Diseased, criminals as, 140^44, 153-54 Dostoevsky, Fyodor, 43; The Brothers Kar- Other Prisons (Braly), 25-27, 44-45, 46, amazov, 135 ; Crime and Punishment, 4,48-49

266

Index

Fatal Shore, The (Hughes), 149-50, 169, Gay, John: The Beggars Opera, 68, 16 0 Gehenna, 144, 16 5 234 n. 53(158) Ghoulies, in the dark, 124 Fear, of parental abandonment, 168 Ginzburg, Eugenia, 15, 16, 37, 52, 190 , Felix culpa (fortunate fall), 169 Fenichel, Otto, 143, 17 8 202 n. 14(27) Glaser, Daniel: "Capital Punishment— Figner,Vera, 15,35,40 Filth: allure of, 136-38; criminals as (met- Deterrent or Stimulus to Murder? Our aphor), 121-22; and darkness, 125-29; Unexamined Deaths and Penalties," and disease, 140-41, 172; essential in 208 n. 8(49) punishment, 144-46; gypsy view of, Goetz, Bernhard, 78-80 226-27 n. 32(130); meanings of, 121- Gofrman, Erving: Asylums, 203 n. 23(29) 22; metaphor of, 121-22, 153-59, Golden Bough, The (Frazer), 143 183-84, 185-87; relationship to wanGordon, George: The Complete Poetical dering, 172; as smelly, 135-36; wet as Works of Lord Byron, 207 n. 4(48) dirtier than dry, 13 0 Grapes of Wrath, The (Steinbeck), 3, 4, 73-76 First Circle, The (Solzhenitsyn), 11-12, Gratification: from criminal acts, 80-81; 13-14,15,28,50,190 of id, 65-66, 112-13; of superego, 65First Fleeters: defined, 5; Fellowship of, 161 66,112-13 Fitzgerald, F. Scott: The Great Gatsby, 4,Great Expectations (Dickens), 4, 103-7, 98-100, 19 0 134, 141-42, 180, 19 1 Fitzgerald, Tamsin, 27, 41, 56 Great Gatsby, The (Fitzgerald), 4, 98-100, Floating, prisoners as, 11-12 190 Flynn, Thomas, 39; Tales for My BrothersGreatness, criminal as embodiment of, 90-97 Keepers, 46 Foucault, Michel, 16 1 Green, T. H.: positive liberty, 39 Fowles, John: "Foreword" to The Hound Greene, Graham, 46; The Power and the of the Baskervilles, 13 3 Glory, 13 , 34 Frazer, James: The Golden Bough, 14 3 Guards, similarity to prisoners, 39-40 Freedom: anal/oppositional, 62, 82; crim- Guilt: and rebirth through punishment, 36; and repression, 4, 81; and scapeinal as symbol of, 82-90; defined, 40; goat, 112; washing away, 139-4 0 fear of, as healthy, 200 n. 33(16), 200 n. 40(18); law as obstacle to, 82; Gulag Archipelago, The (Solzhenitsyn), and loneliness, 18-19; of movement, 32 62, 83-86; negatively portrayed, 16Gypsy: image of, 83; view of filth,22619; outer and inner, 41; in prison, 4027 n. 32(130) 41; from social pressures, 88-90; "sour grapes" reaction to, 17, 41-42. See also Habeas corpus act, 14 8 Hamlet, The Tragedy of (Shakespeare), Liberty Freud, Sigmund: Civilization and Its Dis- 135, 14 1 Hansel and Gretel, 16 8 contents, 82; ego and freedom, 84 Hapgood, Robert, 88 Friendship: prison as matrix of, 13, 15Harlots Progress, A (Hogarth), 68 16, 53; better in prison, 18-19, 19 0 Fromm, Erich: Escape fromFreedom, Hart, H. L. A., 50 Heart of Darkness(Conrad), 3, 4, 93, 95, 203 n. 27(30) 108; admiration for Kurtz, 91-92, 96, Frye, Northrop, 2, 56 190-91; "unforeseen partnership," 6465 Gallous, defined, 111 Henry IV, Part I (Shakespeare), 87-88 Gangsters: A Golden Age, 67 Hero myth, 204 n. 21(36) Garvey, James, Jr. (warden), 53-55

Index

267

Highsmith, Patricia, 89-90; The Talented Jack Sheppard (Bleakley), 85 Jackson, Fernando, 50 Mr. Ripley, 90 Jacobson, Edith, 19-20 Highwaymen: admiration for, 85-86; Jail, 198 n. 15(13). See also Prison clothing style inspired by, 85; myth Jamaica Inn (du Maurier), 4, 127-28 versus reality, 85 History of the Devil, The (Defoe), 172 James, P. D.: Devices and Desires, 124-2 5 Hitchcock, Alfred: Psycho, 128 ; To CatchJoint, a The (Blake), 11, 17, 44, 50; failed robbery, 29-30; and impulse neurosis, Thief, 218-19 n. 117(99) 21, 22, 30; negative images of life outHobsbawm, Eric J., 61-62; Bandits, 61side, 10, 16, 53; on prison friendship, 62,82 16; yearning for prison, 10, 24, 27, 29Hogarth, William: A Harlots Progress, 30 68 Hound of the Baskervilles, The (Doyle),Joyce, 4, James: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 13 5 131-33,152,155 Jury, criminals serving on, 15 3 Houses of refuge, 176-78 criminal as instrument of, 70-81 Hughes, Robert: The Fatal Shore, 149-50Justice, , Juvenile justice, 176-79 169, 234 n. 53(158) Hugo, Victor: LesMiserables, 3, 4, 95, 114-15,165,169 Kagh, 198 n. 15(13). See also Prison "Hulks Act, The," 148 Kidnapped (Stevenson), 4, 71-72, 98, 19 0 King Lear (Shakespeare), 11, 34 King Must Die, The (Renault), 28 Ice Age, The (Drabble), 202 n. 15(27) Kiss of the Spider Woman (Puig), 34 Id: confrontation with ego in prison, 19- Kohn, Jaakov: "Time: Two Interviews," 20; gratification of, 65-66, 112-13 199 n. 23(15) Idealization: of criminal, 101, 118; of Kubie, Lawrence: "The Fantasy of Dirt," First Fleeters, 5, 16 1 130 Impotence, of the state, 77-80 Imprisonment: alternatives to, 224 n. 5(121); attraction for murderer, Lamb, Charles, 151, 19 1 206 n. 10(47); civilian feelings on, 51; Lamott, Kenneth: Chronicles of San Quenas inducement to criminality, 30,44— tin, 46 46, 49; and mother's womb, 36, 189 ; Lane, Robert: "The Burden of Freeand reality gap, 42-43; and regression dom," 1 7 of the ego, 19; relation to death and re- Law: ambivalence toward, 59, 71, 159birth, 36; and thieves, 47 60; freedom against, 62; infringing on Impulse neurosis, 16, 21-23; defined, 21; rights of dead, 77; legitimacy diminexamples of, 21; and oral-fixation, 21 ished (foreign rule), 70-72; legitimacy diminished (tyrannical domestic rule), Incapacitation, 207 n. 1(48 ) 73-77; legitimacy diminished (weak Incarceration. See Imprisonment domestic rule), 77-80; as obstacle to Injunctions. See Prohibitions freedom, 82; as parent, 189; transInstitutionalization, 48 forming gray to black and white, 18 6 Intellectualism, fostered in prison, 19-21 Law and Literature (Posner), 219 n. Interpreters Bible, The, 16 7 127(101) Inventing Billy the Kid: Visions of the OutLawyers: as romanceless figures,191; law in America 1881-1981 (Tatum), 61, similar to criminals, 160 62 Island: A Journey to Sakhalin, The (CheLe Blanc, Abbe, 85 Les Miserables (Hugo), 3, 4, 95, 114-15, khov), 204 n. 20(36) 165,169 Isolation, related to banishment, 143

268

Index

Lewis, C. S.: "Bluspels and Flalansferes," 153-59, 183-84, 185-87; master's, 155; 155,187 pupil's, 154-56 Liberty: and false consciousness, 40, 42; Middlemarch (Eliot), 134 Milton, John: Paradise Lost, 142 , 144-45, negative, 38-39, 42; positive, 38-39, 40, 42; and prison, 38-40. See also 233 n. 50(157) Mist, etymology of, 128 Freedom Lifton, Robert Jay: Thought Reform and Mitchell, Juliet, 56, 18 9 the Psychology ofTotalism, 20-21 Modern Times (Chaplin), 200 n. 38(18) Light at Midnight (Wallach), 1, 18, 42-43 Moll Flanders (Defoe), 4, 88-89, 16 0 Literature, as valid source of knowledge, Moor, 13 2 Morgenstern, Joseph, 65-66 60 Little Dorrit (Dickens), 28-29, 205-6 n. Mother: in fairy tales, 71; prison as, 2831, 52; sea as symbol of, 28 1(44) Mother's womb, and imprisonment, 36, Little Princess, A (Burnett), 192-93 Lovelace, Richard: "To Althea, from 189 Movement, freedomof, 62, 83-86 prison," 198 n. 15(13) Mr. Love and Justice(Maclnnes), 92-93, Macbeth, The Tragedy of (Shakespeare), 4,95, 10 8 Mundy, Godfrey C: Our Antipodes,151, 125-27, 133, 139-40, 155 Maclnnes, Colin: Mr. Love and Justice, 152, 153-54 92-93, 95, 10 8 Munroe, Ruth, 137, 14 0 MacKay, David: A Place of Exile,148-4 9 Murder, in ancient Greece, 229 n. MacKinnon, Roger, and Robert Michels: 95(142) The Psychiatric Interview in ClinicalMy Shadow Ran Fast (Sands), 32 Mysophilic practice, defined, 145-46 Practice, 68-69 Maconochie, Alexander, 162-65 Mahler, Margaret, et al.: The Psychological Narcissism: and criminals as great, 9697, 191-93; and denial, 96-97 Birth of the Human Infant: Symbiosis and Individuation, 96 Narcissistic investment, 96-97, 19 2 Malcolm X, 14-15, 33, 52, 208 n. 8(49) Nark, defined, 217 n. 91(93) Mandelstam, Nadezhda, 1 8 Narrative model, defined, 165 Man for All Seasons, A (Bolt), 41 Negation, 67-68; defined, 67 Master's metaphor, 15 5 Nehru, Jawaharlal, 35 Maturin, Charles: Melmoth the Wanderer, Network of images, 13 3 New York Children's Aid Society, 178140 Maupassant, Guy de: Ball-of-Fat, 4, 102- 79 New York Society of the Reformation of 3,107 Juvenile Delinquents, 177 Measure-for-measure punishment, 144New York Times, Terry Broome story, 23 45, 185; defined, 144 Melmoth the Wanderer (Maturin), 14 0 Noble bandit, 60-63; as brutal and selfish, 62; characteristics of, 210 n. Melville, Samuel, 1 4 3(61); distinguished fromvigilante, 80; Mens rea, defined, 59 explanations for appeal of, 61-62. See Merimee, Prosper: Carmen, 4, 82, 83, also Bandit; Criminal; Outlaw 97-98 Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, The Noriega, Manuel, 18 0 Notes fromaDead House (Dostoevsky), (Pyle), 70-71 Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare), 88 17-18, 42 Noyes, Alfred, "The Highwayman," 83 Metaphor: choice of, never accidental, 155; comparing filthto evil, 223-24 n. Nusunginya, Percy (Inupiat whaling captain), 72 3(121); defined, 121; of filth,121-22,

Index

269

Persecution, 108-15; admiration transOakland v. Detroit, 18 3 formed to, 108; as a compromise forOberkirch, Ann: "Psychotherapy of a mation, 11 3 Murderer: Excerpts," 206 n. 10(47) Obsessive-compulsive neurosis, 138; and Peter Pan, 13 4 Peterson v. State, 18 0 penology, 175; and punctuality, 178 Ocean. See Sea, symbol of mother Pilgrims Progress, The (Bunyan), 133, 138-39 O'Dwyer, Josie, 46 Oedipus Tyrannus (Sophocles), 139, 14 2 Place of Exile, A (MacKay), 148^9 Placing out system. See Orphan Train Offal, defined, 140 Movement OfficialIcky-Poo Book, The, 13 7 Playboy of the Western World, The (Synge), Oliver Twist (Dickens), 85, 134, 152 , 4,110-13,191-92 239 n. 40(179) Polarities: important in the unconscious, On Doing Time (Sobell), 1 112, 165; in obsessional neurosis, 138 One Day in the Life of IvanDenisovich (SolPortrait of the Artist as a Young Man, A zhenitsyn), 13, 52 (Joyce), 13 5 On Lee v. United States, 18 3 Oppenheimer, Heinrich: Rationale of Pun-Posner, Richard: Law and Literature, 219 n. 127(101) ishment, 209 n. 28(55) Power and the Glory, The (Greene), 13, Oral fixation:discussed, 30-31; and im34 pulse neurosis, 21; and retribution, 51; Prejudice, consequences of liberation and stealing, 30 from, 20 3 n. 27(30) Origins of English Words, A Discursive DicPrison: as an academy, 13-15, 52-53; and tionary of Indo-European Roots (Shipley), chthonic spacial dimension, 32; as fos198 n. 15(13) tering crime, 222 n. 3(117); freedom Orphan Train Movement, 178-79; goal in, 40-41; friendshipsbetter in, 18-19; of, 17 8 as a high place, 12-13; history of, 173Orpheus, 36 74; id confronting ego in, 19-20; as inOrthodox economist, and deterrence, 49 fliction o f evil on offender, 50; as isOsborne, Thomas Mott: Within Prison land of calm amidst motion, 10-12; Walls, 100-10 1 and liberty, 38-40; as matrix of friendOtello (Verdi), 13 0 ship, 13, 15-16, 53; and monastery, Our Antipodes (Mundy), 151, 152, 153197 n. 5(10); as mother, 28-31, 52; 54 Our Country s Good (Wertenbaker), 147 population of, 121; as a protected place, 24-27; as provider, 26-27; as a Outlaw: defined, 77; romantic, 59. See refuge (fostering intellectualism and also Bandit; Criminal; Noble bandit spirituality), 19-21, 52; as a refuge (from freedom),16-19; as a refuge Paradise Lost (Milton), 142, 144-45, (generally), 16, 52-53; as a refuge (and 233 n. 50(157) impulse neurosis), 16, 21-23; restoring Parents: and delinquent children, 66; law dignity, 53; as a rite of passage, 35-36; as, 18 9 separate system, 175-76; silent system, Parker, Bonnie, 85-86. See also Bonnie 174-75; as timeless, 27-28, 189; as and Clyde (Penn) Penn, Arthur (movie director, Bonnie and transformative environment, 54. See also Imprisonment; Jail; Kagh; SharaClyde), 65 shka Penology, 173-76 Prisoner of Mao(Bao), 1 8 Pereira de Queiroz, Maria Isaura, 70 Perry, Bruce: "Escape fromFreedom, Prisoners: as floating,11-12; political Criminal Style: The Hidden Advanversus common, 206 n. 7(46); similartages of Being in Jail," 208 n. 8(49) ity to guards, 39^10

270

Index

Reality, conceptualized versus actual, 42Prisons: Attica, 35; Auburn, 100, 101 , 43 174-75; Canon City, 206 n. 8(46); Cook County Jail, 173; Marshalsea, 28, Rebirth, and death, 32-37, 54 106; Naval Prison at Portsmouth, 101; Recidivism, 42 Newgate, 106, 161, 173; Norfolk IsReform schools. See Houses of refuge land, 148, 149, 162-65, 169; Pelican Refuge, prison as. See Prison, as a refuge Bay, 238-39 n. 29(176); Pentonville, Rehabilitation, 51-55; defined, 51 176; Rikers Island, 53-54; Sakhalin, Renault, Mary: The King Must Die, 28 204 n. 20(36); San Quentin, 25, 27, 45, Representativeness, 46-47 46, 50; Stateville, 35; Western-PennRepression, of criminal attraction, 60, 81, sylvania Penitentiary, 52-53 156-57 Prohibitions, 67-68 Reptile, criminal as, 134—3 5 Repudiation, 102-8 Projection, 137-38; defined, 137 Projective identification, 159 Resistance, defined, 214-15 n. 37(81) Prometheus, 93, 230 n. 103(143), 234 n. Restraint, defined, 207 n. 1(48) 69(163) Resurrection (Tolstoy), 10 1 Prosecution, and compromise formation, Retribution, 50-51; and oral fixation,51; 114-15 special, 50 Prostitution, in 19th-century France, Revulsion, as defense mechanism, 108 219-20 n. 1(102 ) Robbers, The (Schiller), 67, 82, 93, 95 Psychiatric Interview in Clinical Practice, Rob Roy (Scott), 2, 10 8 The (MacKinnon and Michels), 68-69 Rochlin, Gregory, 16 8 Psychiatrists, psychopathic patients enRock, as symbol of the eternal, 197 n. vied by, 68-69 7(H) Psychic determinism, 233 n. 41(155) Romanticism: of the child, 189-90; of Psycho (Hitchcock), 128 criminal denied, 68; defensive function Psychoanalysis, transforming black and of, 191-92. See also Idealization white to gray, 18 6 Romantic Prison: The French Tradition, The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant:(Brombert), 198 n. 15(13) Symbiosis and Individuation, The (MahRookwood (Ainsworth), 83-84, 85 ler et al.), 96 Roots of Crime: Psychoanalytic Studies (AlexPuig, Manuel: Kiss of the Spider Woman, ander and Healy), 30, 46-47 34 Rousseau, Jean Jacques: positive liberty, Punishment: darkness and filthessential 39 in, 144-46; inducement to criminality, Sachs, Albie, 39 208 n. 8(49); measure-for-measure, 144-45, 185; reasons for choosing loca- Sadism, 22, 62, 145; and Australian convicts, 164-65; defined, 80; in The Playtions for, 145^46; theories of, 48; vicarboy of the Western World, 111-1 3 ious, 66 Sands, Bill: My Shadow Ran Fast, 32 Punter, David, 159-60 Scapegoat, 158, 222 n. 2(117); defined, Pupil's metaphor, 154—5 6 Purity and Danger (Douglas), 171, 226 n. 112 Schiller, Friedrich, 189-90; The Robbers, 31(130) 61, 82, 93, 95 Schoenfeld, C. G.: "Law and UnconRat, criminal as, 134, 18 1 Rationale of Punishment(Oppenheimer), scious Motivation," 208 n. 8(49) Scott, Sir Walter: Rob Roy, 2, 10 8 209 n. 28(55) Scum, 121, 122, 152-53; defined, 153. Ratushinskaya, Irina, 36 See also Filth Reaction-formations, 19 ; defined, 105; to Sea, symbol of mother, 28 filth, 137 ; shunning criminals, 10 8

Index

271

Spiritual rebirth, prison as matrix of, 32Self-respect, regained in prison, 53-54 37,52 Sentencing, disproportionate, 224 n. 6(121) Spurgeon, Caroline F. E., 141 Stain: and Australian convicts, 153-54; in Separate system, 175-76 Great Expectations, 10 6 Shaffer, Peter: Equus, 91, 95, 19 0 Stealing: as a compromise formation, 30, Shakespeare, William, 1, 156, 183; The Tragedy of Hamlet,135 , 141; Henry IV,47; and oral fixation,30; reasons for, Parti, 87-88; King Lear, 11 , 34; The 49 Tragedy of Macbeth,4, 125-27, 133, Steinbeck, John: The Grapes of Wrath, 3, 13 9-40, 155; Merry Wives of Windsor, 4, 73-76 88; Two Gentlemen of Verona, 215 n.Stendhal, 46: The Charterhouse of Parma, 50(85) 12-13 Stevenson, Robert Louis: The Black Shapiro, David, 17 6 Sharashka: defined, 11; friendship in, 15- Arrow, 78; Kidnapped, 4, 71-72, 98, 190; Treasure Island, 86-87 16. See also Prison Stories, human need of, 167 Sheol, 14 4 Shipley, Joseph: The Origins of English Stranger: criminal as, 97-101, 113; as near and remote, 98-101 Words, A Discursive Dictionary of IndoStranger, The (Camus), 219 n. 127(101) European Roots, 198 n. 15(13) Strauss, Erwin: On Obsession: A Clinical Silent system, 174-75 and Methodological Study, 130-3 1 Simenon, Georges, 12 6 Sublimations, 19-20 Simmel, Georg, 97; Conflict, 11 6 Superego: appeasement through sufferSlime: and creation, 131; criminal as, ing, 36; gratification of, 65-66,112 — 131-34; as toy, 136. See also Filth 13; prohibiting admiration for crimiSlough, defined, 133 nals, 65-66 Smith, Edgar, 38, 40 Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 28 Smith, Langdon, 131 Synge, John Millington: The Playboy of Smith, Sydney, 15 1 the Western World, 4, 110-13, 191-92 Smells: putrid associated with evil, 13536; sweet associated with goodness, 135 Taboo, defined, 143 Sobell, Morton: On Doing Time, 1 Social bandit. See Bandit; Noble bandit Taint. See Stain Social pressure, criminal's freedom from, Talented Mr. Ripley, The (Highsmith), 90 88-90 Tale of Two Cities, A (Dickens), 123, 14 1 Tales for My Brothers Keepers (Flynn), 39, Socrates, 18 7 46 Solitary confinement, in early prisons, Tatum, Stephen: Inventing Billy the Kid: 53 Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr: The Cancer Visions of the Outlaw in America 1881Ward, 9-10; The First Circle, 11-12 , 1981, 61, 62 13-14, 15, 28, 50, 190; The Gulag Ar- Text, relationship to meaning,^M 46 chipelago, 32; One Day in the Life ofThieves. Ivan See Stealing Thomas, Dylan, 27 Denisovich, 13, 52 Sophocles: Antigone, 16-11; Oedipus Thoreau, Henry David, 18 8 Thought Reform and the Psychology ofToTyrannus, 139 , 14 2 talism (Lifton), 20-21 "Sour grapes" reaction, to life in freeThree Sisters, The (Chekhov), 40 dom, 17, 41^2 Timeless, prison as, 27-28, 189 Spacial dimension (chthonic): defined, To Catch a Thief {Hitchcock), 218-19 n. 203 n. 2(32); and prison, 32 117(99) Spirituality, fostered in prison, 19-21

272

Index

Tolstoy, Leo, 46; Resurrection, 101 ; WarVigilante, 78-80; distinguished fromnoand Peace, 14 , 40-41, 205-6 n. 1(44 ) ble bandit, 80 Total institution, 29 Vine, symbol of Christianity, 3 5 Transference, institutional, 28 Transportation, 147-48; conditions on Wallach, Erica: Light at Midnight, 1 , 18 , ships, 156; crimes imposing sentence 42-43 of, 234 n. 53(158); criminal desire for, Wandering, relationship to filth,172 169; and defecation, 158; defined, 147; War and Peace (Tolstoy), 14, 40-41, 205and externalization, 158-59; "The 6 n. 1(44 ) Hulks Act," 148; and metaphor of Warren, Robert Penn: All the Kings Men, filth, 153-59 ; and projective identifi90-91, 96 cation, 15 9 Water: cleansing with, as futile, 139-40; Treasure Island (Stevenson), 86-87 and crime, 138^-0 Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare),Watergate, 33. See also Colson, Charles 215 n. 50(85) Wayward Youth (Aichhorn), 176-77 Weakness, of the state, 77-80 Wertenbaker, Timberlake: Our Country s Ullathorne, William, 151 Undoing, defined, 140 Good, 14 7 United States v. Barker, 12 4 Wesley, John, 13 8 United States v. Corona, 18 0 Wideman, John Edgar: Brothers and KeepUnited States v. Valencia, 18 3 ers, 35 Wild, Jonathan, 16 0 Williams, Patricia, 125 Vagabonds, definitions of, 171-72 Within Prison Walls (Osborne), 100-101 Vagrancy law, 171-73; goal of, 17 2 Woman in White, The (Collins), 64, 108Vagrants, definitions of, 171, 17 2 10 Valery, Paul, 9 Woolf, Virginia, 89 Verdi: Otello, 13 0 Wordsworth, William, 19 2 Verlaine, Paul, 22-23 Victor Hugo and the Visionary Novel Worm, "Ooshy-Gooshy" poem, 13 7 Worthy opponent, criminal as, 93-95 (Brombert), 223-24 n. 3(121), 236 n. Wraxall, Nathaniel, 157-58 89(169)