Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: Into the Looking Glass
Episode 4 “All the Mirrors of the World”
Surprisingly, John Childermass is not dead from the gunshot wound he suffered at the hands of the distraught Lady Pole, whose bullet was meant for Mr. Norrell as repayment for her endless enchantment. Norrell’s goal in bringing her back from the dead was not an act of compassion, but only to serve his own purpose of bringing magic back to England. Ironically, it was the very type of magic that he strongly opposes in public that was used to bring her back to life.
Unconscious during surgery, Childermass finds himself in the faery world of the Raven King, waking several days later with Norrell waiting by his bed. This scene packs an incredibly powerful punch. We see Norrell waiting for Childermass to wake, a concerned look on his face, and we feel a bit more connected with his emotions, albeit briefly. As soon as Childermass wakes, Norrell greets him not with concern for his well-being or with thanks for putting his own safety above his masters, but with paranoid accusations and an interrogation about the magic that Childermass was performing just before the incident. Norrell’s selfish and protective nature reveals so much of this man and his motivations to keep English magic and its reputation — HIS reputation — under strict control.
As Childermass reminds Norrell, he learned that spell from Norrell himself, who taught him how to perform it to detect magic and find who is doing it. This brief conversation is the narrow edge of a large wedge between the two men. I see Childermass’ mental departure from Norrell’s influence, and a shift in the trust and admiration that he held for Norrell as an employer and expert on magic.
Lady Pole is taken to Starecross Hall, originally meant to be a school of magic headed by John Segundus and Mr. Honeyfoot, but as a result of Norrell’s manipulations, they are forbidden to teach. She is unhappy to be left with magicians; however, they eventually assure her that they are no friends of Norrell, and she begins to settle into the peace and quiet among those who will look after her with greater understanding, care, and privacy than an asylum might offer. Segundus notices the magic that surrounds both Lady Pole and Stephen, symbolized by a rose at their mouth: the rose being an ancient sign of secrecy.
Norrell and Strange are summoned to aid King George III, who is going mad. While Norrell contends that magic cannot cure madness and does very little to help, Strange returns later without Norrell and calls upon the magic of the Raven King to help. The King is transported to a distant road, where Steven, manipulated by the faery Gentleman, is forced to try and kill him to assume the crown. Fortunately for both the King and Stephen, Strange creates a clever counter-spell, returning the King to the room unharmed; however, the faery Gentleman is so angered by this abrupt halt to his plans that he vows to get even with Strange and take Arabella for himself. His plan includes creating a doppelganger of Arabella Strange from a mossy oak that he and Steven recover from the moor.
Drawlight, who was instrumental in bridging Norrell’s first introductions into London’s high society, seems to have been living beyond his means. Resourceful as ever, he has been collecting large amounts of money from London’s wealthy citizens who desire a magician’s help in resolving their domestic and business issues. The magician whom he represents: Jonathan Strange. The only catch is that Strange doesn’t know anything about it; at least, not at first. Drawlight’s hoax is discovered and revealed by none other than Strange himself, and Drawlight must reveal his large debts when he calls upon his colleague, Lascelles, to help him out of his financial predicament.
Lascelles, who has just finished his obsequious and exaggerated biography on Mr. Norrell, sees an opportunity to become the exclusive companion and advisor to Mr. Norrell by turning Drawlight in to the police, who arrest him for vagrancy, getting him out of the way. Debtor’s prison isn’t the living conditions that Drawlight is used to, but it’s preferable to Norrell’s suggestion of having him hanged.
Strange is convinced that faery magic should be studied — tamed even, and continues to explore his magical abilities. He discovers that mirrors offer access to the Raven King’s roads, which can be used to travel between locations, and he is excited about exploring this vast new frontier; however, Norrell forbids any further endeavors to continue. This leaves the two men at an impasse, and Strange decides that his education under Mr. Norrell’s tutelage has come to an end.
In a last effort to keep Strange from leaving, Norrell offers access to books that he had hidden from Strange, equal status as fellow magicians, and tries to appeal to their mutual need for professional companionship and intellectual discussions. Strange knows that Norrell is set on towing the line on “Modern Magic,” and that he will be dissuaded from exploring this new frontier. He declines, and Norrell seems to both mourn his leaving and fear what might happen to his hold over magic in England without his watchful (and oppressive) oversight. Strange publishes a scathing review of Norrell’s book that challenges Norrell’s theories. Under influence from Lascelles, Norrell’s paranoid disposition cranks into overdrive, and he begins to plot Strange’s downfall.
Jonathan is called to help Lord Wellington fight Napoleon in France after the siege of Paris, and so just when he had begun to enjoy his new home life with Arabella, it is disrupted once again by the war that he cannot ignore.
The special effects were subtle in this episode, but still impressive. Among them: The raven flying from Childermass’ bullet wound, Jonathan Strange stepping through the mirror and emerging from another across town, and possibly the most subtle and yet most disturbing (and my favorite of the week): the fleeting non-human inner eyelid blink from Arabella’s body-double.
Jonathan Strange is in for a very bumpy ride and this episode leaves us asking many questions. What is the Gentleman plotting for Arabella, now that Jonathan is again going off to the war in France? Are Lady Pole and Stephen’s enchantment connected to Arabella’s fate? Will Strange be able to enter and leave the faery kingdom through mirrors at will without consequences? Will Childermass continue to align his loyalties with Norrell, or go off on his own exploration of the truth about magic in England? Is it just a difference of opinion between Norrell and Strange, or is it a matter of absolute right or wrong?
The English public is starting to divide between “Norrellites” and “Strangites.” With all of the mirrors of the world at our disposal, perhaps one of them will tell us: who is the greatest magician of them all?
