V.V.(9) Chapter Seven, part 1 - Vheissu, part 2

[Michael Perez]

     Poe, I believe, is the most relevant here, but we can certainly
discuss others throughout the two weeks we spend on this part of
Chapter Seven.  Barressem and Cowart make a convincing case for
the idea of Vheissu originating in the “hollow earth” theory of
John Cleves Symmes by way of Poe and Verne.  Verne wrote a
“final Note or appendix” [_Pym_, p.282] to the Poe novel in 1897
called “Le Sphinx des Glaces” and his _Journey to the Center of
the Earth_, called upon Symmes ideas extensively.  This theory,
and  Poe’s use of it, was outlined by Harold Beaver in his
introduction to the Penguin edition of _The Narrative of Arthur
Gordon Pym of Nantucket_:
“In 1818 a manifesto was published to ‘all the world’ making this
startling claim.  John Cleves Symmes, its author, was not a
sea-faring man.  A ex-captain of infantry living in St.Louis, he had
studied the confused mariners’ reports of warmer water and
contrary migration of birds near the poles, to promote one
overriding idea:  that the earth, formed by rotation, consisted of
five concentric spheres with access through ‘holes at the Poles’ so
wide that a voyager ‘might pass from the outer side . . . over the
rim and down upon the inner side a great distance before becoming
aware of the fact at all.’  He called for ‘one hundred brave
companions’ to hop off from Siberia to the North Pole to find a
‘warm and rich land stocked with thrifty vegetation and animals, if
not men . . .’  He appealed to the world’s leading scientists, Sir
Humphrey Davy and Baron Alexander von Humboldt, to be his
‘protectors.’  He lectured throughout America for the next eleven
years.  In 1822 he petitioned Congress to send an Arctic exploring
expedition and by 1823 had attracted twenty-five affirmative votes. 
He was even offered a place on a Russian government expedition
to Siberia.  In 1826 a disciple, James McBride, brought out a
formal exposition:  *The Symmes Theory of Concentric Spheres,
demonstrating that the earth is hollow, habitable, and widely open
at the poles.*” [_Pym_, p.11]
     Barressem points out that both Vheissu and Poe’s Tsalal are
tropical, but far too near to vast expanses of Arctic-like territory,
as Symmes imagines the areas in the holes near the poles to be.  
Barresem says:  “The motif of the journey, the warm climate near
the Pole and the unexplored countries of Tsalal and Vheissu all
point to a close connection among the different concepts.” [_PN
#10_, p.8]  In contrast to Symmes’ idyllic unexplored world both
Vheissu and Tsalal are far from tranquil.
     The article also goes into the similarities of the descriptions of
the inhabitants of the two worlds:
“A very short while sufficed to prove that this apparent kindness of
disposition was only the result of a deeply laid plan for our
destruction, and that the islanders for whom we entertained such
inordinate feelings of esteem, were among the most barbarous,
subtle, and bloodthirsty wretches that ever contaminated the face
of the globe.”  [_Pym_, p.205]
“Vheissu is hardly a restful place.  There’s barbarity, insurrection,
internecine feud.  It’s no different from any other godforsakenly
remote region.  The English have been jaunting in and out of
places like Vheissu for centuries.”  [170.6]
     Barressem also mentions that the descriptions of both places
“share an intricate color symbolism based on a juxtaposition of
color and whiteness, of life and annihilation” [_PN #10_, p.11] 
However, in mentioning that both yield the same amount of
survivors of the respective expeditions (three), I don’t believe he
goes far enough in extracting meaning from the comparisons in
this regard.  In _Pym_, there were actually four survivors before
they were temporarily rescued by the *Jane Guy* (this was
actually before they reached Tsalal).  When their food ran low,
they drew lots to determine who was going to provide sustenance
for the remaining three.  In a chilling description of the decision
process, Poe relates that the loser offered no resistance and was
stabbed in the back by Dirk Peters, who Barressem corresponds to
Godolphin second-in-command who is “in hospital.  Retired now.”
[172.14]  Peters “cannot be met with at present” [_Pym_, p. 240]. 
Could it be that a similar situation faced, Godolphin’s expedition
and they were also desperate enough to resort to cannibalism?
     It could be that something that was too horrible to exist in
Godolphin’s memory for him to be able to tolerate without a great
deal of mental stress occurred to the members of his party that did
not survive the journey either to or from Vheissu.  This mental
stress could also have caused a permanent breakdown that at this
point in the book affects how he conducted his life afterward. 
Remember he has seen other atrocities like the massacre of
General Gordon’s party in Khartoum, which is what Godolphin
says prompted him to accept the place on the expedition that found
Vheissu.
     In my previous readings of _V._ (this being my third) I have
vacillated between thinking that Herbert (or Sidney or Herbert and
Sidney) created Vheissu to add some intrigue into his investigation
or that Godolphin might have created it out of some sense of
survivor guilt since his expedition actually did not accomplish
anything so certainly did not justify the loss of life.  Indeed, if  it
was the result of Godolphin’s madness, his subsequent journeys to
the Pole and South Africa may have been some sorts of suicide
missions, putting himself in danger deliberately.  I mean, what
idiot would enter the Antarctic in June?  Through it all, I have to
keep bringing myself back from these speculations and remember
all the filtering that was possible by the time Eigenvalue hears
these stories.



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