That Hideous Strength

She then sees a fire and remembers a part of her dream that she forgot to tell the others. In the dream, she found Merlin by a fire in the woods. He’d already left from under Bragdon Wood. The group heads toward the fire on foot. While moving through the dark and mud, Jane ruminates on death. She never thought much about religion or the thought of death. Now, however, she knows she cannot avoid death and how close it might be. The group ends up detouring around due to the woods and trees, and has a hard time getting closer to the fire. They finally get close enough and Jane thinks she sees someone. When they approach, they see a tent and a beggar’s items, including a donkey, but no one is around.

The Fairy, Wither and Professor Frost converse in Wither’s office. Miss Hardcastle is trying to get Wither to let her interrogate Mark, whom they have picked up under the guise that he’s been apprehended by the normal police. Miss Hardcastle wants to rough him up a bit to find out where Jane is. Wither simply stares at Frost’s forehead the entire time, and he says that they cannot allow her to torture Mark. If Mark is tortured and Jane sees him in that state, she might lose her ability as a seer and be of no use to them. She has to come to them freely and Mark must not be tortured.

Miss Hardcastle is eventually dismissed, and Wither and Frost talk about their options with Mark. Wither wonders if Jane is really necessary, while Frost reminds him that they have been ordered to obtain Jane. Frost then wonders if they can make Mark have a genuine change of heart. If so, he might bring Jane to them without having to torture him or risk upsetting Jane and losing her gift. Frost suggests truly letting Mark in to their inner circle, suggesting some type of experiment with him where he will see what they are truly about. The entire time the two speak, they get closer to one another, at last almost touching. Their faces, in fact, are nearly kissing, as if lovers. Frost reminds Wither that Mark is valuable even without Jane’s clairvoyance. He’s an ideal candidate as he wouldn’t resist and would allow himself to be “unified.” Wither laughs, Frost touches his shoulder, and then a crash is heard in the room. They are thrown together in an embrace and cannot get apart. A shrill, loud, animal laugh is heard.

Mark ruminates on death in his cell. He thinks the place is familiar but doesn’t know where he is. He isn’t thinking about immortality as it doesn’t concern him. He’s thinking about the physical act of dying, and this physicality of death tears at him. He looks back at his life and thinks it has all been dreary. He sees that he has been a pawn and that the N.I.C.E. has played on his desire to be wanted and admired. He wonders when it started and realizes that, though he thought it began with Feverstone and getting the fellowship and being a part of the Progressive Element, it actually began when he was a child. He left friends behind to be a part of the in-crowd. His one consolation is that Jane will be rid of him now. He won’t drag her down or use her as a stepping stone in his desire to be wanted by others. When the door opens, Mark recognizes Professor Frost and knows instantly that he is at Belbury. Mark wonders how he could have ever trusted a man like Frost.

Jane and the others reach the beggar’s camp but cannot find anyone there. They then notice tracks leading in the opposite direction of the way they came and follow them. Meanwhile, Wither, who has long since stopped sleeping unless absolutely necessary, sits around in his office with a vacant expression. The narrative talks about him having successfully separated his body and mind so that he can allow his body to function during meetings and with people while his mind drifts far away. He receives a call from Stone, who is out searching for Merlin. Stone tells him that the cave is empty, and his men are presently searching elsewhere.

Jane and the group continue to trudge through the night. They see a horse with “a great figure of a man” (252) riding it. Dr. Dimble is too winded to speak to the man in the Great Tongue and the man, seemingly mocking them, rides away.

Frost interviews Mark in his cell and tells him that he has only two options. He can join themor die. He tells Mark that they have been testing him with all the drama as of late, and that they’d rather him hate the members of the inner circle then operate on something as groundless as friendship. He also says that the Head is not the end all, even though Filostrato and Wilkins think so. He admits that Alcasan’s mind is not the mind that they are in contact with.

Frost then talks of microbes and macrobes. Microbes are the microscopic organisms below animal life, whereas macrobes are above all life, and are more intelligent than humankind. These beings have communicated with humans sporadically, and with Alcasan’s head, the N.I.C.E. is now in communication with macrobes. The inner circle that Mark will be let into is one that is cooperating with the macrobes and will rewrite all human history.

Though Mark has decided to be on the side of right, on Jane’s side, he plays along. Mark engages Frostwith questions, though Frost sees all of his questions as meaningless in that they stem from emotions and human conceptions of morality. The macrobes will ensure war eliminates most of humanity, and then work with those who they can unify with. Despite knowing that Frost is wrong, Mark still struggles with wanting to be part of the in-crowd. Even now, he sees the appeal of being a part of the true inner circle. Frost is then interrupted and given a letter. He leaves the cell.

Back at St. Anne’s, the Director and the others await word from Jane and the group. They talk about animals and anthropomorphism when they watch Mr. Bultitude and Pinch,a cat, interact amiably. The Director explains that they are operating on animal instinct. Ivy then talks about how eerie the beings are that come to see the Director and how God must be worse. The Director says that God was once like this. He also says the beings, which he calls angels, are truly terrifying and should not mix with humankind. Things changed, however, with Maleldil at Bethlehem. The group then hears the sound of a horse and the Director tells the women to stay in the kitchen and that he and MacPhee will go investigate. The wind picks up terribly and the entire place shakes, and the Director tells MacPhee to open the door but to stand behind it. When the door opens, he sees the tramp get off the horse. The man is described as looking like a giant with reddish hair.

At Belbury, Wither and Frost observe a sleeping man they have brought in. They’ve placed him in a grand room with food and wine. It appears that the man is Merlin, whom they have been searching for. They are a bit taken aback by his appearance. They talk about how they imagine those worthy of unification looking different, like Studdock or Straik. They are interrupted by the man waking up. They try and give him wine, but he asks for beer, which seems strange to them. Then they speak to him in Latin, but he doesn’t seem to understand. When he’s given food, he eats noisily. They leave to discuss their options.

Mark again struggles with his concepts of right and wrong while in his cell. He realizes more than ever that he wants to do whatever it takes to be on the side with the Dimbles and Jane. Then he realizes that he is again thinking of being in the in-crowd and despairs. He yells out, annoyed that once he decides to do the right thing, he can be so easily manipulated by the thought of being included. He finally falls asleep.