Black Narcissus

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

Black Narcissus (1947) deals with several themes. On the one hand, it addresses the way temptation may deviate the holy from the religious path. But, it also cleverly questions the limitations of the cloistered life that tries to deny the primitive urges of humans. The film also explores the self-destructive dangers of presumptuous pride. On another level, the movie explores how people deal with the mysterious nature of existence.

 

Mother Dorothea (Nancy Roberts) and Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) are stationed in Calcutta. Dorothea grudgingly gives Clodagh the title of Sister Superior of St. Faith (faith is tested in this story) and assigns her to the remote and challenging Himalayas. Dorothea says she doesn't feel the young Clodagh is experienced enough to handle the assignment. There is to be a convent established at the Palace of Mopu, donated by the Old General (Esmond Knight) to start a school and a dispensary. The first shot is of those mountains, but the scenery, though breathtaking, was constructed on the movie set. 

 

We get exposition of the distant locale by way of a letter from the agent representing the Old General, Mr. Dean (David Farrar), who seems dubious about the project. He is the irreverent hedonist in the story who represents sexual temptation, always wearing shorts that reveal a great deal of skin. His narration is depicted, and we see how the palace sits precariously on a cliff. It is eight thousand feet up but not anywhere as high as Mt. Everest, which implies the true majesty of God’s creation, beautiful but imposing, like the deity Himself/Herself. Perhaps the height here suggests getting closer to God, but there is a lethal drop downward which implies the danger inherent in such a place if one thinks he or she has the hubris to tame the power of the Almighty. But there is also another force working here. The highest peak there is called “the Bare Goddess,” and the Old General’s father kept his concubines in the palace. We immediately have the insertion of a sexual undertone which may suggest the temptation that the nuns must confront. (Could the erect mountains imply phallic symbols?). Dean describes the inhabitants at the base of the palace as similar to people anywhere else, making them representative of all humans on earth. There is a holy man who sits on the palace grounds meditating through all types of weather, possibly in reverence to the awesome nature surrounding him. Dean says there is a quirky elderly female caretaker, Angu Ayah (Mary Hallat), who Dean labels as being loyal, if not competent. 

 

The palace has a room full of birds, implying that possibly only what can soar should be that high. Of course, the humans put them in cages which shows the human desire to tame nature. To possibly make amends for the mistresses that his father housed there, the Old General tells Angu Ayah that visitors will be arriving. But she assumes they will be like those from before, and when she finds out they are nuns, says humorously they will not be any fun, the implication being that being pious is elevated but dull. Dean and Angu Ayah do not see the benefit of altering the longstanding way of life that has been at Mopu, but the Old General wants a hospital and school for the people to benefit the lives of the natives. When Angu Ayah asks what nuns eat, The Old General points out a crate that is full of sausages. He says that, “Europeans eat sausages wherever they go.” The possible implication is that an alien influence will be invading this place, like imperialists. But, although a stretch, it may be that the sausages are more phallic symbols, another reference to the latent sexuality residing in the locale. Dean looks at a painting of the concubines that lived there before, and Angu Ayah jokingly questions how the palace could turn into a convent, given its past. Dean says maybe the nuns will not stay long, as if the place will reject them like a mismatched organ transplant.

 

Dorothea tells Clodagh that four nuns will be going with her for various reasons. Sister Briony (Judith Furse) has strength, Sister Phillippa (Flora Robson) is the gardener, and Sister Blanche (Jenny Laird), also known as Sister Honey, is “popular” and thus likable. Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) is a troubled woman whom Dorothea hopes will find her way in the appropriately named St. Faith convent. Dorothea tells Clodagh to make Ruth feel important. Clodagh wonders if that is a good thing, possibly suggesting that it encourages pride, a failing in those who are religious. Dorothea turns the tables on Clodagh by suggesting she, “Spare her some of your own importance, if you can.” Dorothea is warning the younger nun that she may have too much hubris. She tells Clodagh that “the superior of all is the servant of all.” Her statement not only refers to Clodagh’s new title, but also to God’s role, where the true one in control only uses power for the betterment of others. 

 

The story does not waste time on depicting the hazardous journey to the palace, but instead focuses on the tribulations of establishing a Western outpost on the ancient Eastern territory. There is chaos at first as many of the local residents appear for hospital treatment and children show up for school. The Old General paid the residents to appear to initiate the success of his project. Despite the maneuver, Clodagh actually thinks it’s not a bad idea to show the natives that the nuns are there to help. Ruth says the youths “smell.” What may be pleasant to Eastern sensibilities might be repellent for Westerners, so a point is made about relativity. One of the boys, Joseph Anthony (Eddie Whaley, Jr.), the cook’s son, becomes the translator for the nuns. Sister Blanche spreads her “honey” nature to quell the alarm of the prejudicial Ruth, who says the children look “stupid,” by suggesting how she can draw on a blackboard and have Joseph Anthony translate. 

 

Clodagh and Briony meet with Dean, who is handsome. He takes his feathered hat off and begins to twirl it so that he communicates a presumptuous informality. When the unsmiling Clodagh says she wants to talk to him about business, he is flirtatious when he says he wondered if she wanted to talk about something else. Briony notes his audacity with a facial recoil. He says that Clodagh would like the Old General since he, too, is a superior being. He is making a play on her title but is also being sarcastic about her arrogant religiosity. Clodagh questions why he is being “rude” to her, and he basically says he doesn’t want to be talked down to in a lecturing manner, which is a judgment on his way of looking at things. He points out the erotic painting and notes that the palace was called “the House of Women,” which really means a house of prostitution. Clodagh orders that the painting be taken down and tells Dean that the reformed name of the place is St. Faith. Her defiant attitude in not accommodating for the carnal in people makes him prophetically say that, despite her resolve, the nuns will not last there long.

 

Briony visits Clodagh at night since she can’t sleep. The wind howls constantly and the altitude provides less oxygen, so they are all tired. Also, Briony says that Ruth feels the worst with many aches and pains. Could her ailments indicate that she is most susceptible to having her faith challenged? In addition, the plumbing keeps breaking down, which shows how removed they are from the civilized world. Briony points out that they all have spots on their arms which are probably due to contaminated water. This list of problems illustrates what challenges the nuns are encountering in what is a hostile setting for them. To add to the sleep-depriving situation there are drums beating constantly. Briony says that they are for the Young General, who is very sick, and if they stop it means he died. Could the drums be a sort of superstitious way of wanting to keep his heart beating? In any event, the youth does die.

 As the locals help to construct the convent’s facilities, Clodagh talks with Dean, who says, condescendingly, that the natives are like children who must be weaned off of being paid to frequent the new establishment. Clodagh says everyone needs discipline or “we should behave like children.” Dean says, “Don’t you like children, sister?” It is another veiled sexual comment about procreation. He goes on to stress the primitive nature of the people there and warns against using modern medicine since if it doesn’t work, the natives will think it is some kind of evil magic (another foreshadowing). Ruth then rushes in, her virginal white nun’s outfit stained with blood, an image of how threatening the place is. But there is more going on here. When Ruth sees Dean, his presence freezes her for a moment. Ruth recovers to say she stopped the bleeding of an injured worker, but not after a great deal of blood was lost. Clodagh chastises her for not seeking help sooner. But, Dean senses that the nun is interested in him, and Dean sees that fact as a way to pierce the high-minded attitude of the nuns. He goes out of the way to open the door for Ruth. He then thanks her for aiding the worker. Ruth, hungry for a compliment after being criticized, smiles broadly. Given the sexual context, could the blood also be symbolic of a woman losing her virginity? 

 Dean brings the very young Kanchi (Jean Simmons) to the convent. She is an orphan who kept showing up at Dean’s place and is a bit of a problem child because of her interest in sex, an insertion of the theme of temptation here. Dean says another son will now be the new Young General (Sabu). He was going to attend Cambridge, but Dean says he will now be a warrior and marry young. From the window of a classroom, Ruth smiles as she spies on Dean mounting a pony, her lustful thoughts evident in her look. 

 There is an interesting scene between Clodagh and Phillippa, the gardener, who is staring off into the mountain range, not noticing the bell ringing that summons the nuns. Clodagh notes that Phillippa has seemed detached. She says that looking out at the vastness of the natural setting brings back memories from her past that she does not want to remember. Clodagh says it is the place that is bewitching her and says they must keep working to put such thoughts at a distance. The exchange between the two brings to mind the sailors in Moby Dick who become one with the sea when they climb the high masts and then lose who they are and sometimes plummet into the ocean. It also suggests how the Romantic poets experienced the sense of the sublime in the Alps. The writer Thomas Carlyle had a similar remedy that Clodagh prescribes - get to work so as not to think too much which can lead to too much questioning of existence that can bring on despair.

 But Clodagh is not immune to thoughts of her past. She has a flashback while praying, an act that is supposed to protect her from disturbing memories. She thinks about her life in Ireland when she was in love with a young man named Con (Shaun Noble). She comes from a wealthy family, and he asks her, since she has the means, if she gets the desire to get away from there. She tells him that she wants to stay there the rest of her life (which is ironic given where she is in this story). What follows is a memory of fox hunting, as she and Con ride horses (as was noted elsewhere several times in posts here, horses symbolize male sexuality). As she thinks of this scene, Clodagh’s face register’s excitement, a very different look than the stern one she shows as a nun.

 

The Young General arrives on a horse (sexual symbolism), which connects to Clodagh’s daydream. He says he wants to study there, but Clodagh says that convents only instruct children (before puberty?) and especially girls. The Young General points out that Jesus was a man, so why do they discriminate against males? She says Jesus only took the form of a man. The conversation emphasizes how the nuns are supposed to keep men at a distance, lest they become involved with them romantically. Yet, they worship someone who was a man on Earth. When the Young General reads the schedule of attendance he has composed he says he will learn physics from the “physical” nun. It is a funny line, but it also stresses how the celibate sisters are supposed to only deal with the spiritual and not the carnal. 

 What follows is Kanchi alone doing a seductive dance in one of the convent’s rooms as she amuses herself. Clodagh then has the handsome Young General enter the room, just what Kanchi would welcome seeing. He seems to ignore her, but as she runs out when Clodagh opens the door she smiles enticingly at him just before she departs. Later Dean says to Clodagh that the two youths may cause trouble for the nuns’ way of life. Indeed, Kanchi continues to look seductively at the Young General on several occasions.

 As Dean and Clodagh walk around the property, she notes that the holy man meditates on the ground that now belongs to the convent. She confesses that he, along with other aspects of the place, which are alien to their order, are “distracting,” which ties in with what she was saying to Phillippa. The locale seems to be upsetting their religious applecart. Dean reveals that the holy man is actually the Old General’s uncle, and was a high-ranking soldier who could speak many languages, although he has chosen a wordless life. Deans says that the contemplative man disturbs the Old General. Dean suggests that he feels guilty not having revoked the physical pleasures of the world for a meditative one like his uncle. The movie seems to be implying that the distractive holy man, who the locals revere, is more spiritual than the nuns who are supposed to bring religion to the “primitive” natives.

 

The Young General gets his way and begins studies with the children and girls. In the classroom, he pulls out a scarf that has a pleasing aroma, which seems to arouse Kanchi as she inhales. Ruth also notices it, and he says that the smell is Black Narcissus. The title of the movie suggests the dark, hidden drives that are invoked when one focuses on the self. The film also implies that the male’s presence brings attention to the physical senses. Ruth acts as if she doesn’t like smells, but she is most likely in denial. The nuns later marvel at the Young General’s outfits, with their precious gems that are colorful, quite the opposite of their bland clothes. Here we have the sense of vision being addressed. The talk brings another memory to Clodagh of her grandmother’s beautiful jewels, so she was attracted to material things in her previous life. Ruth says that the Young General is vain, and will call him Black Narcissus, a nickname she says fits because he looks like a black peacock. Her comment, which takes into account color and sensuality, stresses how different the Young General, and his world, is from that of the nuns, which disturbs and also attracts them. 

 

Time passes and the chapel in the convent is completed. When Christmas arrives and there is the singing of holiday songs, Clodagh remembers a Christmas with Con and others, when he gave her some jewelry as a gift. It is another instance of the materialism of her earlier life compared to the one dedicated to the spiritual she now pursues. Clodagh comments that the Young General’s referring to Jesus in an informal way is not customary. The inebriated Dean says he should be seen that way, just like our “daily bread,” a phrase that comes from The Lord’s Prayer that mixes secular needs with godly devotion. Clodagh angrily chastises Dean for his drunkenness and tells him not to come again. He goes off singing how he will not be a nun because he is too fond of “pleasure,” an obvious preference for physical gratification. Despite Dean’s irreverence, the Young General says he likes Dean’s singing voice, and Clodagh spies Ruth in hiding, who is also being drawn in by Dean’s singing. First, we had the sense of smell, then that of sight, and now we have hearing being stimulated as the physical tugs for attention away from the spiritual.

 

Clodagh knows that Ruth’s turmoil comes from emotional preoccupation over Dean. Clodagh, looking at the Bible for reassurance, tells her so, and says Dean, despite being charming, is not a good man. She admonishes Ruth even though she herself has been having thoughts of a romantic past. Ruth senses that Clodagh protests too much, and becomes jealous, suggesting that Clodagh may be interested in Dean herself. Clodagh is of course outraged and dismisses Ruth. 

 Shots of beautiful flowers tell us that Spring has arrived, but the religiously besieged nature of the community continues. Angu Ayah whips Kanchi for stealing a chain from a church ornament, an object used for a spiritual practice, so she can, ironically, wear it around her neck to accentuate bodily beauty. The Young General arrives and asks what Kanchi has done. Angu Ayah says she is a thief and tells the young man that he should be a man and beat her for her transgression, not a Christian gentlemanly way of dealing with the girl. He throws away the whip. Kanchi is on her knees smiling up at the Young General and is very close to him, suggesting the position for a sexual act. He places the necklace on her and she embraces him. This romantic act is then contrasted with Clodagh embroidering a picture of St. Francis. 

 

Clodagh discovers that instead of planting vegetables to sustain them in their mission, Phillippa has been growing beautiful flowers instead. When confronted by Clodagh, Phillippa says she wants a transfer. She is troubled because she feels she is forgetting who she was and “was losing the spirit of our order.” The suggestion is that she is being seduced by the allure of the locale which is subverting their purpose, which was to transform the place. Phillippa says that she has come to believe that there are only two extremely different ways of living there with its temptations: one is to be like Dean, and give into it; the other is to be like the holy man, and ignore it. Clodagh states that that is not their way, which is to remain pious while engaging with the environment. The implication is that the nuns have embarked on an impossible task.

 

Even Sister Honey’s optimism is broken when a mother brings in her feverish baby and Briony can't do anything for the very sick child. Honey is hysterical that Briony will not dispense some kind of medicine to help the baby, but there is nothing she can do to stop the illness. Honey couldn’t accept such negativity so she secretly gave some medicine to the mother (only castor oil). No children show up at the school afterwards and Joseph Anthony says it’s because the baby died. The nuns discover that the Young General, Kanchi, and all the servants are gone, too. Honey feels extremely guilty that she might have caused the infant’s death. Apparently, so do the villagers, since Angu Ayah warns the nuns not to go among the natives. (She also says that Kanchi ran off with the Young General, so the young girl’s seductive abilities were effective).

 

Clodagh rings the convent bell that signals that the residents should come to the convent. Dean sits in luxury at his place drinking coffee and being waited on by servants. He decides to answer Clodagh’s signal and shows up bare-chested presenting an exaggerated image of male sexuality. He tells them that a man once was riding a pony and had the animal kick an umbrella out of the way. However, a baby was asleep under it and the child was killed. The villagers subsequently killed the man. What was only a cultural and environmental challenge has now turned into something life-threatening for the nuns. 

 

Ruth has become more manic and paranoid. She pours out some milk sent to her from Clodagh thinking she would be poisoned. She sees Clodagh talking congenially with Dean, which just fuels her jealousy. Dean notes that Clodagh has changed and seems nicer, more “human.” It appears that Clodagh takes “human” to mean that people are imperfect beings. She says that she was in love with a man and it was thought they would marry, but he was “ambitious” and wanted to go to America with his uncle to become prosperous. (In other flashbacks Con seemed to be preoccupied with finances and worldly concerns). Con wasn’t taking her with him and she believes he never intended to marry her. So, she left first so as not to let it look like he rejected her. Her becoming a nun was originally not out of religious devotion, but she says her commitment grew and she did not think of Con until her arrival at this sensual place. She is now reliving the bitterness of his leaving her. She says that the Young General reminded her of Con, and that “The world comes thrusting in behind him.” That word “thrusting” seems deliberate since it brings a sexual connotation with it. Clodagh tells Dean of her feelings of failure since Phillippa wants a transfer and Ruth is not renewing her vows, according to a letter from Dorothea. Clodagh admits that she is powerless in this place, because she can’t eliminate the presence of the holy man, the Young General, the wind, and the mountains. If anything, her pride that Dorothea noted is being humbled, as if God is teaching her a lesson. Dean says that the nuns must leave before their goal to change the nature of the surroundings destroys them.

 

Clodagh finds Ruth’s light on in her room late at night. She has barricaded the door, but Clodagh gets it open. Ruth is no longer wearing her habit. She seems mentally unbalanced, showing signs of paranoia when she says that she will not leave with Phillippa because all of the others are jealous of her, especially Clodagh, and they will lock her away. Clodagh is worried that Ruth will harm herself, so she says she will stay with her until morning, Ruth laughs manically, then sits down to apply makeup, which symbolically shows her being overwhelmed by her sexual nature that has been repressed. Clodagh’s response is to pick up a prayer book, a sort of weapon against giving into her own erotic drives, since she, too, in her daydreams, has been fantasizing about her former love interest. The image almost looks like someone using a cross to ward off a vampire. 

 

As a candle burns down, showing the passing of the night, there are shots of Gauguin-like paintings on the wall of primitive women, reflecting the primal force that is occupying Ruth’s mind. Clodagh falls asleep and drops her prayer book, implying her spiritual weapon has been neutralized. Ruth then puts on her boots, and the camera reveals her shapely legs to stress her sexuality. Clodagh wakes up just as Ruth runs out while laughing crazily. The sisters search for her calling her name.  Angu Ayah makes fun of their yells. Remember, she represents primitive sexuality, and thought the nuns did not fit in there, believing the palace was more fun with the concubines. 

 

The night adds metaphorically to the dark impulses driving Ruth. She runs into the jungle, a place divorced from civilized behavior. The noises of animals reflect the instinctual forces inhabiting Ruth. She goes to Dean’s place and says she has revoked her vows. He does not respond the way she hoped since he offers to have her stay at a guest house and then arrange to have her leave the next day. Ruth confesses her love for Dean, who says he doesn’t love anyone, which shows his capitulation to an amoral life devoid of human commitment. He tells her to go back to Clodagh who will help her. She is driven mad by her jealous nature now and faints, yelling Clodagh’s name over and over. When she awakes, she agrees to go back to the convent, but only if she travels alone. When Dean puts a coat over her, she takes the opportunity to kiss his hand. The sensual aspect of touch is now added to the senses that are invoked here.

 

Clodagh has been up all night looking for a sign of Ruth. She heads back to the chapel, exhausted. Her cloak is stained by mud, possibly suggesting how the locale has darkened her perception of religious purity. Ruth hides in the shadows and the camera focuses on her sinister, unblinking eyes. Ruth sneaks in past Clodagh, who then takes a physically and, symbolically, spiritually perilous walk around the perimeter of the palace. She looks over the edge and seems shaken. Is she fighting her own urges that could lead to self-destruction? She begins to ring the bell as she says the Hail Mary prayer to shore up her spiritual strength. At this moment, Ruth emerges with her demonic look. She tries to push Clodagh, whom she considers her romantic rival, off the mountainside. Clodagh holds onto the rope attached to the bell, like a lifeline to God. She climbs back up and in the process Ruth tumbles over the side to her death. Drums that were beating cease, signaling the end of life, as it did for the previous Young General. Perhaps the movie is suggesting that Clodagh and Ruth are parts of the same character, Ruth being the primitive sexual underside of Clodagh’s pious spiritual outward self and the two are at war with each other. 

 

The Young General returns to offer his confession about running off with Kanchi. He says he has made a mistake and will change and commit himself to being like his ancestors who were upright in their morality. So, the jungle does not always win, if he follows through. But, the sisters could not conquer the powerful forces at work high up on the mountain. To try to do so would be presumptuous, almost God-like. As she leaves, Clodagh looks up at the palace high above her and the mist blocks it from her sight. The image shows that her quest was doomed from the start because it was beyond her reach. She tells Dean that she will be transferred to a place where she will no longer be in charge, probably because of the death of Ruth. It may be hard for her to swallow her pride, but she says, “I shall have my ghosts to remind me.” Her experiences have shown her that despite taking on a religious vocation, she has all the flaws of every human.

The next film is Glengarry Glen Ross.