Photo courtesy of Netflix
"The HEART is a symbol or it is nothing. Now take away the SYMBOL and what do you have? It's a fistful of MUSCLE of no more aesthetic INTEREST than a BLADDER. Now, to REMOVE a man's heart is to TRAFFIC in symbol and who better EQUIPPED for such LABOR than POET?--Edgar Allan Poe[1]
Louis Bayard's novel The Pale Blue Eye was first published in 2006. The novel is a mystery set in 1830 that follows a young cadet at the United States Military Academy as he investigates a series of heinous crimes at the academy. Edgar Allan Poe, a famous detective and writer, assists the main character, Julian Pearl, in his investigation. The book is notable for its vivid depiction of life at a military academy in the early nineteenth century, as well as its exploration of love, crime, and the macabre themes.
You can never predict how a story will end unless you see it through to the very end. After seeing the Scott Cooper written and directed film "The Pale Blue Eye," I came to understand this. What initially appears to be a typical mystery thriller film ends up being much more than it began. In the 18th century setting of the movie, retired detective Augustus Landor was asked to look into Cadet Leroy Fry's death at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Fry's heart was removed after he was hanged. Edgar Allan Poe, a fellow cadet who showed interest in the case, and Augustus came to the conclusion that the murder might have been related to black magic rituals.
Cadet Ballinger and Cadet Stoddard were the two additional cadets who died in similar circumstances. They began to suspect Dr. Daniel Marquis' family as a result of this. Their suspicions were especially raised regarding Artemus and Lea, the two children of Dr. Marquis who experience random seizures. Later, Dr. Marquis admits to performing the black magic rituals because they appear to have cured Lea of her illness.
On the other hand, Edgar was seduced by Lea and was about to become the next victim, but Augustus intervened and saved him. Edgar soon realized that the note in Fry's hand had Augustus' writing on it. When he confronted Augustus, he learned that he was the one who had carried out the murder as retaliation for his daughter Matthilde's death at the hands of the three other victims, Fry, Ballinger, and Stoddard. Instead of escaping, Mathilde, his daughter, jumped off a cliff and perished.After committing the series of murder, Augustus couldn’t find the fulfillment by his vengeance. The empty space inside him remained empty for what he had done did not bring back the life of his daughter.
As a cadet, I was reminded of the old saying that you can't correct one sin with another. Negative multiplication does not always result in positive. As in the case of Augustus, he successfully killed the perpetrators of his daughter's murder, but the anticipated satisfaction did not fill his heart. In the eyes of the Lord and the law, vengeance is never right or justifiable. When making decisions like this, we must guard our hearts and minds. After all, we can return the physical damage, but we will never be able to heal ourselves from the emotional loss caused by their vengeance.
[1] The heart is a symbol or it is nothing. Now take away the symbol and what do you have? It’s a fistful of muscle of no more aesthetic interest than a bladder. Now, to remove a man’s heart is to traffic in symbol. And who better equipped for such labor than a poet? - MagicalQuote. (n.d.). In MagicalQuote. https://www.magicalquote.com/moviequotes/the-heart-is-a-symbol-or-it-is-nothing/
Comments