Setting

Burghölzli Psychiatric Clinic

   The novel Pilgrim by Timothy Findley takes place, with some exceptions, in Zurich, Switzerland between the years 1912 to 1915. The main location being the Burghölzli Psychiatric Clinic
This time is significant because the novel takes place shortly before the beginning of WWI, and leads in to the conflict. The setting is also important because it was a neutral country during the war and was surrounded on all sides by both the Entente and the Central powers, similar to how Pilgrim, someone who seems to be both insane and sane all at once, is surrounded on all sides by the "Mad", the patients, and those who are "sane", the Psychiatrists. Near the end of the novel Pilgrim goes on a rampage through France, destroying art as he goes. The change in locale is significant because for much of the world France is stereotypically thought of as being a center of culture and art; Pilgrims rampage and the location are important to the themes of Art and Human Nature. In terms of the theme of Madness and Insanity the location and time are very significant. The Burgholzli Psychiatric Clinic is important because it was famous during this period for its revolutionary treatments and analysis of the "Mad". Madness was a little understood thing at this time, and as such it was a period of great discovery and advancements in the field of Psychiatry.

Survey of Authors and Secondary Sources

Author:


Timothy Findley


Title:


Pilgrim


What made you interested in this Author:


  I became interested in Timothy Findley when I learned from my teacher that he was Canadian, and that one of his recurring theme's was mental illness. Prior to reading Pilgrim I had no other knowledge of the author or his themes.


Brief background of the author:


  Findley was Born on October 30th, 1930 in Toronto, Ontario to Allan Gilmour Findley and, Margaret Maude Bull. When he was a child one of his siblings died and his father enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. He never finished his secondary education, partly because of illness, and began an acting career. At some point as an adult he began writing stories; this became his second career. Findley was briefly married to the actor Janet Reid, but the marriage was annulled. After this he got together with his longtime friend Bill Whitehead; they would remain together for the rest of their lives. In his life he worked as a playwright, book writer, scriptwriter, and radio broadcast journalist. He died in France on June 21st, 2002, age 71.


Other published works and genres:

Novels

• The Last of the Crazy People
• The Butterfly Plague
• The Wars
• Famous Last Words
• Not Wanted on the Voyage
• The Telling of Lies
• Headhunter
• The Piano Man's Daughter
• Pilgrim
• Spadework

Novella

• You Went Away

Short stories

• Dinner Along the Amazon
• Stones
• Dust to Dust

Drama

• Don't Let the Angels Fall
• The Whiteoaks of Jalna
• The Newcomers
• Can You See Me Yet?
• The Stillborn Lover
• The Trials of Ezra Pound
• Elizabeth Rex
• Shadows

Memoirs

• Inside Memory: Pages from a Writer's Workbook
• From Stone Orchard
• Journeyman: Travels of a Writer

Genres

• Southern Ontario Gothic
• Historical Fiction
• Psychological Realism

Places, Time Periods, and Events of Influence or Interest to Timothy Findley

  Jungian Psychology was a big influence on Timothy Findley. Much of his writing featured insanity, madness, and and the madness of the world as major themes. This is shown very clearly in my novel Pilgrim, in which the main character is thought to be insane, but eventually the reader is left questioning the sanity of the world as well. Another influence on Timothy Findley was war, this is attributed to the fact that his father left his family to join the military when he was young. This influence shows most clearly in his novel The Wars, based during WWI, which also deals with sanity as a theme. His own home (Ontario, Canada) was also a big influence on him.

Themes Favored By Timothy Findley

  

  Some of the themes which are commonly seen in writings by Timothy Findley are mental illness, sexuality, gender, madness, and fear.

Book One Is Done!

   Today I finished Book One in the novel Pilgrim. So far  a lot has happened, and much has been revealed. One major development is that Doctor Jung has influenced Lady Quartermaine to put him in charge of Pilgrim, rather than Doctor Furtwängler.  He did this by having one of his books placed in her room, knowing that after she had read it she would desire to have him placed in charge of Pilgrim's care and treatment. This shows he is quite shrewd, and possibly very experienced in manipulating people. This shrewdness was also demonstrated in his handling of the angry Doctor Furtwängler. Doctor Jung convinced him that it was all Lady Quartermaine's doing that caused the switch, and asked him to continue working with Pilgrim as the Primary Consultant, rather than just shutting him out completely. In this way he appeased Doctor Furtwängler, maintained control of Pilgrim, and got his way. 


  Another development is that Pilgrim has been found to talk in his sleep. It was first discovered by Kessler, his orderly, who then reported it to Doctor Jung. Doctor Jung stayed the night in Pilgrim's room after discovering this and was rewarded for his efforts. Pilgrim again started talking and began describing a scene to   Jung. He described a naked young man in a chair and a drawing on a piece of paper, and then repeats the name "Angelo" a few times. Jung then decides to contact Lady Quartermaine with the news, and learn whatever else he can from her. This section ends 'book one" in a very interesting manner, now as the reader I am drawn to discover what he learns from the ever mysterious Lady Quartermaine. 


   Besides this main plot and its developments we also learn some more about possible side plots. Some of Kessler's past is revealed, including the fact that he was once a patient at Burghölzli, but was pronounced cured and was offered a Job as an orderly at the clinic. However, it is also revealed that Kessler is still obsessed with wings and anything that has them. Aside from Kessler, another Orderly has her tale expanded during book one. Dora Henkel is Countess Tatiana Blavinskeya's orderly, and it is shown that she apparently has some sort of a crush on her patient. Both Dora and the Countess are obsessed with the Moon; however Countess Tatiana is a Patient at the Burghölzli because she believes she is from the moon, and refuses to give up her delusions.


   All in all this has been quite an interesting novel so far, and I look forward to reading more.

   "I must say, Carl Gustav, you do this sort of thing very well," he said icily.   "What sort of thing?"   "Placing knives in people's backs and then behaving as though they had somehow managed to reach round and stab themselves."(Findley, 105)

Book Choice Submission

   The novel I have decided to read is Pilgrim by Timothy Findley. It was published in 1999 and contains 534 pages.

   I choose to read this book mainly because I thought it would be interesting to read a novel which deals with a very unique situation. I have never before head of a book about an immortal man being brought to a psychiatrist and analyzed, and I thought it would be interesting to see the author's views on immortality and human psychology. It interests me how, despite his immortality, Pilgrim is determined to kill himself. This conflict has drawn me in because I wish to discover his reasoning and see what his psychiatrist comes to believe after dealing with the man.

   So far I have read up to chapter 12, and I am quite enjoying the book. The obvious competition between the psychiatrists has made me wonder who will end up treating Pilgrim. Also, Sybil Quartermaine's strange relationship with Pilgrim has made me wonder how much she really knows, and how much she is hiding. These relationships, along with Pilgrim's silent treatment toward everyone, have interested me greatly and drawn me into the book. I hope that the novel keeps forcing me to think, continues developing these relationships, and delves even deeper into Pilgrim's psychology.

   In the prologue Pilgrim starts the novel by hanging himself from a tree in his garden, apparently killing himself. This scene takes place in London on Wednesday, the 17th of April, 1912. Notably, Pilgrim hangs himself from a Maple Tree, the symbol of Canada. This is interesting because Timothy Findley is a Canadian Author. In the following chapters we learn that Pilgrim survived his hanging and is being brought to the Burghölzli Psychiatric Clinic in Germany to be treated by Doctor Furtwängler. He is brought there by his "closest friend" Lady Quartermaine. When Doctor Furtwängler meets with Pilgrim we learn that he is not speaking to anyone, however he gives a message to Doctor Furtwängler by imprinting the word "NO" in ice onto a page of paper with his forehead. When Doctor Furtwängler interviews Lady Quartermaine it is discovered that she met Pilgrim when she was 12; Pilgrim was sleeping in her garden and did not know who or where he was. Lady Quartermaine thought that he was the most beautiful person she had ever seen and became his best friend from that day forth. Later on Doctor Furtwängler meets with Doctors Jung and Menken to jointly introduce and interview Pilgrim. During that meeting Pilgrim shuts himself in the bathroom and attempts to kill himself again by slitting his wrists with a spoon. However, he is again unsuccessful, and Doctor Jung hears him speak his first words, "Please, kill me".

   So far some of the possible themes that are forming are Trust, Fact vs. Fiction, and Science vs. The unknown. In terms of trust, so far it seems that none of the characters really trust each other, and I am thinking that this may prove to be detrimental to Pilgrim's treatment. The fact vs. fiction theme could easily become Science vs. Pilgrim. This theme development is demonstrated by Lady Quartermaine's warning to Doctor Furtwängler, 

   "When he speaks, he will tell you of things--of circumstances--that may seem to verge on the impossible. In fact, there will be incidents..." she looked away "... which are impossible. Nonetheless"..."I urge you to believe him, if only briefly, for his sake." (Findley, 45)

     A line in the novel which stands out to me is, "Everything is true. Everything--and nothing."(Findley, 28) This line jumps out at me because of how uncertain our lives are, it forces you to wonder exactly what is true. There is so much doubt cast upon everything, some people say that whatever you believe is true is true, that it's all a matter of perspective; others say that nothing is true, that we are all "creations of our own imagination". As individuals we need to come to an understanding of what we believe in.