ESSAY1: "Truth's Secret Letters"
Barbara Ruef
ESSAY1: "Truth's Secret Letters"
EP's Essay Challenge (2/21/97)
bjr...@unix.tamu.edu
The topic: compare the symbolism of truth in Kaddish with one or
more aspects of the symbolism of truth in the series as a whole.
I will preface this by saying that writing is not my forte. In
fact, I was usually the last in my class to correctly glean the
intended meaning from a poem or text. A teacher once wrote on
an essay of mine that what I lacked in insight, I made up for in
creativity. So, once more into the breach with a potentially
skewed view of the symbolism and a slight bent toward science.
It's my gift...it's also my curse. (Just wanted to slip that in
there...)
****************
With the challenge outlined, I found myself replaying the
episode "Kaddish" in my mind and the one scene that still
stands out for me is when Mulder returns to the Jewish scholar
for further understanding. He learns how the golem was created
using the power of words, and that its destruction can only be
accomplished with the further manipulation of those very same
letters. This idea of the power of words hearkens back to Jose
Chung's conversation with Scully. But for me, the symbolism went
beyond the mere words themselves. The word is constructed from
letters - as the scholar says, "secret letter combinations" -
and these letters that create, spell truth. Truth is what
Mulder and Scully seek, and in their quest they have encountered
secret letters as well as cryptic words which held power. The
relation of these concepts to the X-Files mythology runs deep,
and the following analysis touches on only a few aspects.
"The creature could only be brought to life by the power of the
word. In practical terms, by the direct application of certain
secret letter combinations."
In "Kaddish", the words were "truth" and "dead" and the
secret lay in knowing how to manipulate the letters in order to
create or destroy. Mulder and Scully have been in search of the
Truth and along the way they have succeeded in finding both
words and letters that provide insight into the project and the
truth it conceals. Since Scully is the scientist, the secret
letter combinations have been the most informative. We have
seen Scully stumble upon these letters all the way back in the
Season 1 finale when the sequence of extraterrestrial DNA was
elucidated in a late night experiment. The letter combinations
representing nucleic acids from DNA were enough to convince
Scully that Mulder had been right all along...that she should
trust his hunches. An even closer encounter with these "secret
letters" is forced upon Scully when in "One Breath", the Lone
Gunmen discover evidence of branched DNA in Scully. And it
isn't just DNA that has invaded Scully's very being. In
"Herrenvolk", Scully and Pendrell decode the letter
combinations in the Social Security files that Jeremiah Smith
compiled and discover amino acid sequence revealing a far-
reaching project of protein tagging. In contrast, Mulder's
discoveries are not as scientific but remain disturbing. The
files he received from The Thinker in "Anasazi" appeared to be
nothing more than a series of letters until their secret was
realized. Once the Anasazi code was broken, Mulder was faced
with words that were familiar even as they remained cryptic.
The merchandise. Words his father spoke only moments before he
died. So for Mulder and Scully, the secrets found in letters
and words in their quest have been powerful and, though helpful
in their search for the truth, could as easily tip the balance
toward a dangerous outcome.
"The danger of the truth is contained in the word golem itself.
Matter without form. Body without soul. So the golem is an
imperfect creation."
"Kaddish" offered up two examples of words creating monsters.
For Ariel, her attempt to create a golem was an act of love.
For Brunjes, the creation of monsters from impressionable youths
was an unforeseen outcome born out of hatred. Both birthed
imperfect creations and, in the end, destruction was required to
prevent the "monster" from running amok. In the realm of the
X-Files mythology, the consortium is busy creating hybrids and
clones. The drones we saw in "Herrenvolk" seem to embody the
definition of "body without soul". The hybrids we first met in
"Colony" are also imperfect creations in their identical nature
and its inherent limitations. Beyond that, they represented a
renegade faction that may not have been eliminated if "Memento
Mori" is an illustration to judge. Consider the Kurt Crawford
clones. Here is a group that has not yet been eliminated as the
Gregors were, though a bounty hunter seems to be systematically
attempting their annihilation. They would be considered
imperfect creations since they are working against the project
and must be destroyed on orders from their creators. Even
Scully seems to have been a playing piece on the board, removed
from the game when her use was up and left to be destroyed by
her own traitorous immune system. Imperfect experiments with
hybrid DNA formed byproducts spelling out her death. Although
she survived the effect of the branched DNA in her system and
returned from her comatose state in "One Breath", Scully seems
to be on the threshold of another battle, this time with cancer.
"The power of letters not just to create, but to kill."
The golem was created by letters combined to spell "emet" or
truth. The removal of one letter created the word "met", which
means dead, thus destroying the imperfect creation. The power
of the word Truth is apparent for Mulder since his quest has
been a driving force in his life. Now that Scully has joined
him in his search for answers, Truth has become the power that
carries them both forward in their quest. One might imagine
that Cigarette Smoking Man also sees himself on some great quest
for higher truth and meaning in his project. As twisted as this
seems to those of us aligned with Mulder and Scully, both of
their journeys have lead to loss and death. One has only to
recall Scully's conversation with Mulder in "Quagmire" to
realize that the implications of their work and its side-effects
are not lost on them. Neither of them is living an idealized
life with a family, two car garage, and white picket fence.
This may not be important to them now, but one look at the
bitter reality of CSM's existence and it becomes clear what a
life of sacrifice in focused pursuit of a goal will earn you.
Scully is Starbuck to Mulder's Ahab, and their pursuit of the
Truth could eventually lead to their destruction and the
metamorphosis of "emet" to "met".
It is clear that secret letter combinations have spelled out a
path to the Truth for Mulder and Scully just as the letters in
"emet" gave rise to the golem. These letters, as well as the
cryptic words the duo have uncovered, are relevant to the
project and may eventually fall together as pieces of a grand
puzzle. If Mulder and Scully knew the particular combinations of
letters or words that spelled out the mystery behind the
project, would they gain the power to steer its course? The
question remains whether Mulder and Scully will be able to erase
that crucial letter from the "emet" representing the project in
time to stop it in its tracks and prevent CSM, his cronies, and
their creations from running amok. Will this lead to the
destruction of the project, or will the removal of that final
character spell out death for Mulder and Scully? The truth is
out there...
************************************************************
[No offense intended.] "None comprehended." - The Tick -
<bjr...@unix.tamu.edu>
************************
Loligo Opalescens
Barbara Ruef <bjr...@unix.tamu.edu> wrote:
>ESSAY1: "Truth's Secret Letters"
>EP's Essay Challenge (2/21/97)
>bjr...@unix.tamu.edu
>The topic: compare the symbolism of truth in Kaddish with one or
>more aspects of the symbolism of truth in the series as a whole.
>"The creature could only be brought to life by the power of the
>word. In practical terms, by the direct application of certain
>secret letter combinations."
<snip>
> Since Scully is the scientist, the secret
>letter combinations have been the most informative. We have
>seen Scully stumble upon these letters all the way back in the
>Season 1 finale when the sequence of extraterrestrial DNA was
>elucidated in a late night experiment. The letter combinations
>representing nucleic acids from DNA were enough to convince
>Scully that Mulder had been right all along...that she should
>trust his hunches. An even closer encounter with these "secret
>letters" is forced upon Scully when in "One Breath", the Lone
>Gunmen discover evidence of branched DNA in Scully.
Ooo, I like this!
The parallel of Kabbalistic letters and DNA sequences fits right in
with TXF's blend of mysticism and science. Now, I know I'm the person
who started that whole monologue-bashing thread, but one part of
Scully's MM soliloquies that I *really* liked had this same flavor as
well: "Cancer is science's demonic possession."
So... this analysis links the golem to the hybrids, "brought to life
by the direct application of certain secret letter combinations..."
COOL.
L.O.
(Sister EP, OBSSE)
~=