In the book, The Hearing Trumpet, it is obvious that there are magical aspects throughout the story as there is a continual presence of unrealistic objects, concepts and stories. In the beginning of the story, we learn about the main character, Marian, who is deaf. This handicap essentially causes her to view the world as being distant and strange as she cannot understand it in its entity. Due to the fact that she cannot completely communicate with the world around her, she is said to be senile by her family causing them to make the decision that she needs to go to an institution. This institution essentially creates and brings alive the theme of magic as it allows and helps Marian to partake on the process of evolving into a completely new person. With this, Marian herself seems to reflect an image of magic as we see her transgression throughout the entire novel in which she eventually seems to become some sort of witch or magical figure near the end.
Although Marian is already a unique character throughout the story for which she displays some sort of magical characteristics, I believe that not until towards the end of the story does her character portray her connection to the presence of profound magical beliefs and aspects. Throughout the story Marian wonders about the vacant tower and who lives there as her friend Christabel continually fosters the idea that knowing who lives there is an important thing to know while living in the institution. With not having much determination to learn about the tower throughout the novel, in the end, Marian decides that she now wants to find out the truth. With this, she begins thinking about the riddles that prevent her from discovering the truth for which she eventually deciphers thus giving her the ability to unlock the mystery behind who is living in the tower.
After Marian discloses her answers to Christabel, she is allowed into the tower and begins her decent down to the underworld. As she chooses to go down rather than up, it seems to allude to the idea that something profound is about to happen as this decision seems critical to Marian’s future. After descending down, she enters a chamber for which she lays eyes upon another woman who mimics almost the exact same physical characteristics as herself which implies that this other woman is another form of herself. With this, Marian explains that this form of herself seems to be wiser and more intelligent for which carries herself with ease. This explanation seems to suggest that this form of Marian may represent what Marian is about to transform into as the woman says, “You took a long time to get here. I was afraid you might never come.” (Carrington 172) I took this saying to suggest that Marian was always destined to be at this place and in this situation at some moment in time as the woman says she has been waiting for her. Furthermore, as Marian and the woman continue talking, the woman says that although in regards to terminology this place is considered hell, it is actually the “Womb of the World whence all things come.” This further implies the idea that Marian has finally reached her destination in which she will evolve into what she has been destined to become all along as this place is considered to be the spot where all things come and are thus created.
In thinking that this is the time when Marian will transform into some sort of magical figure seems even more reliable as she begins questioning who is actually real, herself or the woman. With this, something the woman says makes me believe that she is the new, magical form of Marian as she says, “Old as Moses, ugly as Seth, tough as a boot and no more sense than a skittle. However meat is scare so jump in” (Carrington 175). Considering this saying is very unusual and makes no sense, I believe that it may be a type of spell the woman is putting on Marian in order to start the transformation process to take place. This idea seems reliable as right after this, Marian is forced into a hot, boiling pot of stew for which a mighty rumbling sound followed by crashes consumes the place. After it goes quiet, Marian realizes that she has magically become an outsider looking in as she is not in the stew anymore but rather seems to be the one now stirring the pot of stew. This part was very confusing because of the fact that it is so unrealistic and strange making it difficult to decipher what actually just happened. Despite this, this part leads me to believe that some sort of magical thing just happened as moments before there was a conflict of who is the real Marian where as now it seems as if she has confirmed that she is actually the other woman.
The idea that Marian has transformed into something magical is even more reliable as she looks at herself in the mirror for which she sees a three-faced female as one face belongs to the Abbess and is black, one face mimics the Queen bee which is red and the third face who is of herself is white. This presence of colors seems to be very important to the transformation Marian just encountered as it reflects the theme of alchemy that is intertwined with the book. In learning that there are four stages in which someone undergoes while transgressing into something greater for which are represented by colors, it seems as if the presence of these colors ultimately do reflect Marian’s transformation into something greater. I gathered this idea from learning that black represents the stage in which the subject is confused and vague, red represents the stage in which the subject begins portraying clear signs that it is moving in the right direction of growth and that white represents the emerging product for which sheds confusion and vagueness. The fact that there are three different faces with three different colors further alludes to the idea that Marian has been unknowingly partaking on a transformation journey for which she has finally arrived at her destined form. I believe that she has arrived at the end of her journey because she sees her own face for which is white. This suggests that she has shed the confusion she has had throughout her life thus far and now is the product of the transformation process that has evolved her into the woman she was destined to always be.
The idea that Marian just finished her transgression into something greater is apparent even more as she says, “Ages seemed to have passed since somebody first hobbled down the steps, and now I was climbing to the upperworld as spry as a mountain goat. The darkness was no longer a hideous death trap where any moment I might be precipitated to my death” (Carrington 177). From this, it is apparent that Marian believes she has now transformed into a new person as well as she says “somebody” instead of I when she thinks back to her previous life before this occurrence. Also, it is obvious that she now sees herself as a new person as she feels like life has been bestowed within her again as darkness does not allude to the idea anymore that it can take her life from her at any time.
In the end, although I am still not exactly sure what specific form Marian represents now in being that if it is something magical or supernatural, I do believe that she has transformed into something greater. In this, I believe that although Marian was forced into this institution by her family, this was always her destined path for which she would have arrived at no matter what.
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