Igitur, or The Madness of Elbehnon - Stéphane Mallarmé

Summary

"Igitur ou la Folie d'Elbehnon" (Igitur or Elbehnon's Folly) is an unfinished prose poem by Stéphane Mallarmé, a highly complex and symbolic work exploring themes of nothingness, the absolute, the Word, and the self. The narrative, if it can be called such, centers on Igitur, the last descendant of a lineage burdened by a quest for the absolute. Confined to his ancestral room at midnight, Igitur undertakes a solitary, internal journey to abolish chance, confront the void, and achieve a state of pure, unconditioned consciousness, ultimately leading to his self-dissolution into the universe's ultimate emptiness. The text is a philosophical meditation on the power of language, the nature of existence, and the artistic creation that seeks to transcend the limitations of the material world.

Book Sections

Section 1: The Setting and the Quest

The work introduces Igitur, a solitary, introspective figure, in his ancestral room. He is the last of a lineage of dreamers and idealists, whose intellectual quest has culminated in him. The setting is crucial: a dark, silent room, often described as a tomb or a theater for his internal drama, typically at the stroke of midnight. Midnight symbolizes the boundary between day and night, reality and the unknown, time and eternity. Igitur's primary motivation is to confront and abolish chance, which he perceives as the ultimate obstacle to understanding and controlling the universe. He seeks to achieve a state of absolute knowledge or pure being, to complete the intellectual journey of his ancestors, and to redeem their unfulfilled dreams. He intends to do this by dissolving himself and the entire universe into nothingness, thereby revealing the fundamental truth of existence beyond all contingency.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Igitur	Solitary, contemplative, intellectual, last of a lineage, burdened by ancestral memory and the quest for the absolute.	To abolish chance, confront nothingness, understand the universe, achieve pure consciousness, resolve the tension between the ideal and reality, complete his ancestors' intellectual journey.

Section 2: The Confrontation with the Absolute

In this section, Igitur's internal struggle intensifies. He uses various symbolic objects within his room to aid his quest. The mirror, a recurring motif, reflects his own image, but also opens onto the void, suggesting self-observation, illusion, and the boundary of consciousness. The ancestral clock marks the relentless passage of time but also highlights his attempt to transcend it. The most significant object is a large, ancient book, which represents the accumulated knowledge, words, and consciousness of his ancestors. Igitur attempts to empty this book of all its meaning, to strip language down to its purest, most essential form, or even beyond, into silence. He understands that language, while a tool, also creates categories and limitations. By emptying the book, he aims to empty the world of its conventional meanings and reveal the underlying nothingness. His act is a symbolic "throw of dice" – a moment of ultimate decision where he confronts the possibility of absolute chance or absolute control, aiming to nullify the former. This process is highly abstract, focusing on the mind's ability to conceive and then dissolve reality.

Section 3: The Dissolution and the Dream

As Igitur proceeds with his internal ritual, the boundaries between self and non-self, reality and dream, begin to blur. He drinks a few drops of a substance (often interpreted as a symbol of self-dissolution or a hallucinogen, but more likely representing the essence of his quest) from a vial. This act marks his transition from active contemplation to a state of complete absorption into the void. The room itself seems to dissolve, the objects losing their distinct forms. Igitur becomes one with the silence and the nothingness he has sought. His individuality, his physical presence, and the ancestral memory he carried all merge into an undifferentiated state. He becomes the "Midnight" he has contemplated, a pure consciousness that is no longer distinct from the void itself. This is not a death in the conventional sense, but a spiritual and intellectual disappearance, an achievement of the absolute through self-annihilation. The "folly of Elbehnon" suggests the extreme, almost insane, nature of this pursuit, yet for Igitur, it is the ultimate fulfillment of existence.

Literary Genre

• Prose Poem
• Symbolist Literature
• Philosophical Fiction (or meditation)
• Existentialist (proto-existentialist) themes

Author Facts

• Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898) was a French poet and critic.
• He was a leading figure of Symbolism, a late 19th-century art movement that emphasized the evocation of ideas and emotions through indirect suggestion rather than direct description.
• Mallarmé often used complex syntax, obscure vocabulary, and intricate imagery, making his poetry challenging to interpret.
• He believed in the autonomy of the poem and the power of language to create its own reality, separate from the external world.
• His work profoundly influenced many 20th-century artistic movements, including Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism, as well as literary critics like Jacques Derrida.
• He hosted famous literary salons (Tuesdays) at his home in Paris, which were attended by major literary and artistic figures of his time, including Paul Valéry, André Gide, and W.B. Yeats.
• "Igitur" was largely discovered and published posthumously, making its definitive interpretation an ongoing scholarly debate.

Moral of the Book

"Igitur" does not offer a conventional moral lesson. Instead, it is a profound exploration of philosophical and existential questions. The "moral," if one can extract it, might be understood as:

• The ultimate quest for absolute knowledge or being often leads to the dissolution of the self and the world as we perceive it.
• Language is both a tool and a barrier: it creates reality but also limits it. The true absolute might lie beyond words.
• The confrontation with nothingness is a necessary step in understanding existence, suggesting that truth may reside in the void rather than in tangible forms.
• It highlights the solitary and internal nature of profound philosophical inquiry and the burden of intellectual inheritance.

Curiosities of the Book

• Unfinished and Posthumous Publication: "Igitur" was never completed or published by Mallarmé during his lifetime. Fragments were found among his papers after his death and first published in 1925. This fragmented nature adds to its enigmatic quality and invites multiple interpretations.
• Extreme Obscurity: Even for Mallarmé's typically dense work, "Igitur" is considered exceptionally difficult and obscure. It is less a narrative and more a philosophical exercise expressed through highly poetic and symbolic prose.
• Precursor to "Un Coup de Dés": Many scholars see "Igitur" as a crucial precursor to Mallarmé's later, revolutionary poem "Un Coup de Dés Jamais N'Abolira Le Hasard" (A Throw of Dice Will Never Abolish Chance). Both works grapple with the concept of chance and the absolute, but "Igitur" is more focused on the internal journey and dissolution of the self.
• The Title's Meaning: "Igitur" is Latin for "therefore," suggesting a conclusion or consequence, even though the work itself is a beginning or a process. "Elbehnon's Folly" refers to a fictional name, possibly alluding to a place of intellectual madness or the family name of Igitur's ancestors, emphasizing the extreme nature of their philosophical pursuit.
• Influence on Modernism: Despite its unfinished state and complexity, "Igitur" has had a profound impact on 20th-century literature and philosophy, influencing avant-garde movements and thinkers interested in language, nothingness, and the crisis of meaning.
• The "Midnight" Motif: The recurring setting of midnight is not merely a time but a liminal space, a philosophical hour when the boundaries of consciousness and reality are most permeable, allowing for the dissolution Igitur seeks.