From Skepticism to Superstitious Fear: an Analysis of the Novel by M. R. James "You whistle, I won't keep you waiting."

Nikiforova Alina Aleksandrovna PhD in Philology PhD student, Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies, BFU I. Kant 236041, Russia, Kaliningrad region, Kaliningrad, Alexander Nevsky str., 14 a-lina_s@inbox.ru

 Gothic works gained particular popularity in England at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Initially, the authors turned to the novel genre, which was later reduced to "ghost story" or Gothic novella. One of the brightest representatives of the genre is M. R. James. He is well known to the British public as an absolute classic of a special genre variety of small Gothic prose, but remains little known in Russia, and his work is insufficiently studied. In addition to his literary work, James was rector of King's College, Cambridge and Eton, as well as an outstanding scholar of Medieval studies. Scientific activity had a direct impact on his work. Ancient artifacts, ancient texts or engravings often fall into the hands of James' heroes, which become conduits of infernal phenomena. James masterfully creates a frightening and disturbing atmosphere by referring to mythological codes and biblical allusions. His creative method is commonly called "antique".

In the short story, called a quote from Robert Burns' poem "The Song" "You Whistle, I won't keep you waiting", Mr. Parkins, a professor of ontology at St. James's College, decides to spend time on the coast of East Anglia, devoting himself to playing golf and working. Examining, at the request of an archaeologist friend, the ruins of the Templar Order's perceptory located nearby, the professor accidentally finds a hiding place from which he extracts an outlandish whistle, into which, unfortunately, he decides to blow, than summons some hostile otherworldly entity.

The novel has a dynamic beginning: it opens with a conversation in the college cafeteria, from which the reader receives the necessary information to form a general impression of the main character. Parkins is a professor of ontology. There has never been such a position in the college. ^{[10, p.164]}. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that the professor taught a section of philosophy that studies the basics, principles of being, the world order, its structure. ^{[5, p. 714]} James notes that Parkins was distinguished by "scrupulous truthfulness" ^[2] and very rational views regarding supernatural phenomena and ghosts, not allowing himself the slightest "concession to ignorance" ^[2]. Thanks to these remarks, the image of a very sober-minded scientist is drawn in front of the reader, whose perception can be trusted. There is a certain amount of irony in the fact that a professor studying the world order, in reality, is confronted with the part of it that he completely denies. "Reality is always reality for someone." ^{[7, p.153]} The boundaries of reality that had developed in Parkins' mind were unexpectedly violated. He had to see something that did not fit into the framework of his ability to represent. It is not surprising that the events that have occurred have an impact not only on Parkins' nervous system, but also on his views on "some issues" ^[2], which are no longer "so categorical" ^[2]. In addition to changing the point of view on irrational phenomena, the professor is probably reconsidering his attitude to privacy. At the beginning of the story, he, with characteristic directness, denies his comrade Rogers the opportunity to share a room with him with two beds. The company of the colonel, who later turns out to be the savior of Parkins, also does not immediately bring him pleasure. In the end, Rogers' arrival was greeted with cordiality.

A certain detachment and deliberate loneliness is a common feature of all James' characters. Such is Raxel in "Count Magnus", who in a conversation with himself accidentally "calls" the deceased count, Mr. Humphreys ("Mr. Humphreys and his inheritance"), Mr. Davidson ("The Mysterious Prayer Book") and many others.

 Unwillingness to have company is a kind of prerequisite for a ghost story. A character who chooses solitude may find himself in an extremely undesirable society of otherworldly beings. [12 p.100]. Secondary characters often turn out to be helpers, thanks to which the main character avoids death ("The Runes Thrown Up", "The Treasures of Abbot Thomas", "Mr. Pointer's Diary").

Gothic novels are intended primarily to scare the reader. Based on this, it is important to analyze exactly how the feeling of fear and horror is created in James' novella. Not only literary studies are interested in the phenomenology of horror, but psychology and philosophy are actively asking questions about what scares us and how. Modern philosophers have repeatedly spoken about various manifestations of fear: D. Trigg, Y. Tucker, B. Woodard, G. Harman and others. [T rigg D. Something. The phenomenology of horror. Perm: Gile Press, 2017; Tucker Yu. The Horror of Philosophy: In 3 vols. Perm: Gile Press, 2017-2018. Vol. 1: In the dust of this planet; Vol. 2: A star-speculative corpse; Woodard B. Dynamics of slime. The origin, mutation and creep of life. Perm: Gile Press, 2016.] Fear refers to phenomena that "transcend the boundaries of correlationism and give us in contemplation what we, as finite subjects, cannot fit into the framework of our ability to represent." ^{[7, p.153]}. Heidegger asserts that every fear is a fear "of something" and "for something".  ^{[8, p.75-76]} With the fear of "something" there is a certain inner-world entity that threatens the subject. The subject of fear is most often obvious. A person is afraid for the most precious treasure – his life.  The main modifications of fear, according to Heidegger (translated by Bibikhin): fright, horror, horror. In the case of fright, the effect of suddenness and surprise is important. Fright is caused by something understandable and meaningful - an angry dog or, for example, a motorcycle rushing at full speed. When the threatening has the character of a completely unfamiliar, not understandable, not meaningful, "then fear becomes a horror" [ibid.]. We feel horror when we unexpectedly encounter something frightening, endowed with the features of the creepy. In his article "From the phenomenology of Horror to the phenomenology of Anxiety: Bibikhin, Heidegger and Overcoming Correlationism" Alexey Salin draws attention to a certain inaccuracy in the translation of Heidegger's terms by Bibikhin. The original text uses such concepts as die Angst and das Entsetzen ^{[11, S. 142]}. "Angst is precisely the fear of possible events, to which, in principle, a person's chosen way of being, his life path can lead," "Entsetzen is a feeling of fear of an inexplicable and vile object, from which one involuntarily wants to recoil and hide in some secluded place. Angst makes you fear the possibilities of your own being, Entsetzen — the unpredictable possibilities of being found in the world of being."  In the English-speaking tradition, it is customary to translate Entsetzen as terror, whereas Angst is anxiety. ^{[7, p.159]} The author of the article suggests the use of the terms "horror" and "anxiety", which seem to us as acceptable as possible. These concepts are necessary for a detailed analysis of James' work.

In the strong position of the text – in its title – the motive of the appeal is announced. One has only to whistle, and something called will appear. In the novel, unlike the verse by R. Burns, the main character invokes a certain infernal entity. The main motives of the novel are stated at the very beginning, in a conversation held in the college cafeteria. Colleagues joke about ghosts, about an empty bed in Parkins' room and discuss the ruins of the preceptory, where the main character finds the ill-fated whistle. After an ironic conversation, James begins to slowly and consistently increase the degree of tension and enhance the atmosphere of mystery. Parkins was accommodated in a "spacious double room" ^[2], with three windows overlooking the sea and the cliff. The open landscape from the windows of the character's room is a typical orchestration of the spatiopoetics of a Gothic work, paying tribute to traditional Gothic and its adherence to Burke's theory. A room with an extra bed seems to Parkins too big, uncomfortable. James, following his rules for writing short stories set out in the essay "From the preface to the collection ...", places the main character in an ordinary hotel room, which, however, contains some discomfort felt by Parkins even before his arrival at the Globe Inn. The atmosphere prevailing in the room is such that at the end of the novel the hero will not be able to be there alone at all.

On the first day of his stay in Burnstow, Parkins goes in search of the ruins of the perceptory. Stumbling, he unexpectedly finds himself in the right place for him (similarly, in the short story "Count Magnus", the main character, without realizing it, comes to the mausoleum of the count, and Mr. Humphreys (the short story "Mr. Humphreys and his inheritance" finds the center of the maze without a map). Since the discovery of the ruins, the degree of anxiety begins to increase. Succumbing to curiosity – a sin for which James often punishes his characters (the collection of short stories "For the Edification of the Curious" and others can serve as a vivid example), Parkins explores the ruins and finds a hiding place. M. Heidegger characterized curiosity as a quality that seeks "restlessness and excitement" ^{[8, p.90]}. It is only important for the curious to see, but not in order to understand, "but only to see" [ibid.]. "We use "..." the word "see" also for other senses "... "We "..." do not say: listen to how it flickers, or smell how it glitters, or try how it glows, or feel how it shines, but we say with all this: look, we say that all this is visible. "... We also say: look how it rings, look how it smells, look how delicious, look how solid." [ibid.] Vision is one of the most important tools for understanding the world. "Trying to look in there, Parkins lit match after match, but the wind blew out the fire, so in the end he had to examine the hole blindly."^[2] The ghost that visited Parkins in his hotel room is blind, so probably harmless enough. Note that all the terrible events in the novel take place in the dark. For example, a whistle appears from an unlit hiding place. When Parkins falls asleep with candles, he sleeps peacefully. The active invasion of the infernal takes place by moonlight. The lunar symbol is very complex and has absorbed many images and motifs. This versatility is due to the fact that the moon shines with reflected sunlight. ^{[1, p. 162]} She controls a person's dreams, but is also responsible for his madness. [ibid., p.167] "In literary works, the narrated or articulated world is perceived as visible, regardless of the presence or absence of references to light. "..." Against the background of this constant property of the literary world, the non—randomness of any mentions of the presence or absence of light is quite understandable, and even more so - mentions of light sources, the nature of this light, its brightness or dimness, etc." ^{[9, p.302]} The gathering dusk and the matches constantly blown out by the wind increase anxiety. The hero seems to be given a chance to abandon his idea, but he, like other heroes of short stories, stubbornly moves into an infernal trap. By the time the whistle was detected, it was "thoroughly dark" ^[2] and a man was following Parkins, trying to catch up with him. Despite the skeptical beliefs of the hero indicated by James at the beginning of the novel, chilling thoughts come to his mind, he remembered "the lines that once strongly affected the child's imagination: "And I dreamed that, after walking through the field quite a bit, a Christian saw a vile demon rushing towards him." ^[2] "Should I run or stay where I am?" - the hero asks himself a question. He understands that the wrong choice will lead to the loss of the opportunity to be in the world ^{[7, 157]}. And since the choice has not been made, and besides, the situation occurs only in the imagination of the hero, he cannot know which choice is right, which not only increases fear, but also makes it so intrusive. Parkins is experiencing severe anxiety. "Anxiety is always about possibilities, not about things, not about objects" ^{[7, p.159]}. Nevertheless, it is already clear to the reader what path Parkins stepped on, putting the ill-fated whistle in his pocket. The whistle could have been lost after falling out of the coat pocket, but the bellboy returns it. Parkins might not have used an object with an unknown inscription plastered with earth for its intended purpose, but he cleans it and whistles. James also draws readers' attention to the time of events that is typical for Gothic – midnight. The found object resembles a whistle, which "calls hunting dogs" ^[2]. The reference to Burns' poem reinforces the appeal motive. The infernal will appear only when it is called upon. Whistling is an archaic way of invoking theriomorphic deities. This explains the social taboo imposed on whistling. ^{[4, p.456]}. The colonel assures Parkins that the negative power of whistling is believed "in Denmark, Norway, and on the Yorkshire coast."^[2]

The singularity of the whistle opens up the space of the sonosphere in the work, and the fact that "the sound had the property inherent in some smells to generate images in the mind" opens up a layer of the space of the oneirosphere to the reader. In the novel, the oneiric space and the space of the sonosphere (an unusual whistle, the hum of the wind) works as one of the Gothic tools for creating an alarming atmosphere. In his vision, Parkins observes a black-clad human figure being pursued by another in a pale flowing robe. "There was something in the nature of the movements of the newly-appeared stranger that completely discouraged the desire to see him closer. These movements looked disorderly and strange: the man then raised his hands, then bent down to the sand, and so, without straightening up, rushed to the water's edge, then straightened up and continued running along the shore with amazing and terrifying speed." The non-standard behavior of the creature undermines the ontology professor's ability to give his actions meaning, which is why they seem so terrifying to him. French philosopher Jean-Luc Marion, describing a saturated phenomenon, notes that it is "impossible to withstand", "it is impossible to look at a saturated phenomenon" ^{[6, p.92]}. We share A. Salin's opinion that the conceptual analysis of saturated phenomena is fully applicable to the phenomenon of horror, "in which we are given something threatening, radical, unknown and incomprehensible" ^{[7, p.161]}. At the climax of his dream, Parkins opened his eyes and the vision ended. The boy saw a figure in the window of Parkins' room, which began to wave at him, which scared the child terribly, and he ran away. In the original, the neuter pronoun "it" is used to refer to an infernal being - it is applied to inanimate objects.

Special attention should be paid to the window concept. The window is perceived as a permeable boundary of the room. Polish literary critic Jerzy Farino, notes that due to its transparency, the border in the form of a window "is present and, as it were, absent at the same time" ^{[9, p. 357]}. And indeed, this border does not protect ("there were no curtains or curtains on the windows of the Parkins room"), the window opens from a gust of wind caused by a whistle and it is very difficult to close it ("it seemed as if a hefty burglar was pressing on it (the frame – our note) from the outside"). It is in the window that the boy sees the "wrong" figure.

Direct contact with the ghost occurs when he rises from an empty bed in Parkins' room. The infernal creature was a kind of figure with a creepy "face made of crumpled canvas" ^[2]. In her article "A professor in a nightgown, or where terrible hands grow from and where terrible eyes look," Maria Krasnova notes that the mechanics of James' novels are so effective because the author appeals to the "archetypes of mythopoetic consciousness" and the so-called "children's mythology." Something representing a flying crumpled sheet is a classic version of the image of a ghost, and quite harmless. Such a creature appeared to Professor Parkins at the call of the whistle. James bluntly says that the creature could only "frighten", it was "physically powerless and could only frighten" ^[2]. Nevertheless, Parkins could have fallen out of the window or lost his mind, but, thanks to the help of Colonel Wilson, he got off with only upset nerves.

Following his own rule to leave "a crack for a natural explanation of events, but only so tiny that it was impossible to squeeze through it", ^{[3, p.6]}. James tells the reader about an extremely unreliable screen constructed by Parkins himself from a rug, pins, a cane and an umbrella. It can be assumed that the nightmare and daytime experiences of the hero mixed with the screen seen in the dark and caused an attack of fear. However, this "crack" is really too narrow for sanity to squeeze through it.

Thus, in the novella "You whistle, I won't keep you waiting" there is a mixture of traditionally Gothic motifs (open landscape, rocks, sea, localization of irrational events at night) and modern topos (hotel, golf courses). To create an unsettling atmosphere, not only landscape, but also light and sound arrangements are used. The motive of the appeal stated in the name is revealed through the found artifact, with the help of which it is possible to "summon" infernal guests. As a result, we observe the transformation of the beliefs of the protagonist of the Parkins novel from scientific skepticism to restless superstition.