Fair’s Fair “For Book Lovers”

Silence in Timothy Findley’s Pilgrim

Louis Sass in Madness and Modernism identifies a number of trends in people with schizophrenia. One trend that may occur is “impoverishment” of speech. He explains that patients may become “mute, over-abstract, over-concrete, repetitive and stereotyped in their use of languages” (179). He further states that “blocking” is common (180). Silence—perhaps the most radial impoverishment of speech—is one of the significant leitmotifs in Findley’s novel. Paradoxically, silence is a language that speaks loudly in Pilgrim. As in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot in which Vladimer and Estragon sit under a tree claiming nothing happens while a lot is happening, in Pilgrim, silence provides a space for extensive nonverbal communication and serves multiple purposes.

At times, silence is an indicator of medical problems or of possible medical symptoms, either physical or mental, or both. Findley presents several examples of silence in Book One of the novel. For instance, Lady Quartermain says, “He [Pilgrim] is silent Herr Doktor. Mute. This has been so ever since he was found” (9). Dr. Furtwangler’s response is “indeed it is not unusual” (9). He suggests that silence is a common symptom of mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia. Later, Furtwangler reads Pilgrim’s medical reports from other doctors and recommends that Pilgrim receive an examination of his larynx, in case he has any physical problems that might cause an inability to speak. Furtwangler demands of Pilgrim, “I want to know why you refuse to speak. Have you lost your voice? If you have there is treatment we can provide [.] (28). If we have no evidence of trauma in the larynx, I shall persist in asking my questions until, one day, you answer” (29).

Findley is able to employ Pilgrim’s silence, which we can observe as part of his mental illness, to serve as a leitmotif that, in turn performs functions beyond what we think of as the traditional use of this literary trope. The leitmotif of silence, at times, provides a space for the description and presentation of information, rather than dialogue. There are instances when Jung perceives Pilgrim’s gestures and eye contact as forms of communication. When Findley mentions silence, he often follows this mention with information about other characters. For instance, Findley writes, “Silence, Furtwangler made a careful adjustment to the pattern of objects on his desk” (18). There are several possibilities for Furtwangler’s actions, but the text yields no single answer. Is Furtwangler simply thinking and absentmindedly organizing the objects on the desk, or is he obsessive-compulsive? Lady Quartermaine also experiences blocking speech; it is difficult to determine why. Perhaps it is because she is not proficient in the English language as in French and thus has to search for the right words to say, or possible she is too ill to speak.

Furthermore, mentions of silence in Pilgrim allow for inner speech that provides details about the characters’ thought processes. In various instances, after the word “silence,” there are words in italics signalling Pilgrim’s inner thoughts. When Dr. Furthwangler asks, “Can you not speak to me? Will you not speak to me?” Pilgrim’s silent thoughts are “Speak. It is useless”(28). Finally, silence sometimes foreshadows events, as when Pilgrim in his silence thinks “Avalanche” (29) and later an avalanche causes Lady Quartermain’s death (230). Like the leitmotifs of naming and music, the leitmotif of silence signals that the reader should sit up and “pay attention!”

Works cited:

• Findley, Timothy. Pilgrim. Toronto: Harper, 1999.
• Sass, Louis. Madness and Modernism: Insanity in the Light of Modern Art, Literature and Thought. New York: Basic, 1992.

Copyright © Yvonne Trainer, Ph.D. To use this material, please contact Yvonne Trainer at moc.riaFsriaF@reniarty.