Review of “The Testament of Magdalen Blair” by Aleister Crowley: Halloween Countdown

For October 28

I feel obligated to add that this story advocates suicide. There is no depiction of it, but the argument for it is, IMHO, overwrought to say the least, and—if it needs to be said—sad.

Plot:

Magdalen Blair resolves to warn mankind (I’m sure she means to include women, too) to follow her example and then explode a dynamite cartridge in her mouth.

Weel, now, that’s a bit extreme…

Magdalen was a good student in her science classes. She excels in noting differences. She can also read minds and anticipate some events, like the day she knew fellow-student Gladys was about to faint before anyone, including Gladys, did.

Professor Blair takes her aside for a few “parlor tricks,” which become a series of formalized experiments, which in turn (…of course…) lead to marriage. After a few ups and downs, the Professor becomes ill with Bright’s Disease (inflammation of the kidneys).

The psychic connection between Magdalen and her husband increases but remains one-way. She can read his mind and experience all the agony and pain as he grows increasingly ill.

Even as he slips into a coma, she experiences what he experiences….

Thoughts:

This story has eighteen chapters, each only two to three pages long. Perhaps the author thought short chapters would relieve some of the heaviness of the material. It is a downer.

The main character begins with her extreme comment about her chosen method of suicide. Even in her happier (so to speak) days, she doesn’t seem to enjoy much of life. Her marriage and honeymoon are pleasant but passionless.

When they return from their honeymoon, Magdalen falls ill. In parsing the delicate language, I gather she miscarried and required a hysterectomy. (“…the course of the illness revealed a condition which demanded the most complete series of operations which a woman can endure.”)

The only comment about this is, “Not only the past hope, but all future hope, was annihilated.”

There is no mourning, no weeping over baby booties or her own health. She notes that as she’s recovering, she can read minds again, a capability she temporarily lost while on her honeymoon (while pregnant?).

While there are several intriguing aspects to this tale, overall, I found it unpleasant—not unpleasant enough to stick a dynamite in my mouth, but I will not read this again. I cannot recommend others do so, either. However, I do recommend avoiding putting dynamite in one’s mouth.

Bio: Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was a UK occultist, writer, poet, and ritual magician. He founded his own religion, Thelema, which centered on the command, “Do what thou wilt.” His mystical writings became popular in the 60s.


This is really the best online version I could find:

I could not find a reliable source for an audio version of this story, or one that didn’t want to offer a free (*cough*) trial of something.


Title: “The Testament of Magdalen Blair”
Author: Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
First published: The Equinox, Vol. 1, No. 9, 1913.
Length: novelette