The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman (1986) - Plot & Excerpts
Is This the Thrill of Metaphysics? "The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman" ("TIDM") is a picaresque metaphysical thriller that is both intellectually stimulating and hugely enjoyable.To the extent that it's philosophical, there's a risk that it might read like lecture notes. However, I never felt like I was being lectured to. The metaphysics was always absolutely integral to the plot, perhaps because it concerned the metaphysics of desire, and Carter's novel is primarily about desire. Is This Indifference? The first person narrator and protagonist, the 24 year old picaro, Desiderio ("the wished for or desired one"), is a low-ranking public servant in the Ministry of Determination of an unnamed South American country. He comes from an indigenous Indian background, his mother was a prostitute, and both parents are now dead. He is an outsider.He describes himself as "indifferent", yet he is assigned the role of singlehandedly tracking down and killing Dr Hoffman, the mastermind behind a psychic war with the Ministry. Apart from one missing letter, the Doctor seems to be named after E. T. A. Hoffmann, the author of the fairy tale, "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (from which Tchaikovsky's ballet, "The Nutcracker", was adapted). The Doctor is a former philosophy professor who is bent on implementing a radical liberation ideology of passion and desire. The Minister enlists Desiderio in a last desperate attempt to protect the world of rationality which has been crumbling rapidly under the Doctor's onslaught.Is This Desire? Between Desiderio and the Doctor comes the latter's daughter, the Proustian-named Albertina. When the Doctor realises he has fallen in love with her, he allows the two to make their way, chapter by chapter for eight chapters, towards the denouement in his Gothic castle, the supposed "powerhouse of the marvellous".We learn from the first pages that Desiderio killed both the Doctor and Albertina. Fifty years later, as, like Proust again, he writes his account from memory ("I remember everything perfectly"), he warns us not to expect either a love story or a murder story. Instead, Carter pitches the novel as "a tale of picaresque adventure or even of heroic adventure". This is only partly true. Rather, it is true, but the novel is much more than the baroque, science fiction, fantasy, proto-cyberpunk thriller it purports to be. It is both a profane and a profound meditation on the nature of desire, consciousness and existence.Is This Suspended Disbelief? Ironically, Desiderio only prevails over the Doctor, because at age 24 he did not feel adequate desire. He could not suspend disbelief. He clung to reason and never truly succumbed to passion and desire:"In those tumultuous and kinetic times, the time of actualised desire, I myself had only one desire. And that was, for everything [the war] to stop...I became a hero only because I survived. I survived because I could not surrender to the flux of mirages. I could not merge and blend with them; I could not abnegate my reality and lose myself for ever as others did, blasted to non-being by the ferocious artillery of unreason. I was too sardonic. I was too disaffected."Ironically, at a distance of 50 years, Desiderio realises that the Doctor achieved a tactical victory over him, because his desire for Albertina has actually grown since her death:"...all the objects [in my world] are emanations of a single desire...to see Albertina again before I die..."Of course, by killing the object of his desire (if not desire itself, and therefore is own being or existence), he has made it impossible to consummate his love and achieve his objective:"...at the game of metaphysical chess we played, I took away her father's queen and mated us both, for though I am utterly consumed with this desire, it is as impotent as it is desperate. My desire can never be objectified..."Of course, this assumes that Albertina, who changes guises several times during their journey, was not just a product of Desiderio's desire:"...if Albertina has become for me, now, such a woman as only memory and imagination could devise, well, such is always at least partially the case with the beloved."Is This Phenomenal? TIDM was published in 1972. There's a lot of academic analysis of Angela Carter's fiction that describes her inflences in terms of philosophers such as Foucault, Deleuze, Guattari, Lacan and Judith Butler (who explored various aspects of Structuralism and Post-Structuralism). However, it overlooks the fact that, apart from Lacan, a lot of their writings hadn't been written or translated into English before 1972. Carter actually wrote TIDM while living in Japan in 1970 and 1971.This is not to deny their influence on Carter's subsequent fiction. However, TIDM itself suggests that her influences might have been earlier philosophical and psychoanalytical works.The Doctor's Ambassador explains his philosophical differences with the Minister:"For us, the world exists only as a medium in which we execute our desires. Physically, the world itself, the actual world - the real world, if you like - is formed of malleable clay; its metaphysical structure is just as malleable."The metaphysical structure is malleable, because of how consciousness perceives and understands the real world.TIDM seems to be informed by a version of Phenomenology.Is This Negation? Various philosophers have suggested that we interpret the world through forms, categories or ideals housed in our consciousness.The Doctor has created a set of samples that are "symbolic constituents of representations of the basic constituents of the universe." With them, the Doctor proposes to negate the reality controlled by the Minister of Determination:"The symbols serve as patterns or templates from which physical objects and real events may be evolved by the process he calls 'effective evolving'..."...the difference between a symbol and an object is quantitative, not qualitative...The universe has no fixed substratum of fixed substances and its only reality lies in its phenomena."In other words, the Doctor proposes to conduct his war against reason at the level of phenomena in the mind, rather than in the real world of noumena.Is This Mutable Time? In this phenomenal world, only Time is immutable. The Doctor plans to begin with Nebulous Time, a period of "absolute mutability" during which "reflected rays and broken trajectories [of light] fitfully reveal a continually shifting surface, like the surface of water...a reflective skin [with] neither depth nor volume."After the Doctor liberates the people:"...when the sensual world surrenders to the intermittency of mutability, man will be freed in perpetuity from the tyranny of a single present. And we will live on as many layers of consciousness as we can, all at the same time." Like cinematographic film, "Time is a serial composition of apparently indivisible instants" (or "moments", in the language of Hegel). Film allows us to "corral" Time, to retain it, not merely in the memory ("at best, a falsifying receptacle"), but "in the objective preservative of a roll of film":"...the coil of film has...lassooed inert phenomena from which the present had departed, and when projected upon a screen, they are granted a temporary revivification." As the Doctor concludes, "everything depends on persistence of vision."Is This Authentic? The Doctor's student and friend, Mendoza (a Moor), shows him how to apply these principles to phenomena, eventually claiming that "if a thing were sufficiently artificial, it became absolutely equivalent to the genuine."Thus, the "synthetic authenticity" of their artificial world is designed to rival and overturn the real world.The samples are kept in a sack by the Doctor's former Professor (now, ironically, a peep-show proprietor in a carnival). For a time, Desiderio takes care of them, during which he illicitly pokes around, perhaps with a hint of humour on the part of Carter:"From my investigations in the sack, I came to the conclusion that the models did indeed represent everything it was possible to believe by the means of either direct simulation or a symbolism derived from Freud." Is This Hegelian? Here we have an express reference to Freud. Apart from Plato and Aristotle, much of the rest of the metaphysical framework derives from Hegel:"The pigeons lolloped from illusory pediment to window-ledge, like volatile, feathered madmen, chattering vile rhymes and laughing in hoarse, throaty voices, or perched upon chimney stacks shouting quotations from Hegel." Albertina's interpretation of Nebulous Time sounds Hegelian:"...all the subjects and objects we had encountered in the loose grammar of Nebulous Time were derived from a similar source - my desires or hers."In "The Phenomenology of Spirit", Hegel asserts "Self-Consciousness is desire itself."The Doctor's version of the Descartes' cogito is:"I DESIRE, THEREFORE I EXIST." One character, the Sadeian Count, asks, "Am I the slave of my aspirations, or am I their master?"Desiderio speculates about the true nature of his quest for the Doctor:"...perhaps I was indeed looking for a master - perhaps the whole history of my adventure could be titled 'Desiderio in Search of a Master'." Mind you, his intention was to kill him when he found him, hence he came not to worship his master, but to "jeer".Is This the Enemy?The functionality of the samples (in effect, what drives "the infernal desire machines") is not just adopted by the Doctor, a Satan who is rebelling against the God represented by the Minister. They are utilised by the Minister as well. Thus, it doesn't necessarily follow that Carter is presenting Hegel as the enemy.Similarly, it's arguable that the Moorish Mendoza might represent Marx (whose nickname was "the Moor"). Thus, the forces of evil seem to be associated with Hegel and Marx, even though they (the Doctor and Mendoza) advocate, not the rule of reason, but the rule of unreason, the liberation of desire and passion. Some of Mendoza's more sexual theories even sound like those of Wilhelm Reich.I suspect that Carter didn't see things in such black and white terms. Carter was reading a lot of Marcuse (whose "Eros and Civilisation" analysed both Freud and Marx and whose earlier "Reason and Revolution" had analysed Hegel) and Adorno in the early 70's.Hence, it's possible that Carter's novel was more influenced by the Frankfurt School than Structuralism or Post-Structuralism.Is This the End of the Tale?It's possible that Desiderio's "indifference" reflected Carter's dual commitment to both reason and passion.The desire of one individual is not necessarily consistent with the desire or will or welfare of another. It can present itself as an act of will or an exercise of brute force, especially in the case of the wilful abuse or rape of women by men.Whatever the nature of Carter's stance, it was far more sophisticated than that of the countercultural hippy movement that had emerged in the 60's. It was definitely no endorsement of sexual liberation of men at the expense of women. Liberation needs to be contained by some level of personal and social responsibility, as the indifferent Desiderio concludes, "a check, an impulse of restraint".SOUNDTRACK:PJ Harvey - "Is This Desire?" http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v93nQvWAZc8Temple of the Black Moon - "Infernal Desire Machine" (demo)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEa8l...
It seems some editor thought War of Dreams is a better title for the Americas than The INFERNAL DESIRE MACHINES OF DOCTOR HOFFMAN which is the UK title...stupid editor!! My copy says "WAR OF DREAMS" but I am choosing to ignore it. bleaaa..I can't say enough about this great book. I could fill up a book bubbling over this thing, but I will pull my horses to make these simple hopefully coherent snorts.It's such a treat each sentance and every word. I rolled it over in my brain before digesting it. Let's say Shelly, Vance, Lautremont and Doyle wrote the Holy Mountain movie scriptryptich to that effect might come near where this book is. Dr. Hoffman (like Albert Hoffman, who discovered LSD ?) has been altering shadows and later full blown reality with his war on 'the City'. He has turned what we know upsidown with his bizarre subconscious manifestations of rape and death. Reality police take people into custody to check if they pass for real. If it burns it's real!! The orgasm releases erotic energy that can stop clocks.Everyone is employing the subconscious to realize warped versions of reality with the help of Dr. Hoffman's science. I dont really get a sense of a time period until a radio is mentioned or later on, helicopters. The science is not developed in here except in a strange passing intresting creation, reminding me of Poe or Shelly, but the characters are the main menu on this wonderful book.Protagonist Desiderio goes from hunting Dr. Hoffman with his boss the important 'Minister' via clues, this madness must be stopped by any means. Later he is just trying to stay alive and out of jail with a mish mash of the wierd: The River People who paint their faces and have dead fish as dolls with their primordial verbal history. The Erotic Traveler who perverts the flesh using nature as an inspiration at his side; the syphillic faced Lafluer. The Acrobats of Desire who juggle their own limbs. Greek god centaurs whose well explained developed religion involves bowel movement (everyone can make the sign of god). Animal, root and meat faced prostitutes. It goes on. Angela Carter had a direct tap on the English language and her creative squirmbrain (unfortunately she's dead now) with this morsel and she really went nuts with it. It rallies the thoughts in directions I never thought possible with the endless acquisitions of more and more dementia as plot/anti-reality development.This hidden gem of a book deep in dead trees I had never heard of. A friend picked it up randomly, read it, and then she threatened me with jagged eye slicing fish gills over my nose, and abstract geometric curse words until I read it. Glad I was easily threatened like this!!! I really owe my gill assassin some homage. Thank you Sharkface!A great follow up to my Jeter read: "INFERNAL DEVICES", this one really is a masterpiece.This review was originally posted on sfbook.com
What do You think about The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman (1986)?
Well, that was... something. Exactly what, I'm not really sure I could tell. Structurally, it was like a demented picaresque novel, though narratively, you just couldn't tell what would happen next. And yet, there was this underlying ennui, which after some contemplation, I think was actually a writerly feat exemplifying Desiderio's disillusioned way of looking at the world. Either that, or maybe that's Carter usual modus operandi, I'll see when I read something else of hers. A myriad references and allusions abound - Sade, Blake, Swift, Andrew Marvell, Bosch, gothic scenes, Freud, Lacan, a tinge of Baudrillard's idea of the simulacrum (which is interesting, since this was published and written before Simulacra and Simulation), Plato and a whole slew of others I probably missed. What is it about, you ask? Is it about the plight of the postmodern man, disaffected with all the old structures, like empiricism and Enlightenment reason, but as yet shaped by them, unable to find and grapple with his own desires, deemed to be impossible? Is it some kind of allegory or metaphor about ideological totalitarianism as exemplified by the Minister and the Doctor? Or a feminist narrative, deconstructing the ways we all interact with our sexual desires and showing how they are often governed by sexless, indifferent patriarchs or societal structures? Fuck if I know. All I know is, the whole thing is so intricately woven and exquisite in its stylistic beauty and creative wit (in the 18th century meaning of the word) that I just HAD to give it 5 stars, even against my will to some extent, which is a first for me (though I actually did the same with The Dispossessed). Not by that much, since I would estimate it to be around 4 and a half stars, but still. Especially considering some really perplexing chapters, like number 8 and number 2, whose meaning and place in the narrative I can't tease out. So I reserve the right to decrease the rating at a whim, depending on how I feel when rereading it. And that is why, though I would like to, as I admire her artifice, I can't wholeheartedly add Carter's book to my list of favourites. Not yet, at least. I'm just not feeling it. But what I will do, is tell you - GO READ THIS BOOK! Love it, hate it or react indifferently to it - but read it, because it's unlike anything else you've read.Update: Actually, after re-reading the book for a book club and discussing it there, I heard a lot of interesting theories and ideas and made sense of some of the book's peculiarities , so I am also adding it to my list of favourites with a newly found appreciation for it. Go read it, it's definitely worth your time.
—Vladimir Stamenov
Warning: this book is not for the faint of heart. Warning (Pt. II): this book is not for the dull of wit. Well, I should rephrase. This is by no means a beach read, a rainy day read, a quick-n-easy read. As with most of Carter's work (well, all I've come across, anyhow), you'll likely scratch your head through most of the text, and hopefully come away with a dozen glittering nuggets of truth or beauty or profundity. "Infernal Desire Machines" is a heroic-quest narrative, though as with any Carte
—Jamie
I was both excited and terrified to read this book - I love subversive literature, but I'm not fond of reading about sexual assaults. I knew going in, from others who have read her work, that rape was a common occurrence in her books, so I simply braced myself. It wasn't as bad as I thought, because the surreality of the book lessened the visceral brutality of the assaults. As for the rest of the story, I was wavered between being really interested and pretty bored. I found the narrator rather tedious, though he professed to being such from the first page, and there weren't too many other characters that I really liked - as I said before, everything was so bizarre that it was hard to trust any of the characters to be who they claimed to be at the offset. I was disappointed with the ending but also amused with it, simply because Desiderio agrees that the climax is pretty anti-climatic. I doubt I'd read the book again, but it was a good intro to Carter's work, I suppose.
—Tina
