Dodson 1

Benjamin Dodson

Dr. Erin D. Sells

English 340

30 April 2010

“The Seven Stages” as a representation of the unattainable salvation of humankind in W.H.

Auden‟s The Age of Anxiety

Auden‟s long poem, The Age of Anxiety: a baroque ecologue, depicts the meeting of

four characters in a Third Avenue bar and whose discussion soon becomes an allegorical

journey filled with metaphor and escapism. The poem comprises of six distinct parts:

“Prologue”, “The Seven Ages”, “The Seven Stages”, “The Dirge”, “The Masque”, and

“Epilogue”. The length of the poem tells the story of man‟s quest for meaning both within a

psychological and spiritual context. This quest begins within Part II and Part III of the poem

as the characters begin from the birth of man in order to divine the roots of their dilemma.

However, within these two parts, Auden reveals the futility of their quest and the depravity

that mankind has doomed itself to. While an attempt is made by the four characters later on in

Parts IV and V to discover meaning through acts of love or intellectual reflection, the attempt

fails due to the irreconcilable revelations that occurred in Parts II and III. “The Seven Ages”

and “The Seven Stages” depict Auden‟s view of man both psychologically and supernaturally,

and Auden ultimately reveals through this journey into the nature of humankind that there

lays an unsolvable problem regarding man‟s existence within this world.

Dodson 2

In order to discuss the inner mechanisms of humankind, Auden creates two layers of

allegories within his poem; one exists on a psychological level while the other exists on a

spiritual level.1 Both allegories follow the same basic plot of the poem: the night opens on the

Night of All Souls during World War II when four strangers meet in a bar on Third Avenue.

They are Malin, Rosetta, Quant, and Emble. Malin works for the Canadian Air Force as a

medical officier; Rosetta is a Jewish businesswoman; Quant is an elderly Irish clerk; Emble is

a college student in the U.S. Navy. As they begin their discussion, which turns into an

escapist journey, the influential works of the psychologist Carl Jung becomes evident.

Auden‟s psychological allegory begins by first manifesting the four characters so that they

align themselves to the Jungian concept of the psyche as four distinct areas: Malin acts as

Thought; Rosetta acts as Feeling; Quant acts as Intuition; Emble acts Sensation2. By using the

characters in such a delineated fashion, Auden can more effectively show each facet of the

human psyche and its relation towards a more holistic goal. When each character eventually

fails to find a solution to human depravity, the message becomes clear that the answer does

not lie within some unseen corner of human nature, but rather beyond any part contained by

man.

At the beginning of the poem, each character appears engaged within their own private

thoughts, each of which contains thoughts of guilt and innocence. As a newscast about World

War II interrupts them, each character interprets the War differently, which in turn reveals

each character‟s own philosophies. As the poem starts into “The Seven Ages”, Auden

structures his poem as the progression of an infant through life until death. Jung again shows

1 Callan, Edward. “Allegory in Auden’s Age of Anxiety.” Twentieth Century Literature 10.4 1965: 155-165. JSTOR.

Web. 13 Apr. 2010. p 155 2 Ibid

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his influence since the division of the ages of man closely relates to the division that Jung

discusses in his “The Stages of Life”.3 4 The use of Jungian archetypes by Auden depicts the

fragmentary nature which Auden views as the mind of man.

In Part II, Malin introduces each Age since he acts as the most intelligent and

perceptive member of the group, and therefore leads the introduction. In the First Age, each

infant is born with a degree of conflict: “yet already there is / Dread in his dreams.”5 This

conflict arises from a disagreement between Logic and Feeling. The infant experiences “The

fallen families, freedom lost / Love becomes Law.”6 The conflict between Love and Law

shows that division occurs already from birth. In the Second Age, the infant has become a

child and as a result, gained a degree of consciousness. At the same time, the child becomes

further conflicted and divided after realizing he “has laid his life-bet with a lying self / Who

wins or welches.”7 In the Third Age, the human has learned how to love, but only to discover

that “learning to love, at length he is taught / To know he does not.”8 Because the sexual

feelings that man has discovered at this Age merely results as a product of narcissism, the

love ends in disillusionment. Quant‟s description of his journey to Venus Island further

reinforces this idea. The Fourth Age shows the abandonment of Love by humankind as

disillusionment gives way to the harsh reality. By this Age, man no longer yearns for fantasies

of unconditional love or entertains thoughts of being exceptional. Instead, he enters the world

where Love becomes perverted. Emble makes note of the gluttony and lust, not only of sex

3 Callan 158 4 A close relation can also be made to the Shakespearean Seven Ages; however, Auden describes the stages in

much greater psychological terms, and therefore the relation to Jung becomes more relevant. 5 Auden, Wystan Hugh. The Age of Anxiety. Collected Poems. Ed. Edward Mendelson. London: Faber & Faber,

1976. Print. p. 463 6 Ibid

7 Ibid p. 465 8 Ibid p .467

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but also of material wealth. Quant merely replies that “We are mocked by unmeaning.”

Quants remark reflects his belief that any kind of meaning is actually illusory— merely a

product of a mocking unmeaning. By the Fifth Age, man has finally obtained a normalized

and accepted degree of approval and success. Emble voices his fear of never attaining this

success while Quant describes his failure to obtain it. Here, the viewpoints of each character

become increasingly dramatic. In the Sixth Age, man shows himself as unhappy, aging, and

dreaming of the innocence of his childhood (of which never existed). Once again each

character reacts to this Age differently: Quant serves as the physical representation of this

Age, Emble laments losing the key to the garden, and Rosetta dreams of innocent dolls.

Finally, by the Seventh Age, humankind‟s “last illusions have lost patience / With the human

enterprise” and as his demise comes, he “is modest at last.”9 However, as this stage ends, each

of the characters returns to their respective reveries and once again become lost in illusion.

The characters act as if the entire analysis into the psyche of man through each stage of life

had no impact on their respective viewpoints. Rosetta returns to her Innocent Landscape;

Quant declines into thoughts of cynicism and death; Emble worries about the future success

of his life.

Until this point, only the psychological allegory has been discussed, but “The Seven

Ages” can also be interpreted as a spiritual allegory. The beginning of Age of mankind does

not necessarily represent infancy in the physical form, but rather infancy as a metaphorical

device to represent the Fall and the burden of original sin. Consider the previous passage:

Behold the infant, helpless in cradle and

9 Auden 479

Dodson 5

Righteous still, yet already there is

Dread in his dreams at the deed of which

He knows nothing but know he can do

The gulf before him with guilt beyond

Whatever that is, whatever why

Forbids his bound; till that ban tempts him;

He jumps and is judged: he joins mankind

The fallen families, freedom lost,

Love becomes Law.10

The passage here shows that before the infant even becomes of aware of his own existence, he

is aware of the crimes committed by his ancestors. This guilt then leads to the establishment

of bounds, which in turn leads to temptation and then sin. Through these first lines, Auden

describes foremost the roots through which mankind sins, and thus shows depravity at the

heart of humankind‟s nature. The “jump” described refers to the “leap of faith” that all

Christians must commit, and in doing so become “judged.” However, the jump can also mean

a physical jump towards adulthood where he too will be judged, but by mankind. The Love

that becomes Law again refers to the first sin. When original sin was first committed, the

word of God changes from one of Love into one of Law since human beings are now capable

of sin. As “The Seven Ages” progresses, each Age shows an attempt to regain the paradise

10 Auden 463

Dodson 6

that remains lost. As human travel through the Ages, they will attempt to deceive themselves

with thoughts of sexual love or material success (Third Age and Fifth Age). However, such

attempts always fail and each human life ends without ever finding true happiness. Thus, the

religious allegory of this section also shows a failure for a solution on the conscious level.

Since the discussion does not produce any kind of solution to the problems that

originally plagued the characters, Quant intuitively chooses Rosetta to take them further on

their quest. Although Rosetta has doubts, she agrees to lead them on a journey homeward

through “the Maze of Time /Seeking its center” by finding the “regressive road to

Grandmother‟s House.”11

By seeking the road to “Grandmother House”, the characters wish

to find some kind of ancestral happiness or meaning in order to rid them of the anxiety that

pervades their lives. Furthermore, the journey acts as a loose attempt to save themselves from

their own guilt and dread.12

This time, instead of Malin, Rosetta acts as the guide to find this

“prehistoric happiness which, by human beings, can only be imagined in terms of a landscape

bearing a symbolic resemblance to the human body.”13

At this point, the characters may also

possess a degree of suspicion for Malin and his “jaundiced self-pity” which causes them to

rebel and have Rosetta lead the discussion instead.14

However, by this time, the other

characters have all achieved an alcohol induced rapport that they may function with Rosetta

as “a single organism.” Thus, Auden wishes to indicate that Rosetta, a representation of the

feminine and the unconscious (feeling), is about to lead the others on a journey into the

11 Callan 159 12 Patrick, Barbara. “Faith, Fantasy, and Art: The Detective-Deliverer in W. H. Auden's ‘The Age of Anxiety.’” South Atlanta Review 53.4 1988: 87-101. Literature Online. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. 13 Auden 482 14 Boly, John R. “Auden and the Romantic Tradition in ‘Age of Anxiety.’” Daedalus 111.3 1982: 149-171. Literature Online. Web. 13 Apr. 2010. p. 157

Dodson 7

unconscious where the conscious psyches will become muted.15

Therefore, “The Seven Ages”

leads into the next section by concluding the unfruitfulness of the conscious psyche and

attempting instead to find meaning from the unconscious being. Thus begins “The Seven

Stages.”

As “The Seven Stages” opens, the lines between psychological allegory and spiritual

allegory become blurred. The Seven Stages can represent “Jung‟s theories on the regenerative

powers of the unconscious.”16

At the same time, the Seven Stages acts as a parallel with

Dante‟s Purgatorio since there exists seven stages and ages with innocence as the eventual

aim.17

However, the parallel ends here because with Dante, the Eden can be regained through

faith. However, no such option exists with Auden. The characters in the poem all search for

the Kingdom of God, although they refer to it as “The Quiet Kingdom.”18

However, “The

Seven Stages” eventually reveal the unattainable nature of this kingdom.

The very fact that the characters misname the Kingdom of God as The Quiet Kingdom

offers insight into their psyche. The characters have no knowledge of God, nor can they

fathom him in any describable terms. Thus, they merely replaced God with word “Quiet”

which would indicate their most revered attribute. The characters wish only for “Quiet”; in

other words, they search for a sense of peace or innocence away from the guilt plaguing them

since birth. The word acts as an antithesis to the anxiety that affects them, and in order from

to be free, the characters must achieve a sense of “quiet” relief.

15

Callan 159 16

Ibid p. 160 17 Spears 232. 18 Auden 482

Dodson 8

With this goal in mind, the characters embark on a journey in the unconscious. The

characters begin in isolation in the beginning, but each of them finds water in order to

continue their quest. The water represents many things: it could represent life or birth which

would symbolize the beginning of their quest begins at infancy; the water could also represent

hope to find the answer and thereby motivate each character‟s continuation in the quest.

Edward Callan describes the water as “the commonest symbol of the unconscious.” Once

water has been obtained, the characters begin their ascent up a mountain and into the “high

heartland.” Here, the symbolism of the landscape as a body as becomes more evident since

the heartland plainly represents the heart of the body. As a result, the heartland also

symbolizes the base for emotions. The second stage sees them journeying to the maritime

plains where each character reveals a characteristic interpretation. For example, Emble views

the plains in military fashion. The Third Stage reveals the Metropolis which acts as the seat of

civilization. The Metropolis looms immensely and in terms of the body, the city acts as the

representation of the brain. The city appears orderly, but certain problems have been ignored.

The city has accounted for everything except the anxiety of its denizens. The Fourth Stage is

spent discussing this fact.

If the “Seven Stages” act as the focal point of the entire poem, the Fifth Stage acts as

the center of this focal point. This stage takes place within the “Big House”, a representation

of where Rosetta grew up, which symbolically acts as a “womb within a womb.”19

Rosetta

enters the Big House happily while her companions wait for some unconscious revelation to

occur within. However, Rosetta instead finds herself mortified upon discovering her

imaginary childhood as corrupted. Instead of finding innocence or relief, she instead discovers

19 Boly 159

Dodson 9

the “mating and malice of men and beasts.”20

The characters flee the scene, and as they do

they share a characteristic remark: Malin fears that failure in their quest represents sin; Quant

wishes to remain average; Emble enjoys a sense of superiority but attempts to appear humble;

Rosetta does not believe she can be first, and thus hopes to be last. The psychological allegory

again appears with these counter-comments that reflect the inner mechanisms of each of facet

in our psyche.

The Sixth Stage shows the characters in the Hermetic Gardens. The Gardens represent

Mother Nature—the “Grandmother‟s House” that Rosetta promised to lead her companions to;

the Gardens also serve as the life producing part in the landscape-body symbolism

(genitalia).21

During this particular part of the journey, each character experiences a sense of

sexual love or attraction but the context implies that such attractions are only narcissistic. For

example, Malin only wishes to have a son because he wishes his son to be created as his own

self-image. A parallel can be drawn between the desires of Malin to create a product in his

own self-image and the story of Man created in the self-image of God. By showing Malin‟s

(thought) desires in such a manner, Auden appeals to the attempts of rationalistic minds to

replace the acts of God through the acts of Man as fruitless endeavors. The beauty of the

Gardens eventually forces the characters to flee into the forest where they recall their sins and

despair of never attaining love.

The section ends with the characters coming upon a vast and apparently empty desert.

The desert acts as an obvious representation of death, and thus coincides nicely with “The

Seven Ages” by beginning and ending with metaphorical representations of life and death.

20 Auden 503 21 Callan 160

Dodson 10

The desert exists “beyond love”22

and exists for the purpose of destroying life. However,

within a spiritual context, the desert may act not only as a symbol of death, but also as “a

symbol of the death of the self that is required before true can occur.”23

The desert does not

exist as entirely dry or empty. Instead, Auden describes the hidden oasis and streams that dot

the desert, and speaks of acrobats who “make unbelievable leaps.”24

These leaps refer to a

“Kierkegaardian leap of faith”25

which involves great risk and pain, and yet are committed

with the “exuberance and death-defying confidence of trapeze artists.”26

However, as the

characters approach this wasteland, they begin to fear their familiar sense of anxiety. Malin in

particular (and appropriately) questions the logic of crossing such a vast wasteland. As a

result, the dread and doubt within each character grows as questions begin to invade their

minds. Malin exclaims “It will take will to cross this waste”27

and as a result, refuses to

attempt the only true Quest that appears the in the entire poem—the search for religious

Choice. The section ends by stating “their fears are confirmed, their hopes denied. For the

world from which their journey has been one long flight rises up before them now…”28

By

ending the section in such a manner, Auden shows that Malin, Quant, Rosetta, and Emble are

all unable to undertake the necessary hardship in order to complete their quest. In their

moment of doubt, the desert disappears and the characters once again awaken to thoughts of

guilt and anxiety.

22

Auden 510 23

Patrick 95 24

Auden 511 25

Patrick 95 26

Ibid 27 Auden 511 28 Ibid p. 512

Dodson 11

The remaining section of the poem describes the various attempts by the characters to

find meaning through other outlets that all ultimately fail. False prophets appear in Part IV,

sexual comfort is sought in Part V, and intellectual reflection made by Malin occurs in Part VI.

In each part, the quest again fails, but by this point, Auden has clearly shown the doomed

nature of this task. The only point in which redemption may have been achieved occurred in

the desert, and Malin correctly realizes this final section. Upon this realization, he despairs:

We would rather be ruined than changed

We would rather die in our dread

Than climb the cross of the moment

And let our illusions die.29

These lines show that Malin knows salvation from the anxiety and evil that lurks within

mankind may only be achieved from the acceptance of Christ. Otherwise, the illusions persist

and humankind is left to a delusory existence with no means of escape.

Auden‟s poem acts an incredibly complex and ingenious interplay between the

different parts of psychosomatic man. Not only do using distinct four characters to represent a

single being indicate the fragmentary nature of mankind, the quest and ultimate failure of

these characters to find meaning clearly shows the futility of the task. The two startling

revelations of the entire poem that confirm this occur during the “Seven Stages” at the “Big

House” and the desert. At the Big House, the characters realize the illusory nature of their

existence—one filled with depravity and devoid of meaning or happiness. The desert acts as

29 Ibid p. 530

Dodson 12

the only solution to this, but one that mankind ultimately rejects because of the difficulty of

the task. Although Malin finally realizes that Christ, and only Christ, can offer redemption, he

still rejects the task albeit bitterly. By concluding in such a manner, Auden offers a bleak

vision of humankind: an existence where the inherent weakness of human beings will always

prevent them from ever attaining the salvation they desperately want.

Dodson 13

Annotated Bibliography

Auden, Wystan Hugh. The Age of Anxiety. Collected Poems. Ed. Edward Mendelson. London:

Faber & Faber, 1976. Print.

- The Age of Anxiety serves as the primary source through which I can study the

work and writing of Auden. This text is an original version of the poem when the

poem was first published in 1948, and thus contains very little revisionist marks

that have resulted from a near half-century of literary criticism. The early edition

of this source allows for the most accurate and untouched copy of Auden‟s work

that has been made available.

Boly, John R. “Auden and the Romantic Tradition in „Age of Anxiety.‟” Daedalus 111.3

1982: 149-171. Literature Online. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

- A critical aspect of analyzing Auden‟s view of human meaning and existence lies

in his opinions of religion. Boly discusses the development of Auden‟s view on

humanism and his eventual conversion to Christianity at the end of the 1930‟s

(Boly 151). After further describing the influences of men such as Blake on Auden

during the 1930‟s, Boly then goes on to detail how Auden‟s viewpoints became

translated onto the page in his work, The Age of Anxiety. In this work, Boly states

that the interplay between “theist and humanist elements is a fascinating process”

(152). This interplay allows for important analysis concerning the role that religion

plays in finding meaning in our human nature. Furthermore, several points are also

made in order to link the influences of Jungian and Freudian concepts within the

The Age of Anxiety. Boly begins by explaining the portrayal of the four main

Dodson 14

characters with the fourfold division of psyche from Jung (154). Such analysis

opens up insight into the manner that Auden wishes to understand human nature

and conduct. Later on, Boly describes how Auden eventually shows in “The Seven

Stages” that “the humanist quest for the liberation of desire must paradoxically

lead to its repression” (163). Here, parallels between Freud and Jung continue to

show themselves within Auden‟s writings, and lend further insight in the

psychology behind Auden‟s writings.

Callan, Edward. “Allegory in Auden‟s Age of Anxiety.” Twentieth Century Literature 10.4

1965: 155-165. JSTOR. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

- In this article, Edward Callan states that the main problem that Auden believes

plagues humans is “man‟s anxiety with time,” a problem that Auden would

address in his work The Age of Anxiety (Callan 155). This problem becomes

represented in the form of allegories, of which there are two. Callan describes the

first as psychological and the second as spiritual; both allegories share the same

plot that will later on form the framework that Auden employs to construct “an

allegorical modern man in search of a soul” (155). This modern man serves as

vessel to find the good, the true, and the beautiful, but Auden describes the many

problems that face the modern man in his quest for meaning. Auden appears to

show that the barriers to meaning arise from problems within ourselves rather than

our own environment. Callan describes how the Seven Stages that Auden

references in the poem can be compared to the Stages of Life by Jung, but such

stages show themselves to be inadequate solutions in the poem (158-159).

Dodson 15

Eventually, Auden uses the psychological and spiritual allegories attempt to reveal

the solution, but only after the long journey made by the four main characters of

his poem.

Hendon, Paul. The Poetry of W. H. Auden: a reader's guide to essential criticism. Cambridge:

Icon Books, 2000. Print.

- This book introduces Auden‟s poetry by comparing his style to works by his

fellow poets as well as from contemporary reviews. The book begins with an

overview of Auden‟s life and works which helps place the poem, The Age of

Anxiety, into a better and more relevant context. After this overview, Hendon uses

the subsequent chapters to discuss central themes prevalent throughout Auden‟s

lifetime while referencing selected extracts. A broad range of topics encompasses

the remaining chapters such as the ambiguity regarding Auden‟s political view, his

perspective on history, and his attitudes towards art. However, the most relevant

issue discussed by Hendon that will lend itself to my research paper would be the

issue of Auden‟s return to the Christian faith. Matters of religion remain central to

Auden‟s quest to find the nature of human conduct and the meanings that lie

behind such nature. As a result, Hendon‟s section concerning faith will be the most

continually referenced part of his book.

Nelson, Gerard. “From Changes of Heart (The Age of Anxiety).” Critical Essays on British

Literature: Critical Essays on W. H. Auden 1991: 117-127. JSTOR. Web. 13 Apr.

2010.

Dodson 16

- In this work, Nelson discusses the changes in the Seven Stages experienced in part

II of The Age of Anxiety. Nelson does not use references to Jung or Freud in his

interpretation of Auden‟s poem, but instead offers his own interpretation on why

the characters of Malin, Rosetta, Quant, and Emble all serve to represent what

Nelson calls the “Changes of Heart” (Nelson 118). The Changes of Heart act as the

central theme to the paper, and explain the purpose of the four characters and their

various stages throughout the entire second part. Here, Nelson interprets the

dream-like quality of the second part of The Age of Anxiety as an attempt by

Auden to find the ideal Stage of a man‟s life that becomes the most meaningful

(122). Through these stages, greater insight into the nature of human beings can be

discovered.

Patrick, Barbara. “Faith, Fantasy, and Art: The Detective-Deliverer in W. H. Auden's „The

Age of Anxiety.‟” South Atlanta Review 53.4 1988: 87-101. Literature Online. Web.

13 Apr. 2010.

- Barbara Patrick acknowledges the analysis of Boly and Callan on the interpretation

of The Age of Anxiety, but offers her own perspective on what serves as the

underlying framework. She first postulates that a plainer framework that Boly and

Callan‟s exists in the form of the Christian framework. Patrick states that “the

characters are clearly inheritors of the Fall” and they are “just as surely seeking

deliverance from that guilt and the resultant anxiety” (Patrick 87). After this

introduction, Patrick then explains Auden‟s preference for detective stories and

then she coins the term “the detective story paradigm” (87). At this point, she

Dodson 17

launches into an argument that explains The Age of Anxiety from the view of a

detective story while simultaneously explaining the poem based on a Christian

framework. As a result, Barbara offers an another unique facet to analyze this

poem from. While Boly discusses the poem on a more romantic and humanist

level, and Callan analyzes the poem using the lens of psychology, Patrick uses

faith and Christianity while also bringing in stylistic elements that Auden employs.

Because this sources offers yet another unique perspective concerning The Age of

Anxiety, this source will serve as a valuable tool to better understand how

influences from his previous work as well as his conversion to Christianity would

affect his writing.

Spears, Monroe K. “Late Auden: The Satirist as Lunatic Clergymen.” The Sewanee Review

59:1 1951: 50-74. JSTOR. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

- Spears does not directly analyze The Age of Anxiety in this article, but rather points

out the slow evolution of Auden‟s poetry from his early days until his eventual

death. However, does attempt to show that Auden underwent a large

transformation between his early and later work, while The Age of Anxiety serving

as a key pivotal point. Spears in his style. Due to Auden‟s death, the change of

beliefs during the1930‟s shows that the need to eat of impact no longer serves a

central issue, but still mentioned often by Auden. By analyzing the impact of faith

more closely with Auden, and by addressing this issue not only to The Age of

Anxiety but also with a number of other works, Spears allows for a more fair

analysis of The Age of Anxiety since the context of Auden‟s spiritual beliefs may

Dodson 18

then come into play. Spears begins the article comparing the early Auden as the

“pure poet”, much like Yeats and Eliot were initially. However, Auden eventually

descends into the style of a socially responsible poet in which Auden increasingly

uses satire in order to make a “point” about society. As a result of both his

increased faith and his satirical tendencies, Spears eventually decides that the

works of the late Auden came from a man she called a “lunatic clergymen” (51).

However, the context that Spears offers still makes this text both valuable and

relevant to my paper.