Dec 05, 2005 10:51 AM
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(Updated Dec 05, 2005 01:47 PM)
Dan Brown’s best selling novel is not only un-put-downable but also throws up significant issues. The key historical issue that is sprouts is of the elusive Holy Grail. Yet another is that how down the centuries the Church has with studied and ruthless measures and planning put down the role of women and feminine icons in Church and Christianity. And this has led the church becoming male dominated thereby losing the ying-yang harmony.
The framework of the novel revolves around different people trying to decode where the Holy Grail lies. Widely believed that it was the cup from which Jesus drank at the last supper and in which his holy blood was collected after crucifixion, it has tremendous magical powers and anyone who would possess it would become omniscient and omnipotent. With the death of the renowned curator (Jaques Sauniere), who leaves the ‘Da Vince Code’ to trace the Holy Grail is the essence of the novel. A number of secret societies like ‘Opus Dei’ and ‘The Priory of Sion’ as well as the Church itself is interested in decoding the Da Vinci Code to the trace the Holy Grail which would make them masters of the world. Also caught in this web are Robert Langdon and Sophie (granddaughter of Jaques Sauniere). The search for the Grail leads to a roller-coaster-ride over different countries leaving behind a trail of blood and violence. Many of them believe that the date for the unveiling of the Grail has arrived.
As the code gets to be decoded through anagrams and other cryptic messages, what emerges is that one is not even sure how the Holy Grail looks. In the paragraph above, a description of the cup as the Holy Grail is given. At the end of the novel, it becomes clear that the Grail will perhaps never be unveiled. As Marie Chauvel says, ‘It is the mystery and wonderment that serve our souls, not the Grail.’ For some, the Grail is a chalice that will bring them everlasting life, for others, it is the quest for lost documents and secret history. And for many, the Holy Grail is only a grand idea, an unattainable treasure in these modern times. The author’s premise is that Langdon finally realizes that according to the code, the Grail is hidden in the ‘Louvre’ itself.
The large number of sects and societies that have come up are trying to restore the balance and harmony that was lost over the centuries with women icons and symbols being ruthlessly done away with. The goddess had been demonised. Small wonder then that over the centuries thousands of women were put on the stake as witches. When the curator is brutally murdered, before dying he lies down in such a manner that hints at the ‘Da Vinci Code’. Behind one of Da Vinci’s paintings is a key hidden which leads to the continuation of the novel.
A significant aspect that emerges from the novel is how the curator, the Da Vinci’s paintings and a number of sects were echoing some of their shared frustrations with the modern churches’ elimination of the sacred feminine, from the modern religion. “The church had systematically done away with all female scholars, priestesses, gypsies, mystics, nature lovers, herb gatherers and any women suspiciously attuned to the natural world.” (pg.125). Women who were once celebrated as an essential half of spiritual englightenment had been banished from the temples of the world. The natural sexual union between man and woman through which each became spiritually whole had been recast as a shameful act. The curator, the painter (Leonardo Da Vinci), Victor Hugo, Isaac Newton, and many other such great personalities had been trying to bring back the male-female balance in the Church.
The novelist seems to have done painstaking research in coming up with there awesome facts. As Brown says right in the beginning of the book; “All description of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.”
The major paradigm shift can be seen in the above few paragraphs in which Brown tries to project the new theories relating to Christianity and the role of women in the church. To quote a character ‘Aringarosa’; “the Vatican has gone mad. Like a lazy parent who found it easier to acquiesce to the whims of a spoiled child than to stand firm and teach values, the Church just kept softening at every turn, trying to reinvent itself to accommodate a culture gone astray.” (pg150).
As the novel progresses, one can see the journey of knowledge – whereby one gets to know the intricate details and historical facts about the Holy Grail, Christianity, and the many pagan-related activities.
The major outcome and implication of the novel can be seen in the fact that nothing will change. The secret of the Holy Grail will remain a secret forever thereby inspiring hundreds of people to keep searching for its magical powers. Another implication that is very apparent is that the church has developed many practices, which are being condoned by others.
The 'Da Vinci Code', might seem a thriller to some, however, the fact remains that it is no less than a scholarly document on art, architecture, paintings, sculpture, between the line appeal for male-female harmony in religion and, of course, the eternal quest for the Holy Grail.
