In Briefing for a Descent into Hell, the main character, Charles Watkins goes through a process of inner exploration. He is trying to share an important message with mankind to avoid destruction of life on earth. His assignment from ‘the gods’ is to remind humanity that a fundamental oneness exists throughout all creation, and people on earth should live according to this ‘Truth’.

     Charles Watkins has lost his memory and is slowly recovering in the hospital. He is a Professor at Cambridge University, who was found in London wandering the streets aimlessly. The story alternates between Watkins’ narration of his thoughts, and his dialogues with doctors and nurses in the hospital. We are taken on an internal journey into the mind of Watkins, and are aware of his external predicament in the hospital.

     The reason for his journey into the unconscious mind is not made clear at the beginning of the book. Watkins is unaware of the surrealism of his circumstances, and does not realize he is entering the unknown regions of the mind. Eventually, it becomes clear that some mysterious inner force is driving Watkins to recover his loss of self. His mind is traveling into the darkness of the unconscious to find it.

     Lessing uses ‘currents of the ocean’ as a metaphor for the swirling action of thought as it probes beneath the surface of consciousness. Watkins is trying to understand why he has embarked on this journey, but the doctors are not helping him. They are trying to cure him with medications to make him ‘normal’ again, but Lessing tells us, society’s idea of ‘normal’ is really madness. Lessing contends that social norms and cultural beliefs are imprisoning the true-self of man’s inner being. The robotic, socialized outer-self is masking the individual’s true identity. This is made clear by the nameless Dr. X and Dr. Y. Lessing says it is madness to deny one’s true-self by living according to the dictates of a repressed, fear-based society. The doctors, (like society) do not want to hear any new ideas that may to be threatening to the status-quo. They prefer the safety of belonging to the collective mind, and by living within the bounds of societal normalcy. Lessing is saying that Watkins is not really sick, but society is. His experiences into the unconscious are filled with symbolic episodes of understanding and enlightenment. He is creating these surrealistic adventures, so he will awaken to his inner truth.

     One of Watkins’ experiences parallels the biblical ‘Fall of Adam’. Watkins finds himself naked at a bloody feast: “I understood that I was naked…..I had not thought about being naked, but now I needed to cover myself” (Lessing, 1971, p. 65). Just as Adam becomes aware of his physical body after descending from The Garden of Eden, Watkins is becoming aware of his new imaginary body which he is creating in his unconscious mind. Both Adam and Watkins are beginning a new life in a strange place, and both have lost their true identities. Adam has lost his innocence and spiritual wisdom, and Watkins has lost his individuality and true-self. To begin the ‘purification’ process, many biblical characters purge their bodies by fasting. They also purge their minds by walking through the desert for forty days and forty nights. Similarly, when Watkins’ begins his journey, he does not eat, and walks forty miles to an ancient city. He is in the process of purging his conscious thoughts by allowing the unconscious to form his inner reality. A Buddhist theme also emerges, as Watkins experiences emptiness and suffering: “my whole body, and the level of life in it, was suffering” and, “Emptiness was all about me” (p. 69 – 70). After his suffering subsides, Watkins looks at the ancient city in a new light. He perceives the city as having a “silly silent giggling” and “infantility” and proceeds to bathe in the river (p. 72). This episode symbolizes the baptism of re-birth, and an emergence from water “to become fresh again” (p. 72). Watkins’ unconscious is coming alive, and the initial joy of revitalizing the true-self has begun.

     Watkins’ feelings of exuberance do not last long, however, as he confronts a weird looking monkey, who begins looking like a dog, and then develops rat-like features. He decides not to kill the rat-dog, because he does not want to clean up the city again. He does not kill any of the animals, but rather comes to terms with the animals and thus, his own animal nature. The rat-dogs and monkeys symbolize the human story of: evolution, innate sexual behavior, and mankind’s killer instincts. The rat-dogs try to stand on two legs, but they have difficulty maintaining this position. They are trying to evolve, but are unable to do so. Watkins feels pity and affection for them and a certain type of kinship. He also feels sympathy and compassion, because now, his animal self is no longer threatening to him.

     The center of the city is filled with animals, and Watkins attempts to communicate with them. He explains that he and all the animals are responsible for cleaning up the city, and through mutual cooperation the planet will benefit from their efforts. Watkins is trying to get the message across that they are all linked together, and must unite before the mysterious Crystal Disc from outer space arrives.

     The Crystal Disc symbolizes the power of cosmic and personal oneness. It has the potential to transform people and the planet into a new age of enlightenment. This transcendence will occur when an un-awakened humanity becomes illuminated by the universal Truth of The Cosmic-Self. The Crystal Disc symbolizes the power of a unified cosmic consciousness that will restore balance, truth, and goodness to the planet.

     Watkins’ hope for the arrival of The Crystal Disc begins to fade as the rat-dogs and monkeys continue fighting. He decides to wait for three days outside the city. The biblical motif of ‘three days’ is reminiscent of Jonah’s imprisonment inside the Fish. He undergoes a psychological transformation while trapped in the Fish’s belly. Jonah is humbled by The Cosmic-Self (God), and begs for his life. On a symbolic level, he wants to be released from the dark, inner reaches of his psyche. Once Jonah understands that The Cosmic-Self is wiser than the individual conscious-self, he is regurgitated by the Fish (after three days), and subsequently, fulfills his mission. In the New Testament, Christ’s true-self rises from the dead after three days, and he completes his mission as well.

     Watkins is seeking to unite his true-self with The Cosmic-Self by transcending the selfish, divisive beliefs of the ego. He wants to get away from the warring rat-dogs and monkeys, and find comfort with the beautiful white bird. The white bird parallels the biblical symbol of the white dove that informs Noah of dry land after ‘The Flood’. The dove is a symbol of peace, spiritual renewal, and hope for the future. Watkins wants to be with the white bird instead of being surrounded by animal violence, polluted waters, dead fish and decay. The white bird lifts Watkins into the sky where he witnesses an apocalypse of rat-dogs killing rat-dogs, and monkeys killing monkeys. This scene parallels a scene from The Book of Ezekiel, when God is lifting Ezekiel into the sky to witness the destruction of Jerusalem. Later on, God shows him a future vision of The Second Temple and the renewal of Jerusalem. In the New Testament, The Book of Revelation describes the destruction of ‘The Apocalypse’, which is followed by the spiritual renewal of ‘The Second Coming’. Watkins is experiencing the same biblical theme of destruction and renewal. His animal-self and ego-self are losing their power (destruction), while the white bird is gaining power and leading him toward self-realization (renewal).

     Even though Watkins is going through a psychological transformation, most of mankind is still fighting and killing each other like rat-dogs and monkeys. Man’s animal nature continues to dominant his personality as he murders members of his own species for power, territory and control. On a psychological level, the ego and animal nature are causing war, murder and apocalypse, while the unconscious has the potential to connect with an all-pervading Oneness, which is symbolized by The Crystal Disc.

     The rat-dogs and monkeys eventually end their war. This means the unconscious is clearing away its mental debris and destructive tendencies. Watkins is ready to transcend to the next level of consciousness and leave the animals behind. He is freeing himself from the false ideas of the ego, and getting ready to merge with the cosmic wholeness of The Crystal Disc. He has successfully passed the initiation test that all heroes must go through.

     Watkins’ adventure inside The Crystal Disc can be compared to an out-of-body experience. He floats around in a luminous “finer, lighter body”. This ethereal body is white and in “the ghost of an outline” (Lessing, 1971, p. 92). He speaks of new dimensions, vibrations, colors, textures, shadows, echoes and visions. He is uniting with ‘Cosmic Thought’ and being absorbed into the oneness of the cosmos. Subsequently, Watkins gains a new perspective on life, its purpose, and the unity of all things: “minds lay side by side, fishes in a school, cells in a honeycomb, flames in a fire, and together we made a whole in such a way that it was not possible to say, Here Charles begins, here John or Miles or Felicity or Constance ends” (p. 96). Watkins witnesses the interconnectedness of all things and the patterns of nature which form the miraculous cosmic structure:

I watched the pulsing swirl of all being, continually changing, dancing, a controlled impelled dance, held within its limits by its nature, and part of this necessity with the locking together of the inner pattern in light with the other world of stone, leaf, flesh and ordinary light. (p. 97)

     Watkins is experiencing his individuality and the uniqueness of his real-self. He is communing with The Cosmic Self and experiencing transcendence. The feeling does not last long, however, as “cold of grief” catches up with him and exerts its heavy and ancient weight (p. 102).

     In the next episode, Watkins attends a conference on Venus (‘The Briefing’). The Sun and planets are represented by delegates who have received a message (in the form of impulses) from the planet Mercury. They watch a film showing the coming destruction of life on earth. The ‘Descent team’ (including Watkins) is in place, and they are ready to help avoid the catastrophe on earth.

     Again, Lessing is stressing her central themes of: oneness with nature, wholeness of being, preservation of knowledge, cosmic harmony, and actualization of individuality. However, humanity is not yet capable of achieving this unified level of consciousness: “anything they are told is distorted to fit their own personal or group bias….like a pile of half-truths they already cherish” (Lessing, 1971, p. 130).

     The goal of The Descent team is to reveal the message of Truth to all human beings. People must awaken to the unity of all things in order to save the planet (p. 130). However, The Descent team is not happy about going to earth and refer to it as a Poisonous Hell. They think earth is a place where people are “malevolent and murderous by nature, able to tolerate others only insofar as they resemble themselves, capable of slaughtering each other….” (p. 131). Despite their negative view of earthlings, The Descent team will try saving the earth in accordance with its principles of oneness, goodness and compassion.

    Eventually, Watkins wakes up in the hospital and speaks with the doctor. Watkins gives him ‘the message’ by telling him: “the law of God” must be remembered: “It’s knowing, Harmony. God’s law. That’s what it is.” (Lessing, 1971, p. 143). This is the message (from The Briefing) that Watkins must share with humanity before it is too late. Unfortunately, the doctors and society are not interested in receiving Watkins’ message, and his efforts to save the planet are perceived as madness. The doctors, like society, feel threatened by any new ideas relating to raising the consciousness of the masses. Subsequently, Watkins’ message is silenced as he receives electric shock treatments.

     The doctors have interfered with Watkins’ personal transformation, and now he is incapable of carrying out his assignment. There is little hope that the coming catastrophe can be avoided. The other Descents will face the same skepticism, rejection and punishment that Watkins is experiencing. Society will treat the other Descents as if they are also mad.

     Lessing is saying that society’s: close-mindedness, pride, arrogance, selfishness and divisiveness will eventually cause the destruction of all life on the planet. She is telling us that ‘the message’ is buried within each individual, and it can be heard if people will only listen. When enough people are listening, humanity’s Collective Conscious will merge with its Collective Unconscious, and each individual self will live in alignment with The Cosmic Self.

                                   Works Cited

Lessing, D. (1971). Briefing for a descent into hell. New York: Vintage Books.