Robert Graves and The White Goddess

Half a century has passed since The White Goddess was first published. At no time in those fifty years did the book reach the best seller lists, nor did it receive an adulatory review . Nonetheless, it may be argued that this is the most significant piece of literature of this century, and the major work of the century's best writer. That said, no criticism is here made of the reading public; of the academics, publishers reviewers who have not made more of The White Goddess, for it is a very difficult book... an almost unreadable book...which stands apart from the major literary movements of it's age, and which defies classification and comment. It would also have discouraged reviewers to have observed the behaviour of those few individuals who claimed to have "twigged" to Graves' theme... behaviour indistinguishable from that of madmen.

Graves was born in 1895 to the privileged class. He served with distinction in the First World War, and with Brooke and Sassoon was of the group called the War Poets. His account of the war Goodbye to All That, established him as a major writer. Thus Graves gave full service to Mars, before pledging himself to another deity.

The White Goddess was written in the period 1920....1935, during which time Grave's first marriage was shattered by his involvement with Laura Riding, an American adventuress and witch. She was later to claim that the substantive content of the White Goddess was hers. Graves regarded Riding as his Muse....the living, breathing representation of the Goddess, who was inspirer; object, subject and recipient of his poetry. Together they made an enviable home at Deya, Malorca, where they were visited by a string of major literary figures. Riding, a queen bee with her own agenda, eventually gave Graves what would now be called a hard time, and she was in due course, replaced by other embodiments of the feminine divine.

The White Goddess is a poorly structured book.....it shows signs of having been written in several bursts, with  considerable intervals between them. Chapter does not flow from chapter, and the reader may chose to begin it and end it anywhere. The method of the book is the heuristic one...the reader is given several pieces of evidence to reflect upon; an example of the conclusions Graves draws from similar evidence, and the information that a word game is being played.

We are told that this game of reading between the lines is an old one; are given more examples of riddles solved by Graves...and then we are set to work on the entire body of human literature to check the things that Graves has intimated but not said in so many words. Great fun! And the things hinted at.......!

Graves' readers are unlikely to have made The White Goddess their first contact with his writing. The Greek Myths and I, Claudius are the widely read works. Both show a preternatural ability to re-imagine life as it was lived in ancient times. When questioned at age 80 on how he knew so much about Rome in the time of Claudius, Graves made reply "because I was there!". He was not there. His portrayals of ancient times were more alive; more fitted to the known historical facts and surviving artefacts, because he alone amongst historical writers understood the importance of the ancient goddess.