A Strong and Mystic Chain

Mary Robinson?s The Haunted Beach creates an eerie sequel to her disturbing encounter with an abandoned corpse washed ashore her seaside home. As documented in Robinson?s Memoirs, the encounter ?made on the mind of Mrs. Robinson a deep and lasting impression?, (Wu, 121) and set the stage for a powerful poem detailing a deeply supernatural encounter. The poem describes the desolate dwelling place of a lone fisherman, where the corpse of a fated mariner lies. A commanding mystic force presides over the scene, represented by a narrative replete with elements of ambiguity, isolation, and confusion. Robinson creates a scenario of all-encompassing chaos that takes on an unpredictable and vicious role. The function of this chaos can be defined by looking at the interaction between the poem?s natural and physical elements, the narrator, the three individuals in the poem, and Robinson herself. This examination shows that Robinson articulates the powerful and uncontrollable effects of supernatural forces on human beings by manipulating physical devices such as the sea. Further, the superior power of an incomprehensible and retributive supernatural presence renders the mortals in this poem vulnerable and tormented. That vulnerability and torment suggests that the incomprehensible supernatural presence is carrying out its divine will vengefully and ruthlessly.

As the poem begins and Robinson establishes the narrator?s relationship with its audience, themes of ambiguity, isolation, and confusion arise. Robinson isolates the narrator with the opening line ?upon a lonely desert beach?, and continues the poem without ever directly addressing the audience. Because the narrator has no active role in the story, he/she takes on a voyeuristic, omniscient presence. In effect, the audience feels just as isolated from the poem?s events as the narrator. The distances that the audience and the narrator take from the eerie events of the poem are indicative of the idea of a larger overpowering force that grows throughout the narrative, and creates a reverent feeling of awe. Furthering this detachment, the narrator never directly introduces the fisherman, whose ?loathsome life? is the poem?s focus. This adds to the uncanny and confusing mood. Robinson writes suddenly in line 25, ?the fisherman beheld a band/of specters gliding hand in hand.? This is perplexing to the audience who was previously unaware of the fisherman?s existence. The mariner?s murderer is never discussed either, leaving a large informational gap. The extrication of the narrator from the poem?s events and from the audience presages the eeriness and haunting that follow.

Most interestingly, the interplay between supernatural forces and environmental elements in the poem indicates that Robinson uses the poem?s natural setting as a facilitator of communication between mystic and mortal beings. Robinson uses the sea, the beach, animals and air in unnatural ways as metaphors for the will of supernatural forces and the torturous guilt those forces place on the fisherman for his uncovering of the murdered mariner. She writes of that the fisherman is ?bound by a strong and mystic chain? to the spot where the murdered mariner lies. Similarly, seaweed has a binding effect throughout the poem. The ocean, whose ?ebb of tide? represents the eternal suffering that the supernatural has imposed on the fisherman, bears ?green billows? of seaweed which represent the ?mystic chain.? These billows mark spots that are haunted by the fate of the mariner. They ?gath?r near the door? of the shed where the ?murdered man was laid,? and ?strayed? towards the haunted ghost ship, lingering wherever a ghastly presence arises. The audience can detect a sense of taunting as, from the third through eighth stanzas, Robinson writes that the green billows ?played? around the scene. Likewise, a seemingly proud moon ?gleams? down onto the tragedy below it. The binding of the fisherman?s suffering is accentuated when Robinson writes that the seaweed is ?forever waving.?

Additionally, the poem?s setting abounds with unnaturally violent images creating an uncomfortable atmosphere and furthering the sense that a higher power is in control. In the first stanza, a ?deaf?ning roar? resonates with no apparent cause, in stark contrast to otherwise calm aura of the deserted beach. Innocent seabirds take on vulture-like, predatory personas as they ?hover, craving,? over the scene. The wind ?moans,? the curlews ?screamed,? the sand illuminates ?flashing fire,? and the waves crash with ?furious roar.? Words like ?scattered,? ?shattered,? and ?jutting? describe the beach and dwelling of the fisherman, whose world is under control of a greater, twisted force that causes the environment to act in unnatural and violent ways.

Correspondingly, the relationship between the individuals in the poem and their environment reflects the same power hierarchy. It becomes immediately clear that the narrator regards his/her surroundings with fear and apprehension because of its chaotic nature. The beach becomes completely uncontrollable and unpredictable, which is represented by the narrator?s accounts of contrasting and ambiguous situations. All at once, the skies are ?veiled in gloom,? yet there are ?flashing fires.? The audience and narrator alike observe a bombardment of contrasting phenomena with no comprehension of what is happening. The narrator depicts absolutely no continuity in imagery, which induces a tense, nervous mood. Descriptions of ?the clear moon,? the ?the winter moon upon the sand,? and ?the moony light? are juxtaposed with the ?shadowy jaws? of a cavern, a ?tall cliff wrapped in shade,? and ?veiled skies.? This mysterious discontinuity indicates the lack of control felt by the narrator that is felt in turn by the audience. The ocean ?yawns? as it sweeps the daunting mariner under its current, implying that the mariner is weak, inferior and deserving of punishment. There is clearly a higher power encompassing the environment and exercising its divine and unrepentant will. The fisherman?s inability to escape the spot is a function of that supernatural will, which for an unclear reason condemned him to ?toil and toil in vain? to escape thoughts of ?prospects dreary."

While the supernatural clearly plays a large thematic role in The Haunted Beach , one last scenario of transmission is left to investigate. By exploring the relationship Robinson herself and her narrator, the function of the supernatural becomes more concrete. Initially, it is important to consider Robinson?s close professional relationship with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner . The two often wrote in response to or in dialogue with the other?s poetry, and the similarities between The Haunted Beach and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are striking. Lingering spectres, foreboding sea, ominous birds, and malicious supernatural elements are prevalent in each poem. Considering the moral interpretations of Coleridge?s poem, the erratic supernatural of The Haunted Beach can be read similarly. While The Rime of the Ancient Mariner uses Christian imagery to represent moral issues, Robinson deals with them more vaguely as is characteristic of the poem?s style. The narrator?s description of the murdered mariner hints at a fateful hubris in the sixth stanza, as he ?swore to be?firm and undaunted ever? and boldly ?plunged? into treacherous waters in hot pursuit of ?Spanish gold.? The mariner selfishly saved his own life and sacrificed those of ?his messmates brave.? It can be deduced that the turmoil the supernatural imposes on the mariner is in exchange for his selfish pride, for challenging the strength of the earth and higher powers by trying to sail in dangerous waters, and for letting his crewmates die in order that he could live. Similarly, the fisherman is bound by guilt to the spot where the mariner is discovered, because he makes no effort to properly bury the murdered mariner.

In addition, Robinson?s Memoirs detail a sense of isolation and abandonment throughout her life which are certainly communicated through the narrator. Abandoned by her father and various partners, her romantic and familial relationships were troubled. The disarray of the poem can be seen as a reflection of the instability of her own life, and by punishing the derelict males of the poem, they are made to suffer as she has.

For whatever reason, the role of the supernatural in this poem is one that is retributive and forceful in executing its will. The narrator shows but never addresses the need for this retribution, as he/she is just as much subject to its will as the next individual. The objectivity of the narrator makes it easy to see the sheer power of the supernatural that Robinson conveys because even the narrator has no comment or explanation for what happens. Whether or not the isolation of the narrator is correlated with Robinson?s own life, the poem holds great spiritual reverence and certainly subscribes to the idea that one?s actions are subject to the judgment of a higher entity.