Henry Miller Describes The Beauty Of Big Sur Giving Literature The Oranges Of Hieronymus Bosch: Part III
© Robert Edward Bell
The novel is composed of seven different distinct parts: a brief chronological summary of the author's life up to point of writing Big Sur, a topographical section describing the geography, complete with a brief local history of the area; a beautiful poetic prologue originally entitled, "In The Beginning", where Miller espouses in a prosaic poem of subconscous prose the beauty, myth, and legend known as Big Sur. The prose of this section moves with the aesthetic voice of poetry.
"I see the one who dreamed it all as he rides beneath the stars. Silently he enters the forest. Each twig, each fallen leaf, a world beyond all knowing. Through the ragged foilage the splintered light scatters gems of fancy; huge heads emerge, the remains of stolen giants." (p.8)
Following this prosaic piece are three main sections comprising the bulk of the novel. Part I: The Oranges Of The Millenium, Part II: Peace and Solitude: a Potpourri, Part III: Paradise Lost. An epilogue, previously discussed, is the seventh and final section in the book, helping to tie the book together into one solid compact theme.
Oranges of the Millenium begins the main body of the book, and is one of the shortest sections of the novel, running around forty pages in length; describing the region of Big Sur and a painting by Hieronymus Bosch, whose strange images of camels, leopards, oranges inspired Miller to form the title of his new book. He tells the reader of the unique history and beauty of Big Sur; interrupting his flow on the poetic naturalism to give the reader the imagery of teh painting. He sees a surreal aspect to the art work, and applies this generalization to his new-found home in California.
"Bosch is one of the very few painters-- he was indeed more than a painter !--who acquired a magic vision. He saw through the phenomenal world, rendered it transparent, and thus revealed its pristine aspect. Seeing the world through his eyes it appears to us once again as a world of indestructible order, beauty, harmony, which it is our privilege to accept or convert into a purgatory......I am led to speak of the "Millenium" because, receiving as many visitors as I do, and from all parts of the globe, I am constantly reminded that I am living in a virtual paradise." (pp. 23-24)
Miller describes Big Sur as being a world seeming more like a mirage than reality. As Bosch's the
