Summary:
Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon depicts the fallacious logic of a totalitarian regime through the experiences of Nicolas Salmanovitch Rubashov. Rubashov had fought in the revolution and was once part of the Central Committee of the Party, but he is arrested on charges of instigating attempted assassinations of No. 1, and for taking part in oppositional, counter-revolutionary activities, and is sent to a Soviet prison.
Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon depicts the fallacious logic of a totalitarian regime through the experiences of Nicolas Salmanovitch Rubashov. Rubashov had fought in the revolution and was once part of the Central Committee of the Party, but he is arrested on charges of instigating attempted assassinations of No. 1, and for taking part in oppositional, counter-revolutionary activities, and is sent to a Soviet prison. Rubashov, in his idle pacing throughout his cell, recollects his past with the Party. He begins to feel impulses of guilt, most especially in those moments he was required to expel devoted revolutionaries from the Party, sending them to their death. These subconscious feelings of guilt are oftentimes represented physically in the form of toothache or through day- or night-dreams. As his thought progresses with the novel, he begins to recognize his guilt, which emerges alongside his individuality. It remains in his subconscious, and it is not until Rubashov absolves himself through silent resignation at his public trial that he is fully conscious of guilt. By joining the Party, Rubashov allows himself to forget the questions of human nature and of his individuality. The nature of his guilt lies in this betrayal of his individuality.
Early in the novel, Rubashov experiences a chronic toothache that he later associates with recollections of past events or people for which he now feels guilty, although he did not feel so at the time. The toothache appears upon recollection of Richard's and Little Loewy's expulsion from the Party, and of Rubashov's inaction towards the expulsion and execution of Arlova. It occurs on "the right eye-tooth which [is] connected to the eye-nerve orbitalis." (46) The toothache stems from a nerve impulse in his brain; his subconscious attempts to warn him of his guilt. It is not until after he has spent some time in his cell pondering the grammatical fiction that he associates his toothache with these guilty dealings of his past. After reminiscing of his meeting with Richard, Rubashov dreams that "Richard and the old taxi-driver [are] pursuing him, because they felt themselves cheated and betrayed by him. I will pay my fare, he [thinks] with an awkward smile" (42). Rubashov does indeed betray Richard's trust and faith in the Party by expelling him. For the taxi driver, Rubashov is guilty of letting him believe in the virtue of the Party, along with a supposed friendship with Richard. Rubashov has silently affirmed the necessity of his expulsion of Richard. He does not consciously associate this dream with guilt, and thus he inadvertently feels as though he must pay. Immediately following this thought of payment, Rubashov burns out the cigarette on his hand as a form of self-absolution. The toothache and thought of payment constantly pervade his subconscious mind until Rubashov eventually identifies them as the concept of guilt.
The gradual realization of his guilt in his history with the Party coincides with the gradual realization of his individuality, which he articulates as the grammatical fiction. The grammatical fiction is so christened due to its emphasis on the use of the first person singular, a concept shunned by the Party. After some time spent in his prison cell, Rubashov begins to discover his conscience, the "silent partner" (89) that does not participate in his monologues, but reveals itself as fragmentary recollections, such as "the tune of the song with the refrain of 'come to dust'..." (89) At the beginning of his prison stay, he recalls this song and repeats the line, " 'the old guard is dead'," (10) and fails an attempt to visualize the faces of the former Party leaders. Rubashov can only partially remember the Party leaders; he has already forgotten the Party's beginnings, and has subsequently lost his personal opinions to No. 1's dictatorship. The recurrence of this song is a subconscious reminder of his guilt towards the old Party leaders in divergence from the original ideals. The silent partner also expressed itself as " 'I shall pay'," (90) for his divergence from the Party's fundamental beliefs, regardless of his devotion to the commands of the present-day Party. The silent partner reveals itself in guilt-driven forms; Rubashov's suppressed individuality is tainted with guilt.
The Party had taken Rubashov away from himself, and had not provided him with answers to the nature of human suffering. After his public confession, Rubashov contemplates the justification of the Party's method to abolish senseless suffering. The Party had not provided him an answer, for Rubashov had been too busy following its orders; the Party gave him no time to think for himself, to find and articulate his individuality. He furthermore believes he would have liked to study astrophysics if he had not joined the Party, and, while reminiscing upon an article he once read of the finite quality of the universe, wonders, "Why had not the Public Prosecution asked him: 'Defendant Rubashov, what about the infinite"' " (207-208) The infinite cannot be seen or sensed, and therefore does not exist in the eyes of the Party. The grammatical fiction lies in this realm of the infinite, where logical conclusions end. Rubashov is guilty for being incapable of answering this question. Just as he was unable to answer the question of senseless suffering, the Party had prevented him from answering the question of the universe. Rubashov betrays his individuality by staying with the Party, even when it had lead him away from his answer. He has not accomplished his childhood goals, nor, until now, thought about concepts shunned by the Party. The Party does not recognize the concept of the infinite, for everything may be logically counted and deduced. Rubashov's guilt is ultimately in his blind faith towards the Party and the consequential suppression of his individuality.
It is in these last moments before his execution that he fully realizes his individuality, and yearns to build upon his thoughts. Rubashov has already paid and settled his account with history by dying in silence. He did not attempt to persuade the masses that he was innocent, for the appearance of desperation would only reveal his guilt more. He persistently questions the supposed infallibility of the Party, and proposes, "perhaps it was still only the second day of creation." (210) The Party, proud and confident of its beliefs and actions, is probably still young and immature, incapable of making all the right decisions. Rubashov still believes in the concept of the Party, even though it has sent him to his death and taken time away from him to develop his thoughts. He believes there is a mistake in the overall equation, and perhaps in the future there will be a new equation, "on the joining of a million individuals to form a new entity which, no longer an amorphous mass, will develop a consciousness and an individuality of its own, with an 'oceanic feeling' increased a millionfold, in unlimited yet self-contained space." (211) Currently, the Party shuns individuality completely in order to promote its belief in community. But Rubashov believes that a belief in community does not necessarily mean the elimination of individuality, but rather a combined individuality. He hopes that in the future the Party will be able to realize this idea. Each individual of the community is a conscious human being, rather than a mechanical part of a large machine. In this way, every person may be saved of the kind of guilt Rubashov is experiencing; they may retain their individuality and still be a devoted Party member.
Rubashov is guilty for the expulsion of many innocent Party members, but ultimately for the sacrifice of the knowledge of his identity for the Party system. Upon his arrest, he has felt his subconscious attempt to reach him through toothache and shivers. These physical manifestations of his guilt allow him to become fully conscious of his guilt and, consequently, the fallibility of the Party's beliefs and methods. Rubashov is also subconsciously aware that he must pay for his guilt. There is no method for redemption, save for dying in silence. Rubashov's resignation to silence during his public trial is his expression of individuality, his complete divergence from Party principle in the suppression of the individual.
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