Mole's house

Mole's "homely" revelation has caused me to look at my evening walks differently.

Now, for something completely irrelevant...

The human brain is the fattiest muscle in the human body. Depending on LSD usage, the brain contains billions of neurons dedicated to doing things from breathing to hunting down a wildebeest and cutting out its heart. Unlike a muscle, it has no direct physical ability to move bone or flesh. However, akin to muscle, it requires exercise and repetition to function properly.

Even more akin to a gluteus maximus, the brain grows and changes with usage. If a body builder does few reps with a lot of weight, the muscles will grow bulbous and large; however, if many reps are done with little weight, they will become lean. Likewise, if a brain is used in conjunction with technology, its capacity for memory will fade, however, its ability to process large amounts of information from many sources expands. Regardless, the brain expands with usage, and usage dictates how it expands.

Revelation seems like a type of thought, an exercise, in this case. Like memory and recall, it is a psychological mode which exists, albeit shortly, in response to exterior influences. However, unlike memory and recall, an epiphany happens involuntarily. This places it in a similar category as the functions of a muscle like the heart or the lungs. Muscle memory, the recall of muscle after repetitious action, is the mode of involuntary knowing; it is a mode like emotion, feeling, often irrational, the mode of instinct.

In the Wind in the Willows, Mole falls into a trance as he approaches his old dwelling place. His underground home, a signifier for his old life, enacts a kind of hypnotic influence on the creature. When Rat, enthralled by adventure and change, unwittingly pulls Mole from his trance, the subterranean lad experiences fits of sadness. Mole illustrates an instinctual connection with his old life and is drawn back to it.

I have always thought of revelation as a thing which changes. In its definition it is a function of the new. However, the new can be old again. Just as Mole was pulled, involuntarily, towards his home, seemingly away from the newness of the outside world, he felt a crushing need to go home. This is an epiphany in and of itself. Also, it is irrational and thoughtless.

Are epiphanies a type of thought that happens outside of our traditional conceptions of thought? If so, it is a blending of emotion and thought that occurs suddenly and without control- at least in the case of Mole. In this scene, it is all consuming and extremely intense.

Traditionally, emotion is considered subordinate to thought. "Control your emotions" we are told. As though thought and analysis are the end-all of perception. For mole, however, the forest was dark, there was no easy way to know this was his home, but something told him that this was it. And it dominated his thoughts. It dominated him. As irrational as it was, a return to that which was lost and forgotten, was just what he needed.

Epiphany, here, seems like a convergence: where the ability for rational thought combines with the emotional instinct of the creature. If one stops subordinating emotion to thought, they simply become two means of interpreting the outside world. One definition of epiphany is the realization of things as they truly are. In order to realize the truth, shouldn't a creature have to use all its capacity for perception?

If trained, can the instinct to realize the truth of the new become a type which constantly immerses the viewer in newness? Is newness a function of environment or a function of perception?

As Mole returns to his home, he does as he always has. He talks with Rat and humbly maligns his surroundings. Like a good friend, Rat assures his companion that the environment is dynamic and exciting. Invigorated by his friend's optimism, Mole once again becomes enthralled by his home. The revisiting of the old in a new way makes the old new. All it took was some observation and empathy. The first is a tool of the rational, the second is an emotional instinct of the kind.

In this case, the rat is a guide for Mole. Similarly, Mole becomes a guide to the little mice who visit. Nothing is mundane if one has someone or something to give new perspective. Mole's visit to his home is a type of rebirth. In this case, Rat is the doctor who just had to slap the baby's ass to get it going in its new surroundings.

So just like the middle ground that the act of Epiphany occupies between emotion and rationality, the path to revelation must be a practiced sensitivity to ones surroundings while also a guided social experience brought upon by someone who simply has a different perspective. Furthermore I wouldn't consider Rat all that terribly wise, he's just has a different experience from his friend.

Also, in the chapter "The piper at the Gates of Dawn", Pan manifests himself to the companions during a mission of mercy. And then they forget about it. That was pretty cool. But that didn't make me smile and jump around as much as Mole's house. Maybe revelation from the mundane is just what excites me. It seems like Mole agrees.