see earlier post: Colours of the Crypt here 

Goethe’s Colour and symbolic wheel (1809)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) became one of the first people to systematically explore colour and develop a theory of colour: in particular colours’ physiological impacts on human perception and how they interact with other colours. 

Should your glance on mornings lovely Lift to drink the heaven's blue Or when sun, veiled by sirocco, Royal red sinks out of view – Give to Nature praise and honour. Blithe of heart and sound of eye, Knowing for the world of colour Where its broad foundations lie.

— Goethe

Part 3: Cutting red tape

Goethe’s theory awards the colour red high status, as the meeting point in his wheel of the two pure colours, blue and yellow:

We have remarked a constant progress or augmentation in yellow and blue ... now, in the junction of the deepened extremes a feeling of satisfaction must succeed; and thus ... this highest of all appearances of colour arises from the junction of two contrasted extremes which have gradually prepared themselves for a union.

Red arouses, as Goethe says, extremes: the red of blood, lifeblood but also death; red of fire, danger, attention and action; red of desire and passion; the red of status, of power and dignity. And in the Crypt we have a bit of everything.

Phryne’s red satin dress glimmers against the locale, the blue inserts in the flared skirt and scarf a hint of the colour left behind, but still worn by Shirin. Her motivation to help Shirin is sharpened when she learns that Shirin is not only driven by opposition to her British overlords, but by a desire to avenge the murder of her entire village.

Phryne’s escape plan immediately defines her character and modus operandi: seduction, audacity, bravery, daring.

Goethe sums up the impact of Phryne’s escape in red with style. 

The effect of this colour ... conveys an impression of gravity and dignity, and at the same time of grace and attractiveness.

Grace and attractiveness certainly define the red of satin and leather accessories and trim on Phryne’s hat. The colour contrasts the dull mud-brick of her surrounds.  Phryne stands out where others blend into the milieu, just as her actions highlight her passion, her drive for social justice, where others are motivated by self-interest.

Phryne is femme fatale and action hero, combing seduction and derring do.

The scenes of the escape maintain the red/blue schema but with the absence of Phryne in the final shot, we are left with a lingering question mark as to her survival, the colour of the train maintaining the tonal link.

Phryne’s surprising London return brings with it flashes of hot pink and red against the black of mourning worn by those who’ve come together to commemorate her life. Red in furnishings catches these bursts of colour as we sees hints of attraction between Phryne and Jonathan Lofthouse.

(and a remarkable homage to a modern Qantas flight attendant... !  Was Phryne’s flying prowess an inspiration for Australia’s very own airline?)

Jack’s trip to England to eulogise and to dress for the occasion reinforce the darkness of grief and mourning.

His arrival at the Lofthouse manor foreshadows the intrusion of red in the car and elaborate vase of red geraniums.

Red continues to invade scenes that research the tragic events that Shirin recounts when her village was destroyed and its inhabitants murdered by  marauders on horseback. Red here evokes death and destruction, memories of murder and mayhem.

Red features in the intricate embroidery of Shirin’s blouse, mirrored in Phryne’s bathrobe - one with white background, the other black.

And the professor’s lab sees Phryne alluding to the red of danger in dress detail:

 The journey itself also seems to reflect what Goethe termed red’s gravity, with flashes of red in the accessories of the camel convoy:

The ever-present brilliant and luscious red of Phryne’s lips may allude to her fearlessness in the face of danger but also to other feelings aroused (as it were):

And speaking of luscious lips and desire, there is of course, the morning after the night before - URST of three seasons and a film resolved. The red of sheer veil and striking trims boldly reveal passion consummated, in the final scene:

Once upon a time I blogged about the colours in various episodes of the MFMM series, using Goethe’s Theory of Colour to frame the various analyses: MFMM colour themes. 

I thought it might be about time to attempt the same for The Crypt, given the extraordinary settings, contrasting locations and vibrant spectrum of colours of the film, and what they might tell us about the dramatic and aesthetic narratives.

Goethe’s theory was that colour is a sensory interpretation shaped by perception as well as elements of light and darkness.  Unlike Newton’s scientifically-based theory, Goethe argued that colour needs darkness, and that most colours contain elements of it: 

Light and darkness, brightness and obscurity, or if a more general expression is preferred, light and its absence, one necessary to the production of colour . . . colour itself is a degree of darkness. (Goethe, Zur Farbenlehre, 1810)

Goethe’s Colour and symbolic wheel (1809)

Part 1: A line in the sand

Goethe based his colour wheel and published writings on a yellow/blue polarity; that yellow and blue  are the only pure colours; all other colours are degrees of these two. 

Yellow is a light which has been dampened by darkness; blue is a darkness weakened by the light. 

This yellow/blue polarity and its manifestation in shades, tones and hues of the natural and built environments, the garbs and settings of The Crypt of Tears, bring this duality into focus.

In Goethe’s colour wheel, yellow (good ’gut’) is the colour closest to light, and therefore both ‘pure and beautiful ... serene, gay, softly exciting’. But he acknowledges too the impact of combinations, of blending and shading, which he claims can produce ‘a very disagreeable effect’. The soft, stark and muted tones of desert towns, villages and landscapes represent, while not always disagreement, wariness and foreboding.

By a slight and scarcely perceptible change, the beautiful impression of fire and gold is transformed into one not undeserving the epithet, foul; and the colour of honour and joy reversed to that of ignominy and aversion. 

Of blue (common ‘gemein’) he also suggests some caution:

As yellow is always accompanied with light, so it may be said that blue still brings a principle of darkness with it.

This colour has a peculiar and almost indescribable effect on the eye. As a hue it is powerful — but it is on the negative side, and in its highest purity is, as it were, a stimulating negation. Its appearance, then, is a kind of contradiction between excitement and repose.

The opening scenes of The Crypt provide an opportunity to consider the contrasting effects of the two pure colours. Jerusalem, in British-occupied and administered Palestine, is set in the yellow-browns of mudbrick and cobblestones, of ‘ignominy and aversion’, and this provides a backdrop to the complexity of the intrigue that is to follow. 

Phryne erupts onto this scene in a tribute to blue’s ‘excitement’, robes whirling, glittering and billowing in her escape from the local administrative officers who are suspicious of her motives for being in Jerusalem. Her abaya and niqab with coin face veil contrast the muted, sandy tones of the squares, high walls and alleyways where the escapee jostles with crowds, donkey carts, baskets of commerce and motorbikes. 

Her silhouette against a pure blue sky highlights the contrast.

Indeed as if to reinforce Goethe’s yellow/blue polarity, Phryne abandons her blues for yellow’s purest form, 'the beautiful impression of fire and gold’ and the scene is set for the next escapade, to rescue the young dissident, Shirin, held in prison for her anti-colonial views. Fire and gold from pistol to toe.

The yellow/blue contrast is reinforced in the scenes of Shirin’s imprisonment; the blue of her robes mirroring Phryne’s earlier dress, distinct from the dull yellow mudbrick prison, the walls and cobblestones of the square and the desert beyond.

The blue of Shirin’s robes are a recurring motif, not limited to her incarceration but always reflecting its distinction from her surrounds. in her memories of earlier times, Goethe’s description of blue generating the ‘kind of contradiction between excitement and repose’ is brought into sharp relief. In each of the flashbacks of her childhood in a village in the Negev, blue dominates the sandy backdrop of social life and interactions. 

These early memories evince repose: the calm and order of village life and her relationship with her mother. They reveal love, warmth, closeness as well as indications of future agency.

Shirin recalls a task assigned to her, that of collecting honey from the hives on the hills above the village. Although the purpose was unclear, she knew that one day the tradition would be revealed to her by her mother. The image of her journey on the fateful day of the attack foreshadows markers in a later scene. 

Away collecting honey saved Shirin’s life just as its role was the preservation of another young woman. Her absence distanced her from the sudden and shocking assault which decimated her family and the entire village.  In her recollections, the blue of sky and robes is set against the gold of honey pot and honey; the shattered ceramic and spilled contents parallel the death and destruction in the village below.

As the sandstorm engulfs the village and the curse is set in motion, Shirin’s only desire is to be enveloped within it, the blue to be absorbed into the raging ochre dust.

Part 2: Rapprochement

Maybe it’s too long a bow to draw to use a term usually associated with international relationships, but I’ll linger a little longer on the metaphor anyway. We need to consider the alliance between the central duo of the film, Phryne and Jack. An entente cordiale between them is necessary to reconnoitre with a stranger, explain a mystery, break a curse, unravel a crime and, ultimately, resolve a romance.

Phryne interrupts her own memorial service with a spectacular entrance in a  yellow/blue dichotomy (aka biplane). 

The rapprochement gets off to a rather shaky start: Jack is hurt, Phryne bemused.

J: Do you have any idea what it was like for me... reading that you'd died a horrible death in a foreign country? 

P: Why are you so angry? 

J: I wrote a eulogy for you. 

P: My apologies for the wasted effort. 

J: Oh, don't worry. It won't be wasted. I'll save it for the appropriate day.

It isn't long before circumstances see their reaching an agreement to prolong the colour scheme, brokered by a mysterious sealed missive, encounters in rain-drenched alleyways, and in a journey across the Negev to find the site of Shirin’s village and the key to an ancient curse.

For Phryne and Jack this means some stunning silhouettes both in London and abroad. A precursor to purple rain perhaps:

Any mutually-acceptable, bi-lateral agreement requires time, patience and some give and take in the negotiations.  

The desert landscape, like those of Jerusalem and in the scenes of Shirin’s childhood village, constantly reinforce the complementarity of sky and sand. Goethe’s ignominy and aversion of muted yellow and stimulating negation and contradiction of blue accompany the journey.

There are traps for the unwary: a dishonest cameleer for example ...

And in policy positions, stated and ceded:

P: Well, maybe I'll be absolutely fine without having to explain myself to you or any other man. And if I need your help, I'll ask for it. 

J: I won't hold my breath.  

P: Jack? 

J: Don't worry about it. 

P: I need your help! It's quicksand!

But the film isn't just about ignominy and aversion, negation and contradiction. Goethe’s colour wheel can provide the methodology for more insights - other symbols, senses and emotions circle around, wheeling about plot and character. What of red and green, purple and silver, ebony and ivory?  Now there’s some food for thought.

RIPCORD – a review

With seating restricted and wearing of masks

The play went to preview, let’s hope it will last!

Lucky for some who got to their seat

Because it was special, a theatrical treat.

Two ladies, to cohabit, have traits not conducive

One a curmudgeon, the other effusive.

A wager is on to see who can deploy

One’s sangfroid to fear, one’s anger from joy.

There’s a lot of bad blood to get over the hump

You’d think it a case of Biden v Trump:

A playhouse that’s spooky, with flesh-eating clown

A baby to save, Abby’s guard appears down.

A plane ride with instructions from Marilyn’s son

(He looks familiar, has she got more than one?)

A parachute jump, not for hearts that are faint

Pull on the ripcord, free-falling, restraint.

Phone calls all night to get stuff that is free

In answer to ads someone placed on Gumtree.

A fire truck, torn, was by one’s little boy

Sudokus filled in, all parts of the ploy.

The exchanges are witty, quips timed to perfection,

But darkness emerges, they’d rather not mention.

There are family ties and finances turned bad

Relationships soured, heartbreakingly sad.

But out of the sombre, emerges some light

As grandchildren divide but also unite.

Sharing a room is no longer a fight -

Abby’s and Marilyn’s futures are bright.

The direction‘s superb as are lighting and sets,

Seamless transitions and special effects.

Acting that’s versatile, perfect for stage

A penchant for purple: part 3 (Series 3)

“Colours are light's suffering and joy.” ― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In part 1 and part 2 of this series, we saw the disruptive influence of purple as identified by Goethe in his treatise on colour, Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colour).  Goethe in his analyses did not bother with colour as a physical phenomenon to be dissected; on the contrary, his philosophy concentrates on how colour is sensed and interpreted by the eye then the mind.

Goethe, poet, dramatist, novelist, and philosopher, was motivated by his interest in painting, and describes, in some of the earliest published accounts, coloured shadows, after images and complementary colours. In contrast to Isaac Newton, he was not concerned with the physics of colour, analytic measurement and cold, hard mathematics.  He was concerned with colour harmony and ways of characterising how colours affect the viewer.

Philosophers and psychologists embraced Zur Farbenlehre; physicists rejected it. 

In theorising about the psychological impacts of colours, Goethe’s ‘chromatic’ wheel, as he termed it, illustrates also the opposition of colour as perceived by the human eye. 

Purple, the most powerful wavelength of the spectrum, sits, in Goethe’s colour wheel, on the divide between reddish-yellow (orange) and the reddish-blue (violet). It resolves the polarity between yellow and blue. 

from Theory of Colours, (1840), Plate I Figure 3 and ¶612

(Primary and secondary colours are depicted as triangles and complementary relationships are depicted as straight lines.)

It was Goethe who introduced the colour purple into his schemas, while Newton’s theory contained only spectral colours. Purple is still included in colour wheels today. 

Purple is the zenith of Goethe’s world of colours.

Its manifestations in MFMM are hugely varied and, with some poetic licence, extend from pale mauve satin, delicate lilac chiffon and soft lavender feathers, to deep, rich violet felts and noble purple itself in plush velvet.  Series 3 sees on-going glimpses as well as long, lingering gazes at its tonal palette.

First glimpse appears in Episode 1 of Series 3, Death Defying Feats, and in the awkwardness, then the more relaxed environment of the morning after the night before.  Phryne and Jack have had  a couple of dates defied by death and Daddy, and they are just coming to terms with his waking up in her bed.

Our colour de jour appears in the form of a soft lavender silk scarf that accompanies Phryne’s eggshell blue chinoise coat.  Having established what took place, they revert to collaborative detective-mode to interview the contortionist, her unravelled appearance complete with floral dress displaying bunches of violets:

The pale lilac-grey scarf then accompanies Phryne and Dot, then Phryne and Jack on investigations into the mysteriously misplaced mermaid Millie, with reflections of the blue-lavender in the trim of Phryne’s red cloche:

Mysterious Millie offers some purple accessories of her own:

Goethe appreciates that the sensation of complementarity does not originate physically from the actions of light on our eyes but perceptually from the actions of our brain - our visual system.

And in his system, it is green that has a complementary relationship to purple (just saying):

Episode 2, Murder and the Maiden

Just when we thought, after the Episode 1 date disasters, that things might start looking up, along comes Episode 2 and a pronounced purple patch.

Purple’s ability to both excite and then dampen delight appears in another piece of gorgeous chinoiserie, and no subtlety of colour this time. The black, midnight blue and purple silk has purple silk lining, trim and cuffs, and a purple cloche with silk embroidered floral motifs; Phryne’s earrings dangle purple appeal.

Despite some reminiscing and some subsequent remonstrating, the dashing detective duo collaborate to confound culprits (and captains):

Series 3, Episode 3 Murder and Mozzarella

For a scene with ‘a rival for Jack’s affection’ Phryne needs an outfit that ‘is sexy but incredibly elegant’ (MFMM Costume Exhibition catalogue). It is black beaded Chantilly lace over a purple silk under-slip.

Phryne’s visit is to find out, ostensibly, more about the feud between culinary families and involvement of the Camorra, but perhaps it is more than rival restaurants that incite the visit.

Concetta: You are a friend of Gianni's? Jack.  

Phryne: A friend, yes. And you? 

Concetta: Si. He tried very hard to find who killed my husband, but it is not easy. Since then he has dinner here many, many nights. 

Phryne: He must like the food.

And just to make sure we have this evening and the next day firmly established as significant, the next morning reinforces the purple theme, with perhaps one of the most telling scenes in relation to Phryne’s growing propriety of Jack:

Phryne: I didn't know you drank coffee, Jack. 

Jack: Would you like me to make a full confession? 

Phryne: No, thank you. I prefer a never-ending source of mystery.

Jack: Concetta, this is Miss Fisher. 

Concetta: Si. We talked last night. 

Jack: Did you now?

The rich purple velvet jacket with wide buttoned cuffs is teemed with a black straw hat and feathers of black, white and lavender and a long black and purple floral print scarf.  The coat could well be one we’ve seen previously in Raisins and Almonds and/or Juana, but without the fur collar.  But it continues tonally the link with Phryne’s dinner with Concetta.

The tonal link with Jack too is reinforced as they walk away from Strano’s, the red lining of their coats in step with their, well... step.

There’s some serious manoeuvring on both their parts as murder investigation and personal interest interplay in a truly delightful exchange of flirtatious banter:

Jack: So you came back to the restaurant last night. 

Phryne: I had a few questions for Concetta. 

Jack: Did you get the answers you were looking for? 

Phryne: Too early to say. When you say 'old friend', do you mean 'old friend' like Dr Mac, or 'old friend' like Captain Compton? 

Jack: Concetta Strano hasn't saved my life from a burning plane wreck in Madagascar, if that's what you mean.

Then a change of tone as concern for one another becomes serious:

Jack: I'm more concerned about you getting in too deep. 

Phryne: Who, me? 

Jack: Look, these people have been killing each other for generations... 

Phryne: I'll be careful. Promise me you'll be careful too. 

The plush purple and accoutrements head off to the docks for a shoot out:

Then a meeting with Mac in the morgue:

Mac: I have no doubt she was attacked, but that wasn't what killed her. 

Phryne: There were mushrooms in the dish she was preparing. 

Mac: That is where it gets interesting. I tested the contents. Those mushrooms were not poisonous. 

Phryne: So, she was killed by different mushrooms?

A slightly awkward interview with Guido:

And a return to the scene of the crime and a rather beautiful vignette in the restaurant garden with Marianna:

The colour seems to be significant in this episode in its presence in scenes that highlight both personal and professional ties.

So to the final coup d’oeil for the series in Game, Set and Murder,  Episode 8. Tennis is at the heart of this murderous mystery - literally!

Phryne wears a lilac silk chiffon scarf with yet another piece of chinoiserie, this time a smokey silver-blue jacket. Trim on the palest mauve-grey straw cloche echoes the scarf. 

Phryne’s old friendship with the Burrows is tested, as love of tennis becomes more than a game.  Constance loves tennis to the point of obsession and her adoring husband is prepared to support her ambition at any length.

In the scenes set in the gorgeous grounds of Ripponlea (Aunt P’s house again?) the lilac of the the scarf is reflected in the jacaranda in bloom behind the tennis courts. 

The detective duo are decidedly working as a mixed double - both on and off the court, despite a deuce of a difficulty or two or three: prying paparazzi, tempting tennis contestants, and arachnophobic interludes.

Final score - love all?

A penchant for purple: part 2 (Series 2)

Part 1 explored how in Goethe’s theory of colour, purple has the complex effect of being both unsettling and thrilling, disturbing and beguiling, and this colour manifested these traits when worn, principally by Phryne, in the themes of the various episodes. But there were also parallels in the relationship between Phryne and Jack. 

Part 2 examines whether this theory can be further substantiated as we move into Series 2.

Look no further than an opening scene of Episode 1 of Series 2, with Phryne’s arrival on the crime scene.  Her blue outfit and the blue straw ‘Hello Jack’ hat (name according to the MFMM Costume exhibition catalogue) with ash-brown and deep lilac feathers, announces her presence. If there were a need to question the ability of this colour to provide discomposure while fascinating, then this is the scene to prove it.

Jack is on another policeman’s patch, brought into the investigation at ex-wife Rosie’s request, so he is already compromised professionally. Phryne’s presence adds the personal to an already delicate situation. 

Collins: Hang on, what about Hawthorn, sir? I thought they were in charge of this investigation. 

Jack: Not anymore, Collins. We're taking over. 

(Car horn sounds) 

Phryne: Hello, Jack... Oh, come on. You'd be disappointed if I didn't show. 

True to purple’s proposition of polarity, discomfort at the outset leads to intimacy, as only this pair know how. A sniff at the decanter ...

While Jack must contend with Hawthorn’s investigation team on site, and then Phryne’s appearance, he is ill-prepared for Rosie’s entrance to her father’s home at this point. The necessary introductions are made:

Collins: Excuse me, sir. Your... The Deputy Commissioner's daughter has just arrived. 

Jack: Miss... Miss Phryne Fisher, Miss Rosie... 

Rosie: Sanderson will do now, Jack. 

Jack: Rosie is my wife. Well, ah, former... former wife. 

It isn’t just Jack feeling discomfort, it is there between the two women too. The meeting and their interaction provide an interesting visual play as there is a tonal link in their dress, the ash-brown and lilac of the feathers of Phryne’s hat reflected in Rosie’s more sombre palette. However, the lilac feathers accentuate the difference in character between the two as well - they reflect glamour and charisma as opposed to Rosie’s more sedate demenour. 

Perhaps too the feathers are a foretaste of the feature feathers of the fan dance later in the ep.

Still in the drawing room of the Sanderson home, the photo of the former happy couple, Jack and Rosie, perturbs the usually unperturbable Phryne, with the couple, present, reflected in the mirror in the background:

Phryne, not to leave her discovery and disquiet to herself, presents the framed evidence to Jack - after all a problem shared... 

And finally some sharing of the Phrack clothing palette also emerges (hat, coat and feathers, tie and coat lining).

Beachside scenes in Dead Man’s Chest (Episode 3) have a palette more in keeping with sea and sand, but there are purple patches too.  With its preponderance of blue, Goethe describes purple and its range from blue to red as ‘always bearing something dark’ and red-blue and blue-red colours making  one feel ‘restless, soft and longing’. 

With a murder and coin conundrum to resolve, Phryne calls in Jack to ensure his numismatist expertise can be consulted. 

The sheer chiffon blouse over deep purple camisole with red piping and covered buttons is a gorgeous blue-red combination. There is certainly softness in the clothing, and perhaps some restless longing involved in the phone call to the coin-collecting inspector.

And speaking of longing, we see the same colour combination of purple with flashes of red in Phryne’s bathers as she watches, beachside, the dive for the deadly dagger. 

Jack’s emerging, dripping, from the water is  enough to make her ice cream start to melt.

Murder a la Mode (Episode 5) features a feast of purple in aubergine tones - in look and lustre.

Goethe the poet influenced Goethe the scientist, evident in his expounding of his colour theory lyrically, in terms of colour harmony and aesthetics. He proposed that ‘the character of colours in clothing is applied to the character of the person. Hence, the relationship of the individual colours and combinations to the colour of the face, age and status can be observed.’

The relationships among character, colour and couture can be observed, at times very closely, in this episode with a pearl and its aubergine lustre as an early focus.

Phryne: And a single pearl. Only one side bloodstained. Dropped after the murder. Look at the colour. Aubergine. Probably highly valuable. Treasure of an oyster.

In Shakespeare’s time pearls were not only worn as jewels, but were extensively used in embroidering rich garments.  The culprit takes a leaf from the Bard’s book in her manner of secreting stolen jewels.  So Shakespeare, who also used the pearl as a metaphor for great and transcendent value, and the plot go hand in hand:

She is a pearl Whose price hath launch'd above a thousand ships (Troilus and Cressida, Act 2, scene ii)

Wealthy women who frequent a leading couturier are preyed upon for their jewellery, so who better to infiltrate than the glamorous Miss Fisher.  

The lustre of the aubergine pearl and mention of its treasure leads the normally taciturn inspector to speak lyrically, calling on the Bard, to confirm the further function of the pearl in declaring undying (or in Antony’s case, dying!) love:

Jack: He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses—This orient pearl. 

(Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1, scene v)

Cold water is poured on Jack’s declaration in Phryne’s response:

Not even Mark Antony would want to kiss this one. 

No. 

True to purple’s ability to be both delight and unnerve, the moment is lost and the investigation moves on...

... with ‘Genevieve’ providing some aubergine lustre of her own both at the salon and at City South.

There’s reference too to the palette in the day spa where a link is made between clients, missing jewellery and the House of Fleuri.

Meanwhile an assignation back in the scene of the crime sees Phryne in deep aubergine velvet coat and fur collar, teamed with felt hat and a sheer chiffon silk blouse patterned with aubergine and lilac pearl-shaped discs.  The sheen of velvet and silk reference the pearl’s lustre.

There are visual reminders of the colour theme of pearls and their lustre throughout.

Phryne’s aubergine outfit here highlights the on-going contrast with Dot’s daywear, a subject of some tension between Dot and Hugh, and even a source of difference with Mme Fleuri’s views on the appropriateness of style and status to wearer.

It is Phryne who delivers the ‘pearls of wisdom’ to Dot:

Dot... a woman should dress first and foremost for her own pleasure. Having grown up in second-hand flannels, there is nothing quite so divine as the feel of silk underwear... The touch of soft fox, the slither of a satin skirt. If these things happen to appeal to men, well, that really is a side issue.

A similar ode to aubergine appears in Episode 8, The Blood of Juana the Mad. 

Here purple’s device has all the trappings of Goethe’s interpretation that ‘its exciting power ... may be said to disturb’.   These are disturbing times for Phryne and Jack.  Phryne is as determined to engage as Jack is to disengage:

Phryne: Sorry, Inspector, your constable gave you away. 

Jack: We're in the middle of an interview, Miss Fisher. ...

Phryne: Don't mind me. 

Jack: But I do.

The tensions between Jack and Phryne are echoed in other uncomfortable alliances - murder by those who are meant to heal; cheating in the hallowed varsity halls; mistreatment of women and those of a different social class; war heroes found to be double agents.

What’s to be done with this emotional strain keeping our two at arm’s length?

Enter a device!  

In medieval and renaissance poetry, the handkerchief is a powerful symbol of a woman’s romantic favour. The cultural practice was for a lady to deliberately drop it for a knight to retrieve and keep as a token of her affection.

In Othello, the kerchief is central to the play’s tragic denouement.  A metaphor for love and fidelity, Desdemona keeps it with her at all times, “to kiss and talk to” (Act 3, scene iii). By Iago framing its whereabouts, the resulting chain of events leads to her brutal murder at the hands of her enraged husband.

So Phryne uses this metaphor of love and affection to wave beneath Jack’s nose, literally!

It works! 

And we see a final touch of lilac feathers in Phryne’s take on tweed. It’s interesting to see Phryne’s, and Mac’s outfits so in keeping with the milieu (eg Prof Spall) but Phryne’s so defiantly glamorous.

And what with the influence of the kerchief and feathered finery, there’s a truce, a suspension of hostilities, leading to some collegial contact:

Jack: What are you doing, Miss Fisher? 

Phryne: What we do best, Jack. And I'm afraid I'm going to have to touch you.

Luscious plum is the signature shade of Episode 9, Framed for Murder.

Phryne: Would you call that purple? 

Dot: Luscious Plum. That's Miss Lily Luscombe's favourite shade of lipstick.

Dot, having identified the shade, wears a deep plum felt hat with matching trim in acknowledgement.

Phryne wears the shade de jour to stunning effect in this gorgeous outfit of luscious plum and gold (or pink and chartreuse really but who’s being picky?)

worn over a sheer silk chemise patterned with plum-coloured cherries. Delicious.

Despite their different takes on the value of cinema, there is a most definite melting of caps of ice-covered resistance between our two.Thank goodness for that.  This may well be the power of purple “in a very attenuated and light state” displaying its characteristics in a “peculiarly attractive manner.” (Goethe)

There are hints of luscious plum at Phryne’s Hollywood dinner party, not only on lips but in Luscious Lily Luscombe’s dress.

If only a certain DI had been invited ...

And finally... (you’ll all be relieved to hear) to Episode 11 and Dead Air.  There’s just a teensy bit of deep purple in the feathers of Phryne’s Radio Station hat, drawing her to ...

Phryne: That voice! 

 Jimmy Creswick: Mr Archibald Jones, he of the dulcet tones. 

Phryne: Wherever did you find him?

Phryne: Before you say anything, Archibald... 

Jack: Thank goodness you're here. I need you to move in on this case. Collins can't handle this alone. 

Phryne: Is this Jack Robinson speaking, or are you still incognito? You want me to ride shotgun over Hugh? 

Jack: I wish you wouldn't put it quite like that. 

Phryne: You could ask nicely. 

Jack: Want me to beg? 

Phryne: This may never happen again. 

Jack: Please.

Ah the power of purple to bring people together:

Phryne: I'm quite cosy enough, thank you. 

Jack: Remind me to bring you on my next break-in. You're useful. 

Phryne: Thank you. 

Jack: Sorry. I was just trying to steady you. 

Phryne: Steady me anytime, Inspector.

A penchant for purple: part 1 (Series 1)

Desperate times provoke desperate measures. In the long continuing hiatus between MFMM seasons 3 and 4 (ever hopeful); and before the film’s release, it is sometimes difficult to think up new means to contemplate the wonderful characters, themes and settings, apart from devouring those posts from the intrepid Tumblrs who continually entertain.  I have considered the colour palettes of various episodes in a series of blogs #MFMM colour palette and recurring outfits in other posts #Now you see it now you see it again; and others have posted and blogged Phryne’s fashions by episode and by colour.  So I thought I might have a go at some thematic analyses of colour through the three series, given the significance of colour and style to the aesthetic of MFMM.

The 18th century savant, poet, and general all-round polymath, Wolfgang von Goethe, developed a psychological and philosophical account of how we experience colour as a phenomenon.  He rejected Newton’s theory of colour as merely a physical reaction, the result of light striking objects and entering our eyes, and argued instead that colour reaching our brain is shaped by the object, our perceptions, and the impact of both light and dark. Sensations of colour and of the complementarity of colours, he theorised, are derived by the mechanics of human vision and by the way the brain processes information.

Goethe’s theory will help shape this blog (and possible series), with a tinsy bit of Shakespeare thrown in for good measure now and then.

So first for consideration: 

Purple and its various hues and tones - lavender, lilac, mauve, violet.

Goethe describes the effects of purple, which in his schema ranges from red-blue to blue-red, with the former having ‘exciting power’ and a tendency to ‘disturb’ but also enliven; the  latter, blue-red is also ‘unquiet’ with Goethe’s view that  a carpet of this colour would be ‘intolerable... (but) when it is used for dress, ribbons or other ornaments, it is employed in a very attenuated and light state, and thus displays its character in a peculiarly attractive manner’.

A theory must be supported by observation, description, research, hypothesising... so let us do our part in supporting Goethe’s theory with an investigation of the colour purple and its impact on our perceptions of the MFMM episodes that feature this palette.

We could not have a better analogy of the complexity of the Hon Phryne Fisher’s character than in Goethe’s description of the colour purple: her restlessness and ‘unquiet’ is often evident as she takes on uncomfortable cases, particularly those that resonate with her personally, the exciting power she exudes, all the while in ‘a peculiarly attractive manner’.

But the effect of purple could also be a metaphor for the relationship between Phryne and our Jack. The unquiet v peculiarly attractive, the restlessness v exciting power are epitomised, right from the start, in their first meeting. DI Jack Robinson is rattled by Phryne’s presence on his crime scene in Series 1, Episode 1, Cocaine Blues, as she charms and insinuates herself into the case. Appropriately, we have our first glimpse of the colour purple in the vintage feathers that adorn Phryne’s dusty pink straw afternoon tea hat in that first rendez-vous in the loo.

The unease in one, the powerful, glamorous presence of the other, and the stage is set for  Goethe’s theory to be tested and supported ...

And we needn’t look much further in our research - as the very next episode (S1, Ep2) sees purple in ‘a very attenuated and light state’ in Phryne’s lilac afternoon tea frock and matching lilac straw hat with large ostrich splays which provide allure to the young rowers.  

And just in case they hadn’t noticed her ‘atop the Hispano, she waves her lilac wand to weave her magic, her ‘exciting power’. This is the first we see of Phryne using her charm, her unabashed sensual provocation, to glean information from the innocent and the guilty.

And there is a form of flattery of imitation in the blazer of the rowing kit .

And moving on in Series 1, we find a truly extraordinary composition of colour around our purple theme in Episode 5, Raisins and Almonds, not only in dress but also in decor and in deadly device.

Phryne’s outfit is a remarkable combination of Goethe’s blue-red (or is it red-blue?) with the rich purple velvet coat with pale fur collar accessorised with deep red hat, handbag and gloves. The purple of the coat and trim is picked up in the vase of flowers behind her.  No wonder she makes heads turn!  

But that’s not all...  The vignette is a foretaste of what is to come.  The painting for which she successfully bids also replicates the palette.

Margaret Preston’s jug of red and lilac anemones presages not only her conflict with the painting’s owner (in matching colour palette it needs to be noted):

but also the source of the deadly device used in the murder (in matching colour palette):

And of course it’s the episode of the reveal - where P and J speak of change wrought by war and distance, of honour, and of love outside marriage.  Purple presages ‘aplenty...

And in a floral segue, there are flower maidens in distress in need of Phryne’s strong sense of social justice in S1 Episode 9, Queen of the Flowers.  A purple  bouquet backgrounds the increasing attraction between Phryne and Jack, his sang froid melting (not sure if sang froid can actually melt) as he tilts his head to her ever-increasing appeal.

Family betrayal and family members’ responsibilities to one another are themes in this episode, including for Jane. Here, in delicate mauve as one of the flower maidens, she masks the disquiet she feels at her mother’s reappearance.

Resolution though, and a final scene that could not be more appealing: we see  Phryne in a stunning lilac silk dress with gold metallic threads in floral motifs to match the gold floral headpiece, dressed for the Queen of the Flowers dance, with Jack by her side. The scene portrays harmony, a couple leaving a beautiful federation home, arm in arm, content in each other’s company. Enter Shakespearean love potion with appropriate purple trope:

Flower of this purple dye, Hit with Cupid's archery, Sink in apple of his eye! When his love he doth espy, Let her shine as gloriously As the Venus of the sky.  (Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

And so to the final purple patch of the series, Episode 11, Blood and Circuses. Despite the seemingly happily ever after portrayed (and wished for) above, purple’s unease and disquiet defines this episode.  Phryne’s past returns to haunt her as she’s drawn into a murder investigation in a circus, and memories of Janey’s disappearance. To the bard again for an analogy between this and the violet’s sweet but short span of life:

A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent- sweet, not lasting; The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more. (Shakespeare, Hamlet)

The conversation between Phryne and her friend Samson on the front porch of  Wardlow highlight the complexion of lavender and deep purple:

Jack’s initial reticence to become involved, paralleling that of Phryne’s, creates some purple haze and only serves to spur Phryne to action.

The dynamic action is both confronting, with er... flashes of purple.

Despite her resolution, the circus stirs painful memories shrouded in the palette’s tones;

and becomes dangerous too, in a range of violets and mauves that sparkle and entice;

but ultimately triumph.

Despite Jack’s initial reluctance to help with the case, this vanishes as internal corruption and Foyle’s reappearance combine to reunite the pair on the scene of the crime.  

I would love to find a purple epilogue but mauve’s transition to pink will have to  suffice as it is to Jack that Phryne confides her ceaseless guilt:

Phryne: All this time and energy spent trying to find out what happened... when I've known all along. I was mesmerised by the show. I didn't notice her go. And when I did...  It was too late. 

Jack: You were just a child. 

Phryne: It was my fault. 

Jack: No. No, I can't agree. I dismiss the charges. 

Phryne: You can't. I lost her, Jack.

Half sick of shadows …

I’ve always wanted to draw an analogy between an episode of MFMM and Tennyson’s The Lady of Shalott, the tale of a woman imprisoned in a tower on the Island of Shalott, cursed to remain inside to weave tapestries of the life she cannot be part of, and cannot even look directly upon*. 

(*Yes I know I’ve not only ended a clause but a full sentence with a preposition. This is something up with which you will have to put.)

W M Egley, The Lady of Shalott, (1858), City of Sheffield Galleries

The poem came to mind in finding a thread among the themes and tones of Death by Miss Adventure. This post complements one from a long time ago looking at the colour palette, so for those in need of a cure for insomnia, it’s here. Egley’s famous depiction is also reminiscent of the tones and colours of the episode.

This episode is about Mac.  Her personal and professional worlds collide, as her competence is questioned because of bias and intolerance. It is an episode of secrets hidden away then emerging and confronting. And it’s not only Mac held captive, metaphorically, in towers of dark anguish. 

In the poem, the Lady of Shalott lives in shadowy isolation, the grey of her imprisonment contrasts the implied colour of the world outside:

Four gray walls, and four gray towers Overlook a space of flowers, And the silent isle imbowers      The Lady of Shalott. 

Mac’s feelings are imprisoned as she calls in her friend to investigate a suspicious death in a factory where Mac provides some legitimate, and some illicit care to the factory owner and workers. 

The opening scene hints at imbalance:

Mr B:  Apologies, Miss, but Doctor MacMillan is here.

Phryne: It's a bit early for a house call.

Mr B: She doesn't seem herself, Miss.

Phryne: Mr Butler! Forget the big breakfast. This calls for a pot of strong coffee, and Mac will need a... stiff drink. 

Go on, take your medicine. Let me be the doctor for a change.

Whilst Phryne takes charge, she is ignorant of the true reason for Mac’s need for a fortifying whiskey.

The Lady of Shalott preserves her safety by staying within the confines of her tower and not participating in society’s activities.  This provides a metaphor for  Victorian concepts of the woman’s role, expected to be the protector of the home, where she embodies the pure, the mysterious, the unthreatening, the proper:

No time hath she to sport and play:  A charmed web she weaves alway. 

Mac doesn’t fit with society’s expectations of a woman’s role, so preserves her safety by imprisoning her feelings, locking them away, even from her closest friend.

Mac: Her name was Daisy Miller. 

Phryne: Did you know this girl?

Mac’s response avoids a direct answer to the identity of ‘this girl’:

Mac: I attended when they rang the emergency bell.

Tennyson’s poem found popularity with morality-obsessed Pre-Raphaelite painters like Waterhouse, Hunt and Rossetti, whose depictions illustrate the tension for women, seen as the saviours of the domestic realm, between their private desires and the reality of their social responsibilities.  The Lady of Shalott abandons her social responsibility in pursuit of love, and perishes for her impropriety. 

Hunt (below) portrays the consequences of turning away from duty and yielding to the temptations of the world rather than being removed from its material realities.

She left the web, she left the loom She made three paces thro' the room She saw the water-flower bloom, She saw the helmet and the plume,         She look'd down to Camelot. 

W H Hunt, The Lady of Shalott, (1842), Manchester Art Gallery

Aunt P voices the views of her class and of society more broadly in terms of tolerance of difference or the lack of it.  Both she and Roger Gaskin, the factory owner and later victim, are members of the board at the hospital where Mac is a physician. Roger Gaskin bought his way into acceptability and this is considered of greater significance than supporting women in need of clinical care and contraceptive guidance.  She has no qualms about threatening Phryne’s continued involvement in the murder case, a warning  which has renewed significance when Gaskin becomes victim number two:

Aunt P: Do you have any notion just how much money Roderick Gaskin has donated to the hospital? 

Phryne: He didn't strike me as a particularly charitable type. 

Aunt P: My dear, when a member of the manufacturing classes attempts to buy respectability, who am I to say him nay? ... You'd best warn the doctor that... that this is not the first time a complaint has been made.

The board has been made aware of the doctor's more... unconventional activities. What she does behind closed doors is a matter entirely between herself and her maker. But Mr Gaskin has heard rumours that she has been giving un-Christian advice to some of the girls at the factory, and he will be reporting this to the board if you continue your absurd crusade. 

Mac provides a medical clinic for the female workers at the factory but also established a relationship with Daisy, the first victim, something she is unable to reveal to Phryne.  Phryne must detect this herself.  Realising her ignorance of her friend’s feelings is as hard for Phryne as it is for Mac to admit.

Phryne: You loved her. And you suffered in silence while I showed you those photographs of the blood on the machine.

Mac: What could I have said? ... I went to Daisy's funeral service. Her mother came and thanked me for being such a good doctor. I was so much more to her than that.

Mac was invisible to Daisy’s family as anything other than her doctor.  The lady of Shalott too is an invisible figure.  Not only is she imprisoned and isolated on an island, separated from Camelot where she is heard but not seen, but she is not described physically, nor even given a name.

Underneath the bearded barley, The reaper, reaping late and early, Hears her ever chanting cheerly, Like an angel, singing clearly,       O'er the stream of Camelot.

Even prior to Phryne’s realisation of Mac’s involvement with Daisy, Phryne has  an altercation with Jack as Mac becomes a suspect in Gaskin’s murder.  She has to defend Mac’s character:

Jack: We know Gaskin threatened to make her life difficult with the hospital board. 

Phryne: That's hardly enough for her to kill him. It's true that Gaskin disapproved of Mac's attitude, but so does half the world, the wrong half, if you ask me. And Mac's used to sailing close to the wind.

And speaking of Jack and Phryne...

Phryne too is hiding demons, imprisoned by the guilt of Janey’s unsolved disappearance.  Murdoch Foyle, Phryne’s nemesis, has contacted her from his prison cell, seeking a bargain, the truth about Janey in exchange for his freedom. 

Despite the personal anguish she feels in receiving Foyle’s letter, she masks her feelings when confronting Jack back at the factory.  

Jack: I see the threat of a trespass charge hasn't discouraged you. 

Phryne: If I were easily discouraged, you would have frightened me off on our first crime scene. 

Jack: OUR first crime scene? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you agreed to leave this one to the police. 

Phryne: You're never wrong, Inspector. Just a little behind the times. Roderick Gaskin won't be pursuing this complaint. 

Jack:  If you're good, I'll keep you informed. 

Phryne: Give my regards to the tea lady. 

She does, however, confide in Mac,  This is a poignant exchange given Mac is not prepared to share her own source of distress. Here Phryne abandons her customary logic for pathos, as Mac, despite her own tragedy, provides unequivocal advice:

Phryne: He wants me to visit him at the jail. 

Mac: Tell me you're not going. 

Phryne: Perhaps he wants to tell the truth about what happened to Janey. 

Mac: Or perhaps he's just toying with you. The man is evil. You've made sure he's locked up. Now just forget he ever existed. Stay away from him, Phryne.

The Lady of Shalott appears to accept her lot, her imprisonment, her need to weave the world she cannot directly see:

She knows not what the curse may be; Therefore she weaveth steadily, Therefore no other care hath she,       The Lady of Shalott....

and further

But in her web she still delights To weave the mirror's magic sights...

Phryne too rarely provides signs of the ever-present wretchedness she endures at the loss of Janey. But there are moments, just like in the poem, when the lady admits her frustration with her circumstances:

'I am half sick of shadows,' said     The Lady of Shalott.

The lines are reminiscent of Phryne’s words to Jack in a later episode, when she asks Jack to Guy and Isabelle’s engagement party, Foyle’s shadow ever-present:

Your invitation. To Guy and Isabella's party. As my partner ... You still have a murder case to solve and what better way to gather information than to mingle with the crowd? Besides, I need you to remind me not to be afraid of shadows. 

Phryne, against Mac’s advice, visits Foyle.  More imprisonment imagery as both seek release.

The nature of the Lady of Shalott’s curse is not explained, but to stop weaving, to look outside, would set the curse in motion. She becomes increasingly aware of the life that flourishes outside, reflected in the mirror:

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, An abbot on an ambling pad, Sometimes a curly shepherd lad, Or long-hair'd page* in crimson clad,       Goes by to tower'd Camelot: 

* !!

Then one day she is struck by the reflected image of the handsome Sir Lancelot riding by en route to Camelot.  

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd; On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode; From underneath his helmet flow'd His coal-black curls as on he rode,       As he rode down from Camelot. 

She goes to the window, a glance at Lance, and the curse is fulfilled.   She has moved from slavery and imprisonment to freedom, but the transformation is also her death.

She leaves her tower and floats in a shallow boat to a watery grave, the knight left to muse over the beauty of the unknown creature. 

G E Robertson, The Lady of Shalott, (1864), private collection, Michigan

Now I’m not suggesting any such tragic analogy to this MFMM episode. But Phryne is no longer hiding the reality of her circumstances from Lancelot Jack, and in their fireside heart to heart (as it were), Jack won’t advise, but insists that she has it within her to break Foyle’s curse.

Jack: I hope you're not asking for my help. 

Phryne: But I am. Tell me not to place myself above the law. Not to let a killer loose because I want the truth. Tell me there's a greater good than my own need to know. 

Jack: You never listen to me, anyway. 

Phryne: Humour me. 

Jack: You know what to do.

The Commonwealth Games are back down under so Phryne rallies the troops to enter as many events as possible, given the talent of her team.

Athletics 

Shooting - Men’s

Shooting - Women’s

Axe-throwing

Swimming - Men’s

 Swimming (synchronised)  - Women’s

Motor cross - Mixed doubles

Motor cross - Men’s

including the biathalon

Boxing

But there’s been a hitch - Phryne takes a call from Aunt P just after celebrating Hugh’s gold medal.  

Aunt P: Phryne dear... you’re required....ball tampering... your Inspector.... 

What a scandal! Who could be involved? Not one of her team surely?  Should she tell Jack and investigate with him or is he a suspect? 

Perhaps  he might be best undercover ... she had always wanted him, after all, undercover(s).

But which ball game?

Billiards?

Tennis?

Footy?

Aunt P’s arrival interrupts the ball tampering investigation:

Aunt P: Here’s your invitation Phryne dear.  And it includes your inspector.

Phryne: What invitation?

Aunt P: To the ball!

Phryne: What ball?

Aunt P: I told you - Lord and Lady Dampering’s. I rang you ... surely you recall such an honour -  the ball at Dampering’s, always such a magnificent affair.

In response to requests for a review of this fab play....

After Dinner  - a preview

 Girls out for a night of dinner and dancing

Men meeting up - one talking, one prancing.

Now here is the thing, and I do hate to spoil it

The drama begins when one goes to the toilet.

  It’s funny but poignant, and awkward for wives

And husbands reflecting on days of their lives.

There’s flirting and drinking and splitting of cost

And misunderstandings of gender and loss.

 “Stephen’s” long locks are a dream to behold

And so is the jacket when sleeves have been rolled.

He’s alpha to zeta, you can see where we’re headed,

But hiding short-comings with ladies he’s bedded.

  He moves like Travolta, like the Fonz, opportune,

His lean and his groove thing will leave you to swoon.

The plot and the ending we haven’t betrayed,

He’s ready and willing, where are you? Adelaide!