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Speaking in Tongues: The Multiple Personalities of Maria Gabriela Llansol

2002; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 18; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/port.2002.0008

2222-4270

Claire Williams,

Comparative Literary Analysis and Criticism

Speaking inTongues:TheMultiple Personalities of MariaGabrielaLlansol CLAIRE WILLIAMS InEnglish, as inPortuguese, thesymbolism andsignificance ofthetongue ispatent inthenumber ofidiomatic expressions inwhichitappears:itcan besilver, lost,found, held,bitten, wagged, tiedortwisted, sharporforked, civilor uncivil; we makeslipsofthetongue, speaktongueincheek,have things on thetipofourtongues, and negotiate betweenforeign tongues and our mother tongue.You can wag yourown tongue,or settongues wagging, orthecatmaygetyourtongue. InPortuguese yourtongue canbe 'viva', 'morta','de prata', 'de trapos','comprida','de fogo', 'afiada', 'presa','solta'; one can 'terou não terpapas na língua','metera língua numsaco', 'dar à língua','pôr pimentana língua','teralgo debaixo da língua','darcoma línguanosdentes', thelistgoesonandon. Birds',lambs' and cows' tonguesare gastronomic delicaciesin many cultures, and in mythology too thetonguehas symbolic importance. In Book VI of Ovid's Metamorphoses, thereis a particularly gruesome instance: Philomela's tongue wascutoutbyherbrother-in-law after hehad rapedher,to stemheraccusationsand insults, and to prevent herfrom denouncing hiscrime.1 Thegirl cunningly wovea tapestry which illustrated hersadstory, sinceshecouldnotvoiceit,andshesmuggled ittohersister, thuscommunicating withherbyimages.Theirrevenge was to feedthe scoundrel thecookedbodyofhisownson.To escapehisensuing wrath the godsturned thesisters intobirdsandPhilomela was metamorphosed into a silver-tongued nightingale, atlastabletovocalizeagain. Most importantly, thereis a splitbetweenreference to thefleshy and flexible organbothoftaste,whichallowshumansto savoura variety of flavours, and of speech,whosemovements againstthepalate and teeth permit us to articulate sounds,whichin conjunction forman intelligible system whichwe call language;and themoreabstract métonymie use of theword'tongue'to represent thatsystem, interms suchas linguafranca or'mother tongue'. Particularly relevant hereisthephenomenon ofspeaking intongues or, intechnical terms, 'glossolalia'.IntheBibleitis referred toparadoxically as bothmiraculous intelligibility and unintelligibility. Illustrative of the first definition is the miracleof Pentecost whenthe Holy Spiritspoke through theApostles andthey wereunderstood bypeopleofallnations(in 1 Ovid, Metamorphoses,trans,byMaryM. Innés(London: Penguin,1955),pp. 146-53. SPEAKING IN TONGUES: MARIA GABRIELA LLANSOL 231 contrast tothedivision ofoneunifying intomultiple discordant languages attheTowerofBabel,divine punishment formortal pride): And whentheday ofPentecostwas fully come,theywereall withone accord in one place. Andsuddenly therecamea soundfrom heavenas ofa rushing mighty wind,and it filledall thehouse wheretheyweresitting. And thereappeared untothemcloven tongueslikeas offire, and itsat upon each ofthem.And theywereall filledwiththe Holy Ghost,and beganto speakwithothertongues,as theSpiritgavethemutterance. And thereweredwellingat Jerusalem Jews,devoutmen,out of everynationunder heaven.Now when thiswas noised abroad, the multitudecame togetherand were confounded,because thateveryman heardthemspeak in his own language. (Acts2. 1)2 The reaction to theApostles'supernatural behaviour at Pentecost was initially scepticism and thenmockery: 'These menare fullofnewwine' (Acts2. 13). The secondaspectis described in Paul's first letter to theCorinthians whereheexplainsthat'he thatspeaketh inan unknown tonguespeaketh notuntomen,butuntoGod: forno manunderstandeth him;howbeith in thespirit he speakethmysteries' (1Corinthians 14. 2) and suggests that becausea prophetic message thatnooneunderstands isofnouse,a person who speaks in tonguesshould always have an interpreter presentto translatethe news. This descriptionis closer to the contemporary understanding of 'speakingin tongues'whichmayoccurin Evangelist worship,or among shamansor witchdoctors possessedby spirits.It represents an ecstatic, prophetic, spiritual experience, inwhichthesubject is a channelforan external force, rendered in a languageinaccessible to others.3 One further consideration oflanguageand thetongueis theapproach takenin alchemy, entailing thebeliefin a primordial, naturallanguage usedbyAdamand Eve,developedthrough communication withnature, whichwas splitintomyriad languagesat theTowerofBabel.Justas the alchemists searched forthecomponents ofmetalsand materials, so they 2Thephenomenon occurs inLlansol'swriting: theterm Minguas de fogo',ortheconcept of divine inspiration, occurs likea light bulbover Bach'shead,'a língua defogo vaicolocar-se sobre o cérebro do músico comolamparina celeste guardando na sombra, ondeesperam, as formas essenciais damúsica. [. . .]Alíngua defogo, à escuta, esplandece, eatrai. Atrai o olhar domúsico paraa mesadetrabalho onde,sobre a partitura virgem, umamorunitivo seinscreve embranco, esperando que as mãosmusicais talentosas o façamexistir': Llansol,Lisboaleipzig 2 (Lisbon: Rolim, 1994), pp.122-23.Candles andcandlelight accompany scenes ofcreation orcommunicationinLlansol 'sworks(especially inthefirst trilogy) andalso herlife, according toAugusto Joaquim: 'Muitasvçzes, a MariaGabriela acendiavelaspelacasa'.Afterword inCausaAmante (Lisbon: Relógio d'Agua,1996), pp.167-21 1(p. 167). Asimilar phenomenon occurred inheresy trials intheMiddle Ages:'Theinquisitor willreport or theheretic profess theuse of a secret, magicalidiomimpenetrable to theoutsider. The orthodox investigators [. . .]assign a Satanic origin tothehidden words. Theinitiate [. . .]claims angelicinspiration or a direct Pentecostal visitation'. GeorgeSteiner, After Babel,3rdedn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), pp.199-200. 232 CLAIRE WILLIAMS triedto return to the constituent languageeitherthrough patterns of phonetics orthrough natural phenomena suchas birdsong (orthe'language ofbirds').4 The suggestion isthata language existswhichcanbeintimated byanyone, no matter...