Nigredo storylines amid albedo imagery: the how and why of the oddly inverted alchemy of The Hallmarked Man.

I actually started this post way back in my initial reading of The Hallmarked Man;  occasionally making notes as idea occurred to me, but it quickly became clear to me that it was going to take multiple re-reads and in-depth consideration to make any sense of this.  As is common in Rowling/Galbraith books, expectations were regularly subverted, but the results were both intriguing and ultimately quite satisfying. 

I went into The Hallmarked Man thinking this would be a second albedo volume, following The Running Grave, which was clearly albedo with all of the baptisms, rivers, rain and cleansing showers we saw, along with Strike's own self-improvement, with his weight loss and smoking cessation. There were huge hints of this from the author's Tweets, which showed us silver ships and white swans. We were told that Dean Martin's "Silver Bells" would feature, suggesting Christmas, with snow and twinkling white lights. Even the title referred to a "hallmark"-- a stamp indicating the degree of purity in a precious metal. The scene was indeed set for a silverly-white, cold and snowy journey to purification, similar to what was seen in The Half-Blood Prince and Catching Fire. 

Another reason I was fully expecting  albedo was that, after Strike's nigredo-duo of Troubled Blood and The Ink Black Heart, and his albedo in The Running Grave, another albedo would fit well with the "extended play" model proposed by Kathleen on Hogwartsprofessor several years ago as a means of stretching a seven book series out to ten.  

Did that come to pass?  Well, not exactly.....

The Strike Advent Adventure, Part 1: Chapters 1-7

 

*Sniff*  It's the Ellacott Family
Land Rover's last Christmas!

Welcome back, Strike Advent Adventurers. I am so happy to have readers join me for a holiday re-read of the first three parts of The Hallmarked Man, finishing with the unveiling of Strike's Best Gift Ever. But there's a way to go before we get there, so let's get started.  

What struck me on this re-read was how well the tone for the rest of the book is set up in these early chapters. There was a darkness and an awkwardness, with some chapters seeming to end quite abruptly, and opening lines that set up long-term conflicts in the story.  I'm going to review the first and last lines of each chapter; if it seems helpful maybe I'll continue that pattern through the re-read. 

The Silkworm, Chapters 35-37: The misremembering bookseller, Simpsons on the Strand and Pippa, plus the cover of The Hallmarked Man!

Before I continue with the pre-The Hallmarked Man re-read of the Silkworm, I want to share a bit of important Strike news: the release of the Hallmarked cover!

This is certainly the closest look at a building we've gotten on any cover to date, and of course, the building is recognizable as the Freemasons' Hall of London, the same building pictured in an early Twitter clue. As I said when the clue was first revealed, there could be some very cool connections to other books:

But what about the Freemason building?  I suspect that will relate in some way to our heroes' major mystery. As some have pointed out, the United Grand Hall is a popular event venue, so it is possible a visit there would have nothing to do with the Freemason organization itself. But, the most interesting thing about the Freemasons to me is their association with police corruption in the 1970's, apparently as a result of some Met cops being in the same lodges with career criminals. This makes me think of gangsters like Mucky Ricci, whom the police were clearly powerless to stop and makes me wonder if the mystery will involve some dirty cops, past or present.  If so, that could certainly complicate things for Robin and Murphy.  More importantly, it could be a connection to some of themes of TB, which also involved looking back at police work in the 1970's.  That would be an interesting link between the two Book 5's of each ring.  

Fans have also been told to pay particular attention to Temple #17 in the lodge, which apparently features an elaborately carved swan as part of its decor. Swans, of course, are a favorite bird to Strike fans, from the ones tha did not swim together at Robin and Matt's doomed wedding, to the single swan on the pub near the unhappy couple's marital home, to the double swans that close out LW to the kissing swan towels at Steven Douwaite's hotel. There is also the mythological connection to Strike's mother Leda. 

The swan is also a common symbol in literary alchemy, representing the albedo, or purification stage of transformation. I was struck by the similar, albeit darker color scheme as The Running Grave, with the combination of yellow and grey. This is more evidence that we are headed for as second albedo volume, in Book 8, paired with the water-washed and baptism-filled seventh volume. That certainly fits with all the silver images seen in Twitter headers, to date.