Maia Barrow
“‘The Roman genius, and perhaps the Roman flaw,’ he said, ‘was an obsession with order. One sees it in their architecture, their literature, their laws- this fierce denial of darkness, unreason, chaos.’ He laughed. ‘Easy to see why the Romans, usually so tolerant of foreign religions, persecuted the Christians mercilessly- how absurd to think a common criminal had risen from the dead, how appalling that his followers celebrated him by drinking his blood…’” (Tartt 41). This passage comes from Julian, the Greek professor at Hampden College who teaches an exclusive group of students in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. Tartt uses Julian’s characterization and subsequent Biblical analogies to foreshadow his barbarism as he, ironically, obsesses over order and control like the Romans. However, this heightened pursuit allows Julian to perpetuate bias within himself and his students, potentially causing them to kill Bunny Corcoran later on in the novel. As a result, to ensure that their individuality and morality are maintained, Tartt uses Julian as a warning to her readers to balance both.
Julian is characterized as a controlling character who is obsessed with order because he only respects those who share his perspective or model his ways. For example, only after Richard buys an expensive suit to dress the way Julian wants him to (27), agrees that psychology is not a science (29), and reiterates Julian’s ideas back to him via circumlocution (29) does Julian accept him into his class. This conditional acceptance becomes a demonstration of Julian’s desires to control other means of self-expression and maintain order only to how he views it. Furthermore, Julian believes that “having a great diversity of subjects is harmful to the young mind” (30), so he does not introduce his students to other topics outside of the humanities and other people outside of themselves. This allows Julian’s students to repeat, or replicate, the only opinions around- his own, which gives him control over their individuality and personal thoughts. However, if Julian releases his need for control by allowing his students to engage with other information or people, they’d be less likely to desire his approval and maintain the “perfect facade.” As a result, they’d also be less likely to shift to the other extreme of barbarism and kill Bunny.
Julian’s persistence towards order and control is similar to the Romans in his Communion metaphor. Although the Romans may not have had the same relationships with their students, they did express their desire for perfection with “their architecture, their literature, and their laws”…. (41). However, this pursuit made Christianity, a burgeoning religion at the time, a threat because it was the complete antithesis of everything the Romans perpetuated. For example, they thought it was “absurd… (that) a common criminal had risen from the dead, how appalling that his followers celebrated him by drinking his blood…’” (41). This comparison forms the crux of Julian’s argument- order and barbarism must co-exist so that one does not overtake the other. However, because Julian’s also obsessed with order and control like the Romans, he can make a drastic, barbaric decision in the end because suppression cannot last forever- perhaps in the same way that his students do when they decide to kill Bunny. As such, the author uses his monologue to foreshadow a potential fall from grace.
Furthermore, Julian’s flaw is evident in how he discusses Christianity and Communion with objective language. He simplifies the religion as the celebration of “a common criminal who raised from the dead” (41). The “common criminal” is Jesus, a man deemed to be the Son of God who saved the world from sin. Julian forgoes this nuanced perspective to detail the same one-sided opinion that the Romans had to justify killing Jesus. Simultaneously, even though Christianity’s deemed “absurd,” Christians are one of the most persecuted groups in the Roman Era because it is the most “unorderly”. However, if the Romans had understood Christianity’s meaning, they might not have been so extremist toward it. Similarly, if Julian allowed himself or his students to indulge in other experiences or have other opinions, they’d be less likely to believe that murdering Bunny is the only solution to their problems, and Julian could avoid making an immoral decision in the end.
Donna Tartt’s The Secret History draws upon Julian’s perspective to foreshadow his demise. A demise which will be analogous to the Romans’, in part due to his greatest strength: order, which manifests in his pursuits of control. This should become a warning to all of Tartt’s readers, particularly those who identify with the Dark Academia culture, as we continue to search for new knowledge and attempt to create a world without barbarism: the human condition requires both in balance; otherwise, we all succumb to our fatal flaws.
PILATE- An Audio Screenplay: