FOUR ZOAS II / 34:1-38


The Divine Vision's
apparent ignorance of
 narrative events


The successive appear-
ances of Los and Eni-
 tharmon in Night II


into Eternal Death." Thus, what Urizen perceives as his own redemptive
aesthetic achievement is grasped by the "Divine Vision" as a disaster, but
one which is (to this "Divine" perspective) unavoidable and therefore is
fantasized by the Divine Vision as preferable to interfering with Urizen.
 Most terrifying about the Divine Vision's passive non-involvement is
its own limited perspective: the Divine Vision seems totally unaware of
the multiple meanings of "Eternal Death" that the reader has already
encountered. Some perspectives imply that Man has already entered Eter-
nal Death: the confused act of the Daughters of Beulah (5:35-37) and the
exuding of Eternal Death from the Man's limbs (18:9-10) especially pre-
suppose that Man has already fallen into Eternal Death, retroactively
implicating the Divine Vision in the atrocities of Night II. Since Tharmas
crystallizes the movement from Paradise to chaos, it is no accident that the
only reference to Tharmas in the narrative proper of Night II is sur-
rounded by the two disjunctive appearances of the Divine Vision: Blake
chooses a phrase to describe Luvah's fall-he "sunk down" (33:13)-
which has been used three times before to describe Tharmas' own fall
(5:13-14; 15:18). Thus, the Divine Vision can assume Luvah's robes in
Night II only by denying the internal connection between Luvah and
Tharmas (who never directly meet in the Four Zoas narrative), blinding
itself to the extent to which the fates of Luvah and Tharmas are direct
consequences of Urizen's architectural fantasy, which the Vision so will-
ingly permits.
 Once Blake brings Urizen's geometry to the peak of its technological
desperation, Los and Enitharmon assume control over the narrative, func-
tioning as the sexual residue of Urizen's creation; the most concealed
aspect of Urizen's universe surfaces at the point at which the limits of
geometrical construction have been reached.

 And Los & Enitharmon were drawn down by their desires
 Descending sweet upon the wind among soft harps & voices
 To plant divisions in the Soul of Urizen & Ahania
 To conduct the Voice of Enion to Ahanias midnight pillow
 (34:1-4)

Each appearance of Los and Enitharmon in Night II transforms the signifi-
cance of their role. In their first appearance they descended to "draw in"
delights from Urizen and Luvah; in their second appearance this "drawing
in" became a "drinking in" of joy from sorrow, which in turn generated
Enitharmon's desire to rend the secret cloud and plant divisions in the
(singular) "Soul" of Urizen and Ahania. In their third appearance they are
no longer said to be "drinking in"joy from sorrow. Instead, they are being
"drawn down" themselves, no longer consciously "plotting" to rend the
secret cloud, yet still effecting (through their sexual play) the planting of
divisions in the Soul of Urizen and Ahania. This reversal of perspective
uncovers the deeply repressed females; Los and Enitharmon's musical
descent (which connects to moments in Nights I and V) conducts "the