The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O'Brien
"The Diamond Lens" by Fitz-James O'Brien is a short story that explores themes of obsession, discovery, and the intersection of science and art. The narrative centers on Linley, a man who has been captivated by the microscopic world since childhood. As he grows, his passion for microscopy drives him to establish a laboratory in New York City, where he seeks to push the boundaries of his observations. Linley becomes fixated on finding a perfect lens that would allow him to witness deeper realms of beauty, prompting him to visit a spirit medium named Madame Vulpes, who introduces him to the idea of using a rare diamond to create this lens.
The story takes a darker turn as Linley learns that his neighbor possesses the diamond he seeks. In a moment of desperation, he resorts to murder to obtain it, showcasing themes of moral decay and the consequences of obsession. Once he finally constructs the lens, Linley discovers a realm of extraordinary beauty inhabited by a figure he names "Animula." However, his infatuation with this unattainable vision leads to tragedy as he becomes consumed by his obsession, ultimately witnessing her demise when the water supporting her evaporates. "The Diamond Lens" serves as a poignant reflection on the dangers of overreaching in pursuit of aesthetic ideals, culminating in a descent into madness reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe’s narratives.
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The Diamond Lens by Fitz-James O'Brien
First published: 1858
Type of plot: Fantasy
Time of work: The mid-nineteenth century
Locale: New York City
Principal Characters:
Mr. Linley , the narrator and protagonist, a man obsessed with the microscopic worldJules Simon , the possessor of a rare diamond, for which he is murdered by LinleyMadame Vulpes , a spirit mediumAnimula , a beautiful inhabitant of the microscopic world, with whom Linley falls in love
The Story
Mr. Linley has had an obsessive fascination with microscopic investigations from the time he was ten years old. Beneath the microscope, he sees a world akin to Alf layla wa-layla (fifteenth century; The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, 1706-1708) in which the dull veil of ordinary existence that hangs across the world seems to roll away and to lay bare a land of enchantments; like many of the narrators in the stories of Poe, he feels elevated above all other men, seeing the world in a more profound way. However, as is also typical of Poe characters, it is not a scientific thirst that drives the protagonist but rather the pure enjoyment of a poet lost in the enchanted gardens and fantastic foliage of a world of imaginative wonders. The world he seeks is the world of aesthetic, not material, reality.
When the narrator grows up, he has little real interest in anything but his microscopic investigations. Because he has a considerable amount of money, as is often the case in such stories, he sets up a laboratory in New York City and begins to teach himself to become an expert microscopist. Throughout his studies and experiments, however, he feels frustrated by the limitations of his instruments. He imagines depths beyond that which his microscopes can reveal, and he dreams of discovering a perfect lens that will allow him to see what no man has ever seen. After months spent in a futile search for such a lens, quite coincidentally, as again is often the case in such fantasies, a young neighbor drops by and tells him of his visit to Madame Vulpes, a spirit medium who has related to him secrets that only magic could provide. The young man is a Jew, which supplies the stereotype of mysterious occult connections, as well as the stereotype of a peddler with mysterious objects in his possession. Hoping that Madame Vulpes will direct him to the secret of the powerful lens that he desires, the narrator goes to visit her.
In pursuit of his quest, Linley wishes to speak to Leeuwenhoek, the great father of microscopics, who tells him that he must find a diamond of 140 carats and subject it to electromagnetic currents to rearrange its atoms to make a universal and perfect lens. The greatest ironic coincidence in this story that depends on such coincidences is that Jules Simon, the Jewish neighbor, indeed has such a diamond. When the narrator discovers this, he gets Simon drunk, tricks him into revealing where the diamond is, and then kills him to get it, afterward calmly concealing his crime by making it look like a suicide—all of which is typical of a Poe story.
The last section of "The Diamond Lens" introduces the final element of the story and changes it from a fable about the quasi-scientific overreacher to a Romantic parable about the aesthetic ideal. When the narrator finishes constructing the lens, he puts a drop of water under it and discovers a realm of indescribable beauty filled with an atmosphere of magical luminousness. He knows that he has penetrated below the realm of protozoa to a world of supernatural radiance—a forestlike expanse, without a living thing—a beautiful chromatic desert. Then, most fantastic of all, he sees something moving, a female form, a divine revelation of perfect beauty that makes him think of aesthetic realms beyond actual reality. Given the conventions of such fantasies, it is inevitable that Linley fall in love with her, even though he knows that the planet Neptune is not more distant from him than she.
He names this microscopic vision of beauty "Animula" and longs for her with a passion reserved for that which is totally unobtainable; his whole life becomes absorbed by her. Trying to shake off his obsession, he goes to a theatrical presentation by a dancer reputed to be the most beautiful and most graceful woman in the world. However, he can see only how gross and discordant are her movements, how thick are her ankles, how heavy and muscular are her limbs. When he returns to Animula, she seems to be growing ill, and he frantically tries to discover what ails her, mourning as she withers away. Finally, he discovers (in the typical ironic revelation of the Poe/Bierce fantasy) that the water drop in which Animula lives has evaporated; knowing that it is too late to save her, he watches her shrivel up and blacken. The story ends, in typical Poe fashion, with madness.