Steerpike
Encyclopedia
Steerpike is a character
in Mervyn Peake
's novels Titus Groan and Gormenghast
.
In 2000 Irish
actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrayed Steerpike in the BBC miniseries Gormenghast.
, but in truth he is more of an anti-hero
; the first book for example is largely focused on him, only covering the first year of the titular hero Titus's life. Steerpike could also be considered an archetypal Machiavellian
schemer: a highly intelligent, ruthless character willing to justify any and all means to reach his end. In the books, Mervyn Peake describes his personality as follows:
And his appearance, as described in Titus Groan
:
Steerpike's red eyes and pallor, frequently referred to in the text, suggest that he is an albino. However this is never stated explicitly and he certainly does not suffer from the poor sight typical of the condition.
's Great Kitchen under the chef Abiatha Swelter, whom he hates. On the day that Titus, 77th Earl of Gormenghast, is born. Steerpike escapes from the kitchen after Swelter collapses from drink. He is discovered by the chief retainer of the castle, Flay, and locked in a small room. Steerpike escapes through the window and climbs over the vast roofscape of Gormenghast, spending the night in a great stone square, before arriving by accident in the attic of Fuchsia
, daughter to the Earl of Gormenghast.
's Library and uses the circumstances to play the hero in rescuing those trapped inside (including all the surviving members of the House of Groan). Sourdust, the Master of Ritual, dies and Steerpike hopes to takes his place, but like so many offices in the castle the position is hereditary and is succeeded by Sourdust's son Barquentine
, a crippled and fiercely traditional man.
(In the BBC television adaptation of the books Sourdust and his death scene do not appear, and Barquentine takes his place throughout.)
of "Weasel Plague", which they must be quarantined from. He then explains their disappearance to the inhabitants of the castle with a suicide note (including a confession to arson
) and wax models of the Twins (helped by the fact that the half-paralyzed twins were hardly more animated than wax-works in real life).
With his crimes exposed, Steerpike flees and for a short while terrorizes the castle, using his intimate knowledge of its layout and extensive passageways to evade capture. Matters are brought to a head when a huge rainstorm floods the castle, submerging the lower levels and forcing the inhabitants (and Steerpike) higher and higher. Although he evades the Countess's forces, Titus, who blamed Steerpike for his sister's death, eventually finds and kills him.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
's novels Titus Groan and Gormenghast
Gormenghast (novel)
Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake, is the second novel in his Gormenghast series. It is the story of Titus Groan, 77th Earl of Groan and Lord of Gormenghast Castle, from age 7 to 17. As the story opens, Titus dreads the pre-ordained life of ritual that stretches before him...
.
In 2000 Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrayed Steerpike in the BBC miniseries Gormenghast.
Character
Steerpike might be called the antagonist of the Gormenghast SeriesGormenghast (series)
The Gormenghast series comprises three novels by Mervyn Peake, featuring Castle Gormenghast, and Titus Groan, the title character of the first book.-Works in the series:...
, but in truth he is more of an anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
; the first book for example is largely focused on him, only covering the first year of the titular hero Titus's life. Steerpike could also be considered an archetypal Machiavellian
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
schemer: a highly intelligent, ruthless character willing to justify any and all means to reach his end. In the books, Mervyn Peake describes his personality as follows:
- If ever he had harboured a conscience in his tough narrow breast he had by now dug out and flung away the awkward thing - flung it so far away that were he ever to need it again he could never find it. High-shouldered to a degree little short of malformation, slender and adroit of limb and frame, his eyes close-set and the colour of dried blood, he is climbing the spiral staircase of the soul of Gormenghast, bound for some pinnacle of the itching fancy - some wild, invulnerable eyrie best known to himself; where he can watch the world spread out below him, and shake exultantly his clotted wings
And his appearance, as described in Titus Groan
Titus Groan (novel)
Titus Groan is a novel by Mervyn Peake. It is the first novel in the Gormenghast series.-Plot introduction:The book is set in the huge castle of Gormenghast, a vast landscape of crumbling towers and ivy-filled quadrangles that has for centuries been the hereditary residence of the Groan family and...
:
- Limb by limb, it appeared that he was sound enough, but the sum of these several members accrued to an unexpectedly twisted total. His face was pale like clay and save for his eyes, mask-like. These eyes were set very close together, and were small, dark red, and of startling concentration
Steerpike's red eyes and pallor, frequently referred to in the text, suggest that he is an albino. However this is never stated explicitly and he certainly does not suffer from the poor sight typical of the condition.
Escape from the Kitchen
Steerpike first appears as a youth of seventeen years with an unclear past, working in GormenghastGormenghast (castle)
Gormenghast is a fictional castle of titanic proportions that features prominently in a series of fantasy works penned by Mervyn Peake. It is the setting for the first two books in the Gormenghast series, Titus Groan and Gormenghast...
's Great Kitchen under the chef Abiatha Swelter, whom he hates. On the day that Titus, 77th Earl of Gormenghast, is born. Steerpike escapes from the kitchen after Swelter collapses from drink. He is discovered by the chief retainer of the castle, Flay, and locked in a small room. Steerpike escapes through the window and climbs over the vast roofscape of Gormenghast, spending the night in a great stone square, before arriving by accident in the attic of Fuchsia
Fuchsia Groan
Fuchsia Groan is a fictional character: The daughter of Sepulchrave, 76th Earl of Groan, in Mervyn Peake's novels Titus Groan and Gormenghast...
, daughter to the Earl of Gormenghast.
The Fire
Steerpike uses his charm and fast tongue to insinuate himself with the castle's physician Dr Prunesquallor, and acts for a time as his apprentice. From there Steerpike uses the doctor's connections to gain access to the upper hierarchy of Gormenghast. Shortly afterwards he starts to work for the handicapped sisters of the Earl, the twins Cora and Clarice, manipulating them with appeals to their vanity and desire for power (they believed that the Countess had usurped their rightful position beside their brother). He persuades them to set fire to SepulchraveSepulchrave
Sepulchrave, Lord Groan is a character in Mervyn Peake's novels Titus Groan .- Character :Sepulchrave is the 76th Earl of Groan and Lord of Gormenghast, the gigantic, isolate citadel-state which forms the setting/otherworld for the Titus Groan novels of Mervyn Peake.He is father to Titus Groan and...
's Library and uses the circumstances to play the hero in rescuing those trapped inside (including all the surviving members of the House of Groan). Sourdust, the Master of Ritual, dies and Steerpike hopes to takes his place, but like so many offices in the castle the position is hereditary and is succeeded by Sourdust's son Barquentine
Barquentine (Gormenghast)
Barquentine is a character in the first two books in the Gormenghast series , . He is the son of Sourdust, the Master of Ritual of Gormenghast castle. At first he lives a hermitic existence in an obscure tract of the castle. When he appears in the book he is 74 years old. He is a one-legged,...
, a crippled and fiercely traditional man.
(In the BBC television adaptation of the books Sourdust and his death scene do not appear, and Barquentine takes his place throughout.)
Banishment of Flay
The library was Sepulchrave's only joy in life and its loss breaks his spirit, leading to madness and eventual suicide. During this period, Steerpike unintentionally causes the removal of the Earl's manservant, Mr. Flay, who had always been suspicious of him. Steerpike enrages the manservant, who throws one of the Countess's precious white cats at the youth; Flay is subsequently banished. His resultant vendetta against Steerpike becomes a key factor in Steerpike's eventual downfall.The Twins
Deciding to remove the twins, Steerpike convinces them to move into a distant and abandoned region of the castle by confabulating an epidemicEpidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
of "Weasel Plague", which they must be quarantined from. He then explains their disappearance to the inhabitants of the castle with a suicide note (including a confession to arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
) and wax models of the Twins (helped by the fact that the half-paralyzed twins were hardly more animated than wax-works in real life).
Master of Ritual
Steerpike then insinuates himself into Barquentine's work, acting as apprentice and doing his best to make himself indispensable. When he considers the time ripe, he attempts to kill Barquentine by fire, but botches the attempt, underestimating the seemingly frail and disabled old man. Although aflame and dying, Barquentine clings to Steerpike in an attempt to take his murderer with him. Steerpike jumps from the nearest window into the moat below and drowns Barquentine. Steerpike nearly loses his own life in the process, but uses this to his advantage, claiming that the jump into the moat was a desperate attempt to save his master from the fire. The incident, however, leaves Steerpike permanently scarred; his face now red and blotched. The fire and injury also appears to cause changes in his personality, namely a distinct fear of fire and an increasing loss of rationality. The plan succeeds, however, and the death of Barquentine leads to him being appointed Master of Ritual.Discovery
At approximately this time the Twins die of starvation in their remote room; locked away they were completely dependent on Steerpike for supplies, but he ceased to visit them when they attempted to kill him and escape. Steerpike of course realizes that they must have died, but it is only after several years as Master of Ritual that he finds time to bother to confirm their deaths (during which time, among other things, he attempts to woo Fuchsia). Unfortunately for him he is followed to their room by Flay and Doctor Prunesquallor and Titus and is discovered with the corpses. His behaviour at this point shows evident signs of madness, in stark contrast to the cool and rational mastermind he once was.With his crimes exposed, Steerpike flees and for a short while terrorizes the castle, using his intimate knowledge of its layout and extensive passageways to evade capture. Matters are brought to a head when a huge rainstorm floods the castle, submerging the lower levels and forcing the inhabitants (and Steerpike) higher and higher. Although he evades the Countess's forces, Titus, who blamed Steerpike for his sister's death, eventually finds and kills him.