Who is Jonny Rokeby? Part 5: Potential Plot Points By ChrisC

This whole series of rokeby posts is premised on the idea that J.K. Rowling means us to the see the character of Jonny Rokeby in her Cormoran Strike novels as a latter-day Faust character.  Through unpacking a number of inter-locking symbols within one single scene, at least a case has been made that she wants her readers to view the father of Cormoran Strike in a way that owes its style to the literary alchemy tradition of the Renaissance and to Marlowe’ Doctor Faustus, specifically.

In the final essay of this series, let’s look at what all this symbolism could mean in terms of both plot and genre.  Won’t you join me after the jump for one more walk on the wild side?

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Who is Jonny Rokeby? Part 4: Helen of Troy By ChrisC

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships

And burnt the topless towers of Illium?

Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss –

Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus.

This is not the first time an echo from ancient Greek mythology has been discussed on this site.  A while back, Joanna Gray and John Granger collaborated on an essay about the mythological allusions in the relation of Cormoran Strike to his mother Leda.  Helen of Troy came up in the course of that feature, however its main focus was on Strike as a combination Aeneas/latter half of the ancient family team of Castor and Pollux. Mythological Leda Strike: Cormoran, Zeus, Castor, and Pollux,

However, if Jonny Rokeby is meant to be seen as a post-modern Doctor Faustus, then it is time to bring Pollux’s sister Helen into the spotlight.  To understand the reasons why, and how come even that isn’t quite what it seems, meet me after the jump on the wrong side of the street.

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Who is Jonny Rokeby? Part 3: Puppet or Puppeteer? By ChrisC

In the previous two posts of this five part series (see here and here to catch up), I’ve been examining the character of Jonny Rokeby based on a careful reading of the clues provided by J.K. Rowling from a specific scene in The Silkworm, her second Cormoran Strike novel, in which the rock star appears. Not in person — just a photograph on the wall in which he is pictured with Duke Ellington and other music legends.

So far, I’ve been willing to trust my judgment calls in terms of the subtle hints and clues the author has been willing to give us in a photograph prominently displayed in that scene.  I can see Rokeby as a Doctor Faustus stand-in. When it comes to the figure of Mephistopheles, though, the other key figure in Marlowe’s drama, I feel obliged to be more cautious. 

It has been speculated by John Granger here at HogwartsProfessor.com and on the ‘Reading, Writing, Rowling’ podcasts at MuggleNet that Rokeby, though he has yet to appear in person in the first three books, is meant to be the Big Bad of the Strike series. The prevalent theory is that Rokeby is responsible for the murder of Leda Strike and possibly for the explosion that took away the leg of his own son in a failed attempt on C.B. Strike’s life in Afghanistan.

Why? Leda knew something that the rock star doesn’t want known and Rokeby assumes she told her oldest boy this secret before her death (or that Strike is clever enough to learn himself when investigating his mum’s mysterious demise). John has even suggested that Rokeby may not really be Corm’s daddy but that he accepted paternity to buy Leda’s non-disclosure.

This could all be true, and if so, then perhaps this essay isn’t strictly necessary.  However, I am working the assumption in this series that Ms. Rowling means for us to see Rokeby as a Faust figure.  This character type can be portrayed as Prof. Moriarty is in the Sherlock Holmes stories; Marlowe’s Faustus is both well learned and a conniver.  However, a problem starts up once the character of Mephistopheles is introduced into the mix.

Please join me after the jump for my attempt to tackle the puzzle of just how Rowling may portray the principal villain: as a puppet or as puppeteer?

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Who is Jonny Rokeby? Part 2: The Icarus Theme (For Part 1, click here)

By ChrisC

I am operating under the assumption that J.K. Rowling means us to see Jonny Rokeby, rock star and father of Cormoran Strike, as an analogue of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus.  To understand my reasoning for this, please consult two previous essays, which can be found here and here.

There are at least three more facets to the character in relation to Marlowe’s text.  Exploring these facets could help gain an understanding both of how Rowling might portray Rokeby and how we are meant to see him when he first walks onstage.  Join me after the jump as we examine a trait that Papa Rock might share with a boy who couldn’t fly.

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