The Philosopher’s Stone Folly

It would seem that whatever Reginald St. Leon does with the secret that he has been given, his efforts put him into trouble. The biggest and most noted question seems to be, where has he gotten all the money that he throws around?”

From the Middle Ages until the late 17th century, the most sought after item was The Philosopher’s Stone. In the 19th century, it was conclusively disproved by scientific experiments. In the first Harry Potter book, The Philosopher’s Stone was renamed as “The Sorcerer’s Stone” by J. K. Rowling. The stone may not have been a stone but a powder or other type of substance. It has been considered mythical and not real. It would seem that this is the gift from the stranger to Reginald St. Leon but it does repeat what has happened to the stranger throughout the rest of the book.

The gift that Reginald is trying to make into something positive is “The Philosopher’s Stone”. That stone, in Godwin’s book, represents capitalism’s ability to multiply money. In today’s world, one way to enrich one’s life would be to invest in stocks and bonds, or in the case of some women, marry a rich man. When St. Leon is trying to “better the lives of the Turkish people”, he is actually creating a culture of fear and passivity, in which the people begin to see everything, including themselves and other people of their land, as objects to be owned and managed, bought and sold. A common man who works for his living and wants to provide for his family with his own hands would consider it an insult to his manhood when someone comes along to provide for him without a catch. This is the standpoint of the people, the bashaw and eventually of Bethlem Gabor. When St. Leon refuses to go to Constantinople and then decides he needs a friend, he is making another bad decision. Too bad he doesn’t have another female to help guide him!

That decision, of course, lands him in an underground prison. On page 402, Reginald is given a chance to get rid of the ‘secret’ which has caused him to lose his family, his reputation, and his honor. At this point in the book, I would tell him, “By all means, give him that stupid stone and be done with it.”