International Journal of Coercion, Abuse, and Manipulation Volume 9, Issue 2 2026 50
Like Beckett, Golding said he did not always know
where his books had come from. His first three novels,
‘leapt onto the paper...Almost...as if somebody else
had written them’ (Golding, 2011, p. 195), just as
Jim Davies describes.4
1
However, his fourth novel,
Free Fall (1959), is a clear self-portrait in which the
protagonist, Sammy Mountjoy, shares many episodes
from Golding’s younger life, along with a sense of self-
loathing. The author seems to be searching through
his conscious memories for answers, asking: ‘Is it a
pattern I am looking for?’ (Golding, 2013, p. 3). Like
Jung’s shock of having to eat a dead child’s liver, he
says ‘I could be a cannibal’ as in Beckett’s novel, The
Unnamable, he describes Sammy Mountjoy as ‘the
unnameable, unfathomable darkness that sits at the
centre of him’, perhaps describing Golding’s own inner
state (Golding, 2013, p. 3, 4). Sprinkled through this
novel are references to fraternities, like the Freemasons,
the Odd Fellows and the Elks. ‘There had been trouble
with a society, he said, and I inferred a secret society at
once’ (Golding, 2013, p. 79). There are also scenes of
torture in this novel. It seems as if Golding is allowing
his character, Sammy Mountjoy, to tell him where to
look for this pattern.
In his fifth novel, The Spire (1964), he seems to have
found an answer, as the book is laden with references
to Masonic rites, particularly the Holy Royal Arch.
Strangely, there has been no mention of Freemasonry
in this novel by any literary critics to date. It is set in the
Middle Ages and involves the construction of a 400-foot
spire atop an existing cathedral, alluding to the history
of Freemasonry in Britain, originally based on the signs
and building secrets of the early cathedral builders. In
the first scene, a memory is mentioned as coming to the
surface. In this scene, Dean Jocelin holds an eighteen-
inch model of the spire in his hand. This appears to be
a direct reference to a small wooden column, eighteen
inches long, that appears in the Third or Master Mason
degree, which is set in an upright position when the
workmen are called ‘from labour to refreshment’ at
‘high twelve’ (noon) and is laid on its side when they are
to return to work (Duncan, 1866, p. 100–101). In this
degree, ‘high twelve’ is the time when Hiram Abif was
murdered. The master builder in the novel is named
Roger Mason. At one point in the novel, the Dean goes
around to the cloisters, lifting up curtain after curtain
4 These three novels were: Lord of the Flies (1954), The Inheritors
(1955), and Pincher Martin (1956).
until he reaches the West End of the cathedral, alluding
to the Passing of the Veils ceremony in the Royal
Arch rite. Another character, Pangall, lives within the
cathedral grounds, but the entrance to his dwelling is
cluttered with building materials, leaving little room to
get to his door. Later, this character is whipped, kicked
and sexually tormented by the workers, calling to mind
the Rugged Road. Eventually, we learn that Pangall
has been killed and his body is lying under the pavers
in a crouched pagan burial position, ‘with a sliver of
mistletoe between his ribs’ (Golding, 1965, p. 212).
Towards the end of the novel, the Dean begins to think
he has been bewitched and that his aunt, Lady Alison,
is somehow involved, raising the possibility that
Golding might be thinking about family connections.
In the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall,
there is an exhibit stating that the Royal Arch is one
of the Masonic rituals that shares symbols and ritual
practices with modern Wicca, including an instruction
to ‘lift up the veil’ (Nabarz, 2015). While Wicca was
largely a phenomenon of the 1950s, decades after
Golding was a child, its founder, Gerald Gardner
(1884–1964), was, according to Aleister Crowley, a
Royal Arch Companion (Nabarz, 2015, p. 58).5
1
Talking
about one of his childhood hobbies, Golding (2013)
stated: ‘I loved incantation, whether it meant anything
or not. Soon I had a store of detached lines and phrases
which I treasured like seashells or fossils or stamps’ (p.
55).
There are many more elements directly related to these
Masonic rituals throughout this novel, raising the
question of whether Golding might have been initiated
into the Order at some point. A passage in the novel
spoken by the protagonist states: ‘I was initiated into
their secret language, so plain, so visible for all men who
can see, to see’ (Golding, 1965, p. 193). Golding was a
naval officer during World War II, and naval officers
were often expected to join the Masons. The British
Navy has its own Lodge and practices the York Rite,
which includes the Royal Arch degree (Duncan, 1866).
However, approaching his daughter, Judy Golding,
provided no answers, as she had no memory of him
being involved with the Order, although she was born
at the very end of the war (personal communication,
June 19, 2025).
5 Nabarz notes that while Gardner was a Freemason, there has been
debate about whether he reached the high grade of Royal Arch (2015, p. 58,
notes 55, 56).
Like Beckett, Golding said he did not always know
where his books had come from. His first three novels,
‘leapt onto the paper...Almost...as if somebody else
had written them’ (Golding, 2011, p. 195), just as
Jim Davies describes.4
1
However, his fourth novel,
Free Fall (1959), is a clear self-portrait in which the
protagonist, Sammy Mountjoy, shares many episodes
from Golding’s younger life, along with a sense of self-
loathing. The author seems to be searching through
his conscious memories for answers, asking: ‘Is it a
pattern I am looking for?’ (Golding, 2013, p. 3). Like
Jung’s shock of having to eat a dead child’s liver, he
says ‘I could be a cannibal’ as in Beckett’s novel, The
Unnamable, he describes Sammy Mountjoy as ‘the
unnameable, unfathomable darkness that sits at the
centre of him’, perhaps describing Golding’s own inner
state (Golding, 2013, p. 3, 4). Sprinkled through this
novel are references to fraternities, like the Freemasons,
the Odd Fellows and the Elks. ‘There had been trouble
with a society, he said, and I inferred a secret society at
once’ (Golding, 2013, p. 79). There are also scenes of
torture in this novel. It seems as if Golding is allowing
his character, Sammy Mountjoy, to tell him where to
look for this pattern.
In his fifth novel, The Spire (1964), he seems to have
found an answer, as the book is laden with references
to Masonic rites, particularly the Holy Royal Arch.
Strangely, there has been no mention of Freemasonry
in this novel by any literary critics to date. It is set in the
Middle Ages and involves the construction of a 400-foot
spire atop an existing cathedral, alluding to the history
of Freemasonry in Britain, originally based on the signs
and building secrets of the early cathedral builders. In
the first scene, a memory is mentioned as coming to the
surface. In this scene, Dean Jocelin holds an eighteen-
inch model of the spire in his hand. This appears to be
a direct reference to a small wooden column, eighteen
inches long, that appears in the Third or Master Mason
degree, which is set in an upright position when the
workmen are called ‘from labour to refreshment’ at
‘high twelve’ (noon) and is laid on its side when they are
to return to work (Duncan, 1866, p. 100–101). In this
degree, ‘high twelve’ is the time when Hiram Abif was
murdered. The master builder in the novel is named
Roger Mason. At one point in the novel, the Dean goes
around to the cloisters, lifting up curtain after curtain
4 These three novels were: Lord of the Flies (1954), The Inheritors
(1955), and Pincher Martin (1956).
until he reaches the West End of the cathedral, alluding
to the Passing of the Veils ceremony in the Royal
Arch rite. Another character, Pangall, lives within the
cathedral grounds, but the entrance to his dwelling is
cluttered with building materials, leaving little room to
get to his door. Later, this character is whipped, kicked
and sexually tormented by the workers, calling to mind
the Rugged Road. Eventually, we learn that Pangall
has been killed and his body is lying under the pavers
in a crouched pagan burial position, ‘with a sliver of
mistletoe between his ribs’ (Golding, 1965, p. 212).
Towards the end of the novel, the Dean begins to think
he has been bewitched and that his aunt, Lady Alison,
is somehow involved, raising the possibility that
Golding might be thinking about family connections.
In the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall,
there is an exhibit stating that the Royal Arch is one
of the Masonic rituals that shares symbols and ritual
practices with modern Wicca, including an instruction
to ‘lift up the veil’ (Nabarz, 2015). While Wicca was
largely a phenomenon of the 1950s, decades after
Golding was a child, its founder, Gerald Gardner
(1884–1964), was, according to Aleister Crowley, a
Royal Arch Companion (Nabarz, 2015, p. 58).5
1
Talking
about one of his childhood hobbies, Golding (2013)
stated: ‘I loved incantation, whether it meant anything
or not. Soon I had a store of detached lines and phrases
which I treasured like seashells or fossils or stamps’ (p.
55).
There are many more elements directly related to these
Masonic rituals throughout this novel, raising the
question of whether Golding might have been initiated
into the Order at some point. A passage in the novel
spoken by the protagonist states: ‘I was initiated into
their secret language, so plain, so visible for all men who
can see, to see’ (Golding, 1965, p. 193). Golding was a
naval officer during World War II, and naval officers
were often expected to join the Masons. The British
Navy has its own Lodge and practices the York Rite,
which includes the Royal Arch degree (Duncan, 1866).
However, approaching his daughter, Judy Golding,
provided no answers, as she had no memory of him
being involved with the Order, although she was born
at the very end of the war (personal communication,
June 19, 2025).
5 Nabarz notes that while Gardner was a Freemason, there has been
debate about whether he reached the high grade of Royal Arch (2015, p. 58,
notes 55, 56).
