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| “ | Hear me, man, he said. There is room on the stage for one beast and one alone. All others are destined for a night that is eternal and without name. One by one they will step down into the darkness before the footlamps. Bears that dance, bears that don't. | ” |
Judge Holden is a major character and antagonist within Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian. Based upon an actual person named Judge Holden described in Samuel E. Chamberlain's My Confessions as the right-hand man of John Joel Glanton, Holden rises to extreme levels of depravity within Blood Meridian.
Character[]
Described as a massively tall, hairless albino, Judge Holden is less a man and more an extremely cunning manifestation of evil. He is shown to be an extremely depraved individual - buying two puppies just to throw them off a bridge and possibly (though it is never stated outright) being a paedophile and child murderer[1]. Holden largely avoids personal confrontation but has absolutely no qualms about murder.
One of the Judge's most defining character traits is his view about the world. The Judge draws sketches of various things he sees in his travels with the Gang into a book and claims that he is effectively the one who determines what should and shouldn't exist - the suzerain of the Earth.[2]
Holden's status as a human is questionable. Though his milky-white skin could be caused by albinism, he displays various other inhuman abilities (such as a resistance to fire[3]). It is possible that Judge Holden is an egregore or even a nephilim (half-human/half-angel creatures described as being unusually large and strong) though Blood Meridian does not outright say if Judge Holden is a nonhuman or not.
Holden is extremely knowledgable in many subjects - most notably the natural sciences (claiming that God speaks through the objects of the natural world[1]) - and is an extremely gifted preacher and artist[4]. He is ambidextrous and speaks many languages fluently[5].
History[]
Holden's origins are mysterious. According to the ex-priest Tobin, Holden visted several different cities in Europe before his time with the Gang.[5] The Judge recounts an incident where he drew a sketch of an old Hueco man and the man became extremely enraptured with the image. The Hueco man and Holden ultimately buried the sketch in a cave.[4]
When he was first seen by the Glanton Gang, he was wandering in the wilderness near the "Little Colorado". During this time, the Gang completely lacked gunpowder but the Judge was able to craft gunpowder from various raw materials right before they were all slain by Apaches. During this time, the Judge and the leader of the Glanton Gang (John Joel Glanton) made an unholy covenant (at least in the words of Tobin).[5]
The first sight of the Judge in Blood Meridian is when the kid visits the town of Nacogdoches. The Judge interrupts the preaching of Reverend Green to whip the crowds in the tent into a murderous frenzy by claiming that the Reverend was an absolutely despicable human being. He later reveals that everything he claimed was lies while drinking (leading to everyone in the bar laughing) and begins following the kid after he leaves Nacogdoches.
The next sight of the Judge is when the kid joins the Glanton Gang after being thrown into a Mexican prison. The Judge is able to convince a weapons-salesman named Speyer to give the Gang extremely powerful weapons after talking at length with him.
After the Gang finds a crashed carriage used by a gang of prospectors, the Judge uses the minerals collected by the prospectors to give a lengthy speech on the natural sciences. That night, the Judge is seen walking through the desert naked and a young boy in the company of the prospectors is found dead the next day (presumably having been killed by the Judge that night).
While walking through the mountains, the Judge finds various Spanish artefacts which he sketches, then chucks into a fire. During the Gang's massacre of an Apache village, the Judge takes a young boy as a prisoner. Shortly after taking this prisoner, the Judge kills this boy. This leads to a brief standoff with Toadvine.
While in the city of Chihuahua, the Judge bathes himself in a river and has a suit constructed for him. He joins Glanton in talks with the governor of the city. After the Gang left Chihuahua, they begin massacring people in various small towns. The Judge takes part in these massacres (most notably firing the first shot in the barfight-turned-massacre at Nacori). At the town of Ocampo, the Judge tries to lure children with candy and buys puppies just to throw them off of a bridge while Glanton is bedridden. While by the side of the Yaqui River, the Judge sketches the assembled fauna and flora that he saw.
The Judge is one of the survivors of the Gang's shootout with General Elias' troops. While in Tucson, the Judge learns about a wild man being shown as an exhibition and (with the help of Glanton) convinced his owner (who is also his brother) to give the wild man (or the idiot) to the Gang. After the Gang psyched one of their member into shooting the racist owner of an eatinghouse, the Judge is able to give a successful defense.
While at the Yuma River, the Judge saved the idiot from drowning in the River after he had been freed by a group of women. Shortly after this, the Gang took control of a local ferry. While Glanton travels to Santa Fe to find a member of the Gang who went missing, Glanton gives control of the ferry to the Judge. The Judge escapes death at the hands of native warriors who attacked the ferry (a fate that Glanton did not escape) and flees into the nearby woods with the idiot.
The Judge is seen next after leashing up the idiot like a dog and walking with him through the wilderness. He is found by the kid, Tobin, and Toadvine. The Judge is able to convince Toadvine to join him but is unable to convince the kid and Tobin. He then tries to shoot and kill both of them but fails (but he does hit Tobin in the throat). He catches up with the kid after he is thrown in jail but does not kill him. Instead, the Judge tries to convince the kid that he will be executed. The kid is released from jail shortly afterwards and is watched by the Judge while has a surgery to remove an arrow from his leg gotten during the attack on the ferry.
The kid does not encounter the Judge for several years. In 1878, the kid and the Judge (who had seemingly not aged a day) reunite at a bar after a dancing bear was shot dead. The Judge gives a lengthy speech about the position of people within the "dance of life" and then, several hours later, kills the kid in a "jake" (or outdoor toilet). The Judge then joins into a dance at the bar. The last paragraph referring to the Judge is cryptic and implies that he is immortal. It is as follows.
His feet are light and nimble. He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.
See Also[]
- Anton Chigurh
- Dracula
- Satan
Sources[]
(PLACEHOLDER)