# the Absolute — The Book of Jade character guide

> the Absolute in The Book of Jade by David Park Barnitz.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** himself

**First appearance:** 0002-prelude

## Snapshot

The vanished godhead the narrator once disproved and now half-longs for, invoked as the absent measure against which all earthly pleasures fall short.

## Who they are

Where Brahm once answered prayer, the narrator has proved him dead, leaving a vacancy at the center of a world stuffed with sensation. This absence haunts the Prelude: the speaker would laugh again 'in the olden fashion' if only the Absolute existed to laugh at. The concept matters because it names the void beneath the narrator's luxury, the missing term that no sin, science, or sanctity can replace.

## Relationships

### [Brahma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/characters/brahma)

_psychological_

Brahma is a manifestation or aspect of the Absolute, the creator principle within the ultimate reality.

### [Lo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/characters/lo)

_psychological_

Lo seeks to merge with the Absolute, a journey of spiritual dissolution and ultimate union.

## In the story

### [Litany](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-i-litany)

Implicitly addressed as 'Thee' and 'Thyself,' the ultimate entity that shares in the weariness.

### [Song of the Stars in Praise of Her](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-i-song-of-the-stars-in-praise-of-her)

The divine feminine figure is implicitly identified as the Absolute, the singular source of all light and existence.

### [Fragments](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-ii-fragments)

Revealed as a filthy idiot squatting in ordure, claiming to be Brahma, yet unable to answer the speaker's questions.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-ii-i)

Referenced as 'that voice' which guides the narrator away from the stye and later offers counsel.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-ii-ii)

Found sitting in ordure, stripped of Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence, revealed as a filthy idiot.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

Implied as the Infinite reality the speaker seeks but finds insufficient, equated to 'trodden mire'.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/characters/the_absolute
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_book_of_jade_se/characters