If we could see God in the faces of our beloved, we would become "mystical" lovers. This romantic concept of mysticism was born primarily from the writings of Aquinas and Dante who applied a religious outlook to the courtly love of medieval times, and was further developed by the mystical poets W.H. Auden, Thomas Traherne, John Donne, and the concepts of Romanticism. Mysticism’s basic metaphors and ideas about love have had immeasurable influence on arts throughout history, particularly on poems that celebrate love. Summed up, this concept states that a person can enjoy a complete spiritual union with God by understanding the beauty of an object beheld, such as a beloved. 1 But before such an understanding can be reached, the mystical lover must journey through several difficult stages of meditation, and still surpass the obstacles found in "normal" romantic relationships.

For nearly five years now The X-Files television series has narrated the adventures of two FBI partners, Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, as they attempt to solve cases from a special stack of files the FBI has deemed unexplainable. These "X" files take the two protagonists through a world of weirdness, where their observations or the objective camera hint at answers but never confirm them: a mysterious government syndicate that plans conspiracies, alien spacecraft that abduct passengers from airplanes, and strangely evolved serial killers and monsters. Mulder persistently believes in the aliens, the conspiracies, the supernatural, but partner Scully is skeptical, insisting on scientific explanations. The show seems a juggling act of the standard drama, mystery, action, science-fiction, and horror genres, since an episode's content can never be simply defined (even the scary "mythology" episodes often pause the narrative to pursue another theme in Mulder and Scully's life). Mulder's obsession to find the solutions or "the Truth" which he claims is "out there" drives him and Scully to search the world of the paranormal and ultra-unlikely in every episode. Their work gives them no time for outside interests, and they have never approached each other romantically. But if we dig into the subtext of this show, we begin to see that the search is not really for aliens or psychopaths. If we believe, like Mulder, that we'll find something, we begin to see how the search, on one level, comments on common obstacles in romantic relationships. If we ignore Scully's skepticism and dig further, we see the show unfolding as an epic and mystical allegory about the need for reason, imagination, and love. It is difficult to see why Mulder and Scully are so reluctant to approach each other; this secret is the greatest X-File of them all. If the two agents could open this file, they would see a reflection of two partners looking back, their hands held shyly behind.

The X-Files series provides important themes and symbols that correlate to the language of mysticism and love. 2 One of the more pervasive dictums which our heroes are constantly being told is "Trust no one." The fundamental distrust in the series is the distrust Mulder has for the government agency which employs him; he believes that someone doesn't want him to solve these X-files. Hence in the pilot episode we see Mulder full of misgivings toward Dana Scully who has just been assigned to work with him.

MULDER: Nobody down here but the FBI's most unwanted…. I think you're

here to spy on me.

In this case, Mulder has guessed correctly; earlier the camera showed Scully being assigned by the Department to report back on Mulder's work. So Mulder and Scully are set up as "partners", but the partnership is heavy with distrust. It is literally a "working" relationship: Mulder and Scully begin solving cases and trusting each other more, and such understanding and trust is ideal for any romantic relationship. Mulder's witticism that he is the FBI's most "unwanted" illustrates a belief that he is romantically unwanted, as we will see in later examples.

The pilot episode continues with Mulder and Scully investigating the cause of a strange electromagnetic disturbance. They are driving when their radio suddenly turns on and wildly switches channels repeatedly. Mulder jumps out of the car and spray paints a huge "X" in the middle of the road, and Scully demands to know why. He has marked the spot in an effort to track the origin of the electromagnetic disturbance. Since the very first case of the agents' careers involves locating an electromagnetic disturbance which has caused their radio, a symbol of communication, to go berserk, this shows that the real problem is one of communication. Thus, the real "case" to be solved is: what is it that is blocking communication between Mulder and Scully?

This example of "marking" the problem clues us to the significance of the show's title The X-Files. "X" is a typical mathematical variable, an unknown with potential to be anything, much like Agent Scully appeared to Mulder at their first meeting. The search to uncover the X-files becomes a search to find meaning behind something or someone. Who knows what is in these files? the title is saying, but it also suggests the obscurity of meaning in everything, especially that-which-is-searched-for, because Mulder's spray painting reminds us of the classic treasure hunt where we expect an easy "X" to mark the spot.

The agents have been paired in order to solve cases. To do this, they need evidence, and so they search through a world as strange, new, and frightening as the world of falling in love. In the midst of this danger, the agents are naturally distrustful of everything, and the need for concrete evidence becomes paramount. This reasoning also applies to the agents' relationship: before any romantic commitment, each partner needs to see proof of affection. An example of this occurs in the episode "Tooms." Scully has just joined Mulder on stakeout duty in his car and has presented him evidence on the killer Tooms which she hopes is enough to convict him.

MULDER: It's not enough. It doesn't tie us to Tooms.

SCULLY: Well it's a start. (Pause.) Mulder, it's getting a bit ripe in here, don't you think? (Points to lunch. MULDER leans over and adjusts air freshener.)

MULDER: Pine-scented. Better? (SCULLY looks at him.)

Scully's brief expression at this "ripe" point can be described as waiting-but-sad. The expression sets up her feeling of closeness to Mulder about a minute later when Scully tells him it's against regulations to remain on duty when exhausted. Mulder insists that at least one of them must stay, although he does not want Scully to jeopardize her record.

SCULLY: Mulder I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you.

MULDER: (seems surprised, but glad; then) If there's an Iced-Tea in that bag, it could be love.

SCULLY: (searches bag) It must be fate, Mulder. (MULDER waits as she hands him a drink.) Root beer. (MULDER feigns great disappointment.) You're delirious, Mulder. Go home and get some sleep.

Scully does not feel comfortable in the car with Mulder because he rejected her "evidence." Her only course of escape is to relieve him from stakeout duty. Scully's sudden seriousness in declaring her respect for Mulder throws Mulder off balance. His reaction is to make the joke about the Iced-Tea, subtly making fun of the idea that Scully could possibly be interested in him. Scully senses ridicule; she reacts with ironic defensiveness "It must be fate, Mulder." Now Mulder is defensive and gives an exaggerated sigh. By this point the tension is too much for Scully, and so before leaving to go to her car she tells Mulder he's "delirious," which can only be read as her telling him to "cool off." Both partners are forced to appear silly and meaningless precisely because they want to be meaningful. Before she leaves, however, Mulder tells her that there is a Pete Rose radio show that she may want to listen to later, and he presents this information eagerly, as if he regrets being unable to give her anything else. Scully seems to regret this as well, since she mutters to herself with dissatisfaction, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

The search for meaning is important, because having meaning gives validation and purpose. The mysticism referred to earlier states that things have meaning to the extent that they have Truth, Beauty, and Life. If we examine Mulder and Scully's names we immediately find archaeological remnants: "mold" from Mulder and "skull" from Scully, two decidedly non-beautiful things which reinforce the theme of that-which-is-not-visible, that which is beneath the surface and must be searched for (such as Beauty itself). The name "Mulder" sounds like "mold her;" that is, teach "her" something, shape her to be a certain way. Since it is his name, this need to mold someone according to his beliefs is implicit in Mulder's character, and the primary thing which Mulder is always asking Scully to do is to believe in things, such as the paranormal, the supernatural, or the alien. After all, similar beliefs and truths would make it easier to have a romantic relationship.  

The name "Scully" is trickier to pick apart. "Scully" sounds like "Skuld," the name of the Fate who cuts the thread of life. Scully's old profession as a medical doctor illustrates this life-taking power. 3  "Skuld" was also one of the Valkryies: divine, war-like women who did not take part in the mortal world except to watch heroes in battle and carry their dead bodies to Valhalla. But under extraordinary circumstances, a Valkryie might be struck by the beauty of or even rescued by a particular hero (the Valkryie "Brunhilda" in Wagner's Ring of the Niebelung comes to mind).  

Pursuing this epic theme of heroes and Valkryies, we can say that Mulder's battle is his never-ending quest for the truth behind the X-files. During this battling he and Scully often save each other's lives from various monsters and villains. These are both pursuits for meaning, since the easiest way to have meaning is to do things that are traditionally meaningful: Mulder acts like a hero by believing that people need saving or changing, resists Science, and has abnormal beliefs; Scully sticks up for Mulder and his beliefs but reserves Science for finding meaning. Both are attempts to resist the frightening fact that they could find meaning in each other.

It would seem that it should be easier for Mulder to fall in love since he is the open-minded one, always believing in what others consider to be hoaxes, such as aliens and UFOs. The symptom of believing in UFOs can be seen as a yearning for heavenly help and alleviation of feelings of aloneness. "We are not alone," Mulder says in talking about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, but he believes this because he does not want to be alone! "We cannot deny the possibility of life outside our planet," Mulder says in the episode "Little Green Men." This symbolically becomes an argument that we cannot deny the possibility of life outside ourselves; other human beings exist, though we often forget about them, and we should be making every effort to reach out, believe in, and make contact.

The primary motive for Mulder's constant and obsessive search for the truth is his belief that his sister was abducted by aliens during his childhood. Mulder is desperately searching for the alien forces responsible, and undergoes regression-hypnosis in an attempt to remember clues. This is similar to the attachment "romantic" mystics and poets have for childhood, where childhood is equated with paradise or Eden. These metaphors of paradise and hell are further developed through the use of light and darkness in certain episodes, such as the episode "Fallen Angel." In "Fallen Angel" Mulder has been hunting for an alien and a special forces team has thrown him into a cell. Finally Scully comes and convinces the team to free him.

The semi-darkness symbolizes Mulder's dim perception of things and his removal from God or the Truth. It is unclear at first who is responsible for the blinding light, but then it is revealed to be Scully. Scully, in Mulder's perception, brings light to darkness, like a god. Near the beginning of this episode an alien entity crashes down to Earth and is code-named "fallen angel," the episode's title. Before Mulder was thrown into the cell the special forces team confuses his movements with the alien's movements on their radar, drawing a parallel between Mulder and the alien—Mulder, too, is a "fallen angel," removed from paradise and in need of salvation. This mystical dilemma of how to become saved was also Dante's: Dante could not reach the light of paradise with just human reason, he needed intuition and the divine love of his beloved, Beatrice.

In the show's introduction, which has stayed the same for five seasons, we see images of an eye opening and closing after a storm. The eye is a central symbol in mysticism, representing the difficulty of perception and the need for introspection. In X-Files, perception is always questioned, predominantly by the camera itself which suggests things rather than establishing a clear definition of a scene. In the introduction the two agents are searching a dark room with flashlights. Flashlight are the wrong tools; in order to illuminate the darkness of the world, introspection is necessary. Again, the major difference between Mulder and Scully is that they perceive truths and answers differently. Meditation that leads to introspection can bring them closer by showing them the validity of the other's perceptions and the limits of their own.

In the episode "Small Potatoes" Mulder is imprisoned by Eddie Van Blundt, a man whose abnormal muscular structure allows him to appear exactly like Mulder. Van Blundt as Mulder goes to Scully's residence with a bottle of wine, something the real Mulder would never do. Scully is surprised, but soon they are having an almost intimate conversation when the real Mulder bursts through the door. Later when Mulder is interrogating him in prison, Van Blundt makes fun of Mulder's life. Mulder says nothing and leaves the room, but Scully has heard the conversation. As they walk down the hall in quiet embarrassment, Scully says, "I don't imagine you need to be told this, Mulder, but you're not a loser." Mulder replies, "Maybe not. But I'm no Van Blundt either," looks at her, and adds "Am I?" Mulder has claimed that he is not a romantic, but then he twists this around and makes it an issue of perception. This issue is set up earlier in the episode when Mulder comments offhandedly, "Who would you want me to be, Scully?" and then later philosophizes about Van Blundt's shapeshifting power, "Maybe it's how we're viewed that determines who we are." It appears that Mulder cannot act romantically towards Scully because he does not believe she wants him to; again, this is his fear of being unwanted and alone. In the episode "Squeeze" Scully hints that she has heard of Mulder's department nickname, "Spooky," and Mulder smiles and says, "Do you think I'm spooky?" What kind of person do you think I am?, he's asking. Is it your fear that stops you? Their perceptions are misleading them; if they were more introspective, they would intuit trust and feelings for each other.

In mysticism the journey or search where one meditates over their suffering in preparation for redemption is called the Dark Night of the Soul. There is an occasional glimpse of divine beauty that gives strength to continue. 4  The unknown that is sought after, the "x," is a cross, a cross of burden. So to search means to suffer. Dante's Inferno comes to mind again; the way to heaven is through hell, the torture is a test. In the midst of seeing horrible and scary things, Mulder still notices beautiful ones, such as flashes of light or the shape of an alien. These objects of beauty are always connected to Scully through proximity of physical space or scene.

(from "Pilot" episode)

MULDER: Scully!

SCULLY: Mulder! What happened? There was a light…

MULDER: It was incredible.

(from Season IV finale)

SCIENTIST: (looking at alien) My God, it's beautiful.

DIRECTOR: Agent Scully, I assume….

(from "Squeeze")

MULDER: You might not like working with me, Scully, but at least you like the journey (fingers her necklace) and I'll understand if you don't want to work with me.

SCULLY: (Smiles.) Well, you must have more than your polygraph interpretation to back up your theory and I have to see what it is.

This last clip shows that the partners understand on some level how important their work relationship is for their romantic partnership. The touching of the necklace after saying "journey" is significant, because later Mulder finds the necklace, realizes Scully is in trouble, and searches for her. The "search" is a mystical "journey" to become closer to Scully; the "Truth" searched for is the Beauty that can release Mulder from his pain.

It is important to realize that both partners see each other as divine, and both are in need of healing, but the series seems to concentrate on presenting the "journey" from the point of Mulder. Mulder has become a sort of fallen "Everyman"—remember that in the Garden of Eden, only feelings and intuition existed; rational thought came after knowledge was gotten from the Tree. Mulder is holding on to Paradise by clinging to intuition instead of reason and knowledge. This is juxtaposed to Scully, who is avoiding Paradise by clinging to scientific knowledge instead of intuition. What both of them do not realize is the age-old mystic's lament that Paradise is interminably lost. But there is something better that can be attained, and that is the mystical Paradise of the present: to be able to look at the world full of reason and feeling and see the overwhelming goodness of things. This vision is superior to the Edenic or even to childhood itself, because now a journey of intuition and reason has led one to discover the beauty, like Dante being led by both Virgil and Beatrice. Mulder and Scully are sure that there are truths "out there;" they do not say "It doesn't exist," they say, "I don't know what it is." Season after season the answers are posited but never entirely known because the reality and truth of the world, which is there, can only be seen by the child or the redeemed mystical lover. So Mulder and Scully are two halves of a potential mystical whole that would allow them to properly enjoy their world, themselves, and each other.

The object behind the search is Beauty. Since beauty is perceived (we are reminded of the popular adage "Beauty is truth, truth beauty") the question or problem becomes, What is Mulder able to perceive as Beauty? The constant use of monsters or killers in the X-Files brings the perception theme home again; monsters are the antithesis of beauty, but only because they are perceived this way. Monsters have no restraint, and are destructive, but since our perception would, psychologically speaking, create the monster, monsters must be bursting from our repressed fears and desires. Perception is extremely powerful, and since perception is essentially a re-creation, one can perceive beauty simply by looking with love. Therefore to make this the happiest time possible, the partners need to look at each other with eyes of love.

On some level the partners are aware of these rules of perception. There was a Fall ’97 black and white episode which had "Frankenstein's monster"-type character, except that the creature had two faces and the townspeople finally realized it was a "good" monster. Mulder gets worried when this happens and start flipping through what looks like a script but is supposed to be the novel Frankenstein, and says, "This isn’t supposed to be how the story ends, Scully. The monster is supposed to get the bride." To which Scully responds (and the metatext gets deliriously out-of-hand) "There isn’t going to be any bride, Mulder. Not in this story." The agents take the Monster to give him a moment of what he always dreamed about: a Cher concert. The scene shows us the agents' car, proceeding within a long line of other cars (an rather interesting image that feels like a journey nearing an end), and the agents look subtly back and forth at each other, making the two-faced Monster in their backseat seem like a representation of them, somehow. The monster is delighted at the concert. In the midst of the dance and celebration, Mulder swings Scully onto the dance floor, and the show ends with credits and the graphic of a storybook being closed; as if all this could only be a fantasy. But this is not a fantasy, since the episode is actually happening; it must be a vision. And something in the partners’ hug and their looks imply that someday this moment will go on and on, as timeless as their story. 5 

NOTES

1. Clements, Arthur L. Poetry of Contemplation. Albany: SUNY Press, p.1-11.

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2. From here on, the word "mysticism" or "mystical" refers only to this type of mysticism.

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3. In the episode "Dod Kalm, " Scully reads a book on Norse mythology and comments about the wolf "Skuld" (who shares the same name as the Valkryie) who comes at the end of the world as a big snowfall and swallows the sun. The apocalypse imagery reinforces Scully’s life-taking and yet redemptive power. It is also curious to note that not only is Scully a doctor, but as she says in the ‘97-98 season opener she has a "background in heart science" [emphasis mine]. What a cold name for the language of amore!

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4. To my deepest surprise, immediately after finishing this article I saw a Spring ’98 episode where Mulder off-handedly recited various terms of mysticism, including the term "Dark Night of the Soul."

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5. And hopefully the series!

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