The Mighty Roland
Posted by Cassia on October 21, 1997 at 17:16:00:
In response to The theme of possession, written by Jane Elizabeth on October 21, 1997 at 13:32:52
] If Roland we not so indistinct a personality he never would have been able to gain Maud's confidence, because of her fear of being taken over, possessed. He is in a way a feminist hero, because he takes a back seat to just about everyone in the story, especially Maud.
What a grand notion! He truly is a feminist hero, especially in that he can let things go. His silences, his steadiness make him the antithesis of the traditional hero. Roland is no noisy destoyer, that job is played ably by Fergus Wolfe. Instead he sticks to his course, even when he doesn't know what it is. He can let Maud be without trying to challenge her at every turn, take hold of her space and body. Although it is a long time before we know just how grandly heroic he is.
] Karen, you refer to Ash as a minor poet, but isn't he supposed to much more famous? I tried to find a Victorian poet who might have been a model for him, but Byatt is too good a writer and inventor to have simply cloaked an existing poet in fiction. I do think she means him to be on par with, say, Browning or even Tennyson, who she uses in Angels and Insects.
Cassia
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