Leonora...you go, girl
Posted by Jane Elizabeth on November 10, 1997 at 18:19:09:
In response to Herself?, written by Hil on November 09, 1997 at 19:51:13
I don't agree that she resists possession. I think she tried it (two marriages, in one of which she was abused) and discovered that she could do very well on her own. But her brand of "on her own" consists of independence, not loneliness or isolation. She has found a way to take total charge of her life and yet, as you say, envelop others. Is it sad that her son doesn't live with her? Well, they aren't estranged. Perhaps she knows that she's too much of a hell-raising life force to give a teenager breathing room. She knows that "possessing" a child is unhealthy.
I think Byatt means to show in Leonora an example of an independent woman who doesn't need to seal herself inside her egg to remain whole.
PS: I've suddenly gotten horrifically busy at work and I'm not online at home. Did anyone notice I was gone? I'm hurt. I'm retreating into my egg. Where did I put my stones?
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.
