Apart from the centralisation of female characters, other features in Elementals involve Byatts attention to not just intricate detail but the inclusion of foreign or continental communication. For instance, French phrases frequently seem to appear, obviously a lot more when the story is set abroad, e.g. Crocodile Tears mostly set in France. The effect of this technique is perhaps to create a certain feeling of realism, that the situation could possibly happen to the reader, but also because people tend to associate romance with this country - and romance is of course an expected element of fairytales and myths. In Crocodile Tears especially, this is apparent, as well as the historical ambience of France itself, adding an effect of exotic-ness. However, the location of the story is not always established within the ‘real’ world but within imagined ones by the author. Cold, for example, with its great deserts boarded by mountainous regions filled with ice kingdoms and palaces “white and glistening”, which is why this tale has so much more in common with traditional fairytale compared to the others. But as Byatt herself put it ‘…the wholly imagined worlds seemed simply good, the kings and princes… but these real imaginings, so to speak, had a contaminated quality…’, (Passions of the Mind, 1991) Byatt suggests here that the power of fantasy actually can have a feeling of corruption (similar maybe to Angela Carter), which is what could be the primary source for these authors to rewrite conventional forms. The appealing idea of locating a story overseas may then connect back to traditional forms but also helps convey a newer and more modern type of tale.
Indeed, it seems that the idea of these rewritten forms is to produce new tales for a new age or generation, and within these then, must be the recent issues in contemporary society, or at least around the time the book was written. Rebellion against society seems present in some stories, in particular Baglady. For the centre of the story rotates around class and the importance of image, as well wealth and exploitation. This story uses some sort of magical realism to convey the message about contemporary problems with our civilisation. For example, the name of the company – the ‘Doolittle Wind Company’, is important as it alludes to money (‘do little’), yet uses a completely seemingly imaginative name. Sub textual components in the story, such as, the character being unable to find the EXIT sign, could portray her not being able to get to the bottom- of her class, as it were. For example,
‘…she must go down… ground level cannot be found’, perhaps hinting, metaphorically speaking, that people of a higher class need to come back down to earth. The suggestion that money in our society is more of a destroyer than anything else is also depicted. This effect seems more political about the western world than that of a myth or fairytale. However, A Lamia in the Cevennes, tends to associate itself with the famous Greek myths and legends due to the image of the snake or serpent. Colour features powerfully in all the stories but to an almost excessive extent in this narrative. The effect is a fantasy myth driven tale with problematic elements from society, in the fact that the protagonist (this time male) escapes into the country from the rat race. Wealth again is displayed through the construction of the swimming pool, and upper class pretentiousness is symbolized through his isolated lodgings. The sad and dangerous but marvellously colourful serpent, the female in the narrative, (hinting at appearances are not all they seem) reminds the reader of the conventional princess turned frog tale. Therefore gender reversal is one way the structure has been transformed. However, in relation to the serpent myths, the audience could be reminded of the all powerful Medusa, using the conventional symbolization of the sirens – that underneath the beautiful exterior lies danger and deceit. In this tale the image of the snake is however a dominant source of inspiration for the artist, the almost sad twist is that he does not take the clichéd direction into myth and fairytale land, and be with the woman, this is rewritten so that his loathsome friend from the city gets the serpent-come-beautiful lady. There is not a sense of closure either within the narrative, as at the end of the story, he turns his attention to another beautiful and colourful creature, the butterfly, to pursue for more inspiration. The choice the artist makes ‘…He didn’t want a woman. He wanted another visual idea…’, seems to possibly reflect people’s constant drive in society for achievement instead of old fashioned romance or happiness. Although Bernard is happy with his new influence of colour, it is ultimately for his work, but this constant drive for another ‘visual idea’ seems like it will never end.
Biblical tale, on the other hand, is reinforced through Jael and Christ in the House of Martha and Mary. Jael is also political as well, but through using the anecdote of Jael and Sisera, it creates a whole new meaning of religious biblical tale. It takes the tale and through colour again, creates the destruction of human spirit through the depressing “destruction of Sisera”. This striking imagery brings about a tender mood and is reflective of the characters career in the TV advertising industry with her struggle with her assistant director. But, the difference here between old biblical tale and this narrative is that the character remembers her religious tales not because of their morals but because “…the scriptures were both dead and nasty”. A covert and perhaps poignant point that the character makes (and made more personal by the first person narrative) about the biblical tale is “…it’s a story about the breaking of all the primitive laws of hospitality, and kindness, laws we learn even from fairy stories”.
This story then itself takes the biblical tale and places it into the perspective of an individual in our age and culture (and middle class), it could be said to be Byatts view of the tale in present time conveyed through this character.
Elementals rewrites then, in numerous different ways, original forms of fairytales and so on, producing an unconventional new style of narrative. Yet, however covert or overt the tale of its roots in traditional form may be, the stories still maintain the effect of a mythical and magical impression of fantasy intertwined with elements of reality.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Byatt A.S., Elementals: Stories of fire and ice, (1999)
Byatt A.S., Passions of the Mind, (1991), pp. 21-22
May, Charles, The Short Story: The Reality of Artifice (1995)