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“ A. S. Byatt ’ s Self-mirroring Art ”

“ A. S. Byatt ’ s Self-mirroring Art ”. By Julian Gitzen Critique 36.2 (Winter 1995): 83-95. Presented by Carol Chi Based on the online journal article. The Key Concept of Byatt ’ s Self-mirroring Art.

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“ A. S. Byatt ’ s Self-mirroring Art ”

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  1. “A. S. Byatt’s Self-mirroring Art” By Julian Gitzen Critique 36.2 (Winter 1995): 83-95. Presented by Carol Chi Based on the online journal article

  2. The Key Concept of Byatt’s Self-mirroring Art • Byatt creates the connection and the gap “between words and their referents and between art and its subject.” (Gitzen 1-2) • This distinction is much emphasized on the narrative or action in her novels. (Gitzen 2) • Byatt changes the traditional concept that art ”holds the mirror up to the nature” and presents “how reality may imitate art.” (Gitzen 2)

  3. The Characteristic of Byatt’s Self-mirroring Art • Major characters are scholars or artists. (Gitzen 2) * Shadow of A Sun (1964) * The Game (1967) * The Virgin in the Garden (1978) * Still Life (1985) * Possession (1990)

  4. The Virgin in the Garden • The protagonist, Alexander Wedderburn, perceives and takes part in the activities which mirrors his art. (Gitzen 3) • Alexander Frederica (an embodiment of his creation in his play) • He finally determines to flee from his own art represented by Frederica.

  5. Still Life • This novel is the sequel to The Virgin in the Garden. • Byatt essentially deals with the subjects of painting and metaphors. • Painting~ This novel remains her mirror-stage structure, for while she describes how Van Gogh observes his environment, she also views the fictional characters in terms of a painter. (Gitzen 3)

  6. # Alexander is working on a play named “The Yellow Chair,” about Van Gogh’s final years. (Gitzen 3) # Byatt details the beach in France, Les Saintes-Maries, where Van Gogh painted boats in 1888. (Gitzen 4) • Metaphor~ For Byatt, metaphors shows qualities of “imaginative vehicle of implied or explicit comparisons,”“an essential function of the human mind,” and “the potential to inspire or sharpen the writer’s art.” (Gitzen 4-5)

  7. Possession • Possession demonstrates her knowledge in medieval legends and Victorian literature. (Gitzen 5) • LaMotte’s preference for solitude is similar to Melusina in her work, “The Fairy Melusina.” (Gitzen 5) • The mirror image: A. Maud’s physical appearance resembles LaMotte and Melusina. (Gitzen 6)

  8. B. Maud likes solitude as LaMotte and Melusina. (Gitzen 6) C. Ash LaMotte Roalnd Maud Ellen Blanche Val Leonora • Medieval myth: * Eden’s allusions (Gitzen 7) ~ The private meeting between Ash and LaMotte ~ Roland enters Mrs. Irving’s garden

  9. Byatt’s Admiration for Literary Figures • She admires T. S. Eliot, so her characters often cite The Four Quartets and her works are filled with “literary allusions” and “mythic parallels.” (Gitzen 7) • She is also familiar with Donne, Shakespeare, Marvell, Milton, Wordsworth, Coleridge, George Eliot and D. H. Lawrence. (Gitzen 7)

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