On Leading Female Characters in Possession： A Romance from Archetypal Criticism

曹艳霞

Abstract：A.S. Byatt is one of the foremost authors in contemporary British literature. Her novel Possession won the Book Prize in 1990. The whole story covers the ancient mythology， Victorian age and modern times. The application of diverse archetypes is one of attributions to the integrity of such a long story. This thesis would make an analysis of main female characters in Possession with the theory of archetypal criticism.

Key Words： Possession； Archetypal Criticism； Female Characters

A.S. Byatt is a perspicacious writer of high reputation in Britain literature. Her masterpiece Possession has been proved to be a great success. Archetypal literary criticism flourished in the 1950s and 1960s in the west and was recognized as a very important critical school. Archetypes are the content of collective unconscious and to be exact， they are a series of images and patterns people get when they were born （Jung 20—26）. This thesis will concentrate on the archetypal anatomy of leading female characters in Possession.

1. Melusine in Mythology

Melusine is a serpent woman who married a mortal man named Raimondin in order to get rid of the spell that she must turn into a serpent every Saturday. Melusine gave birth to ten boys. Meanwhile， she helped local people build castles and clear lands by using her supernatural power.

One day Melusine bathed in room on Saturday in shape of serpent，her husband spied on her through the peephole out of his curiosity. Raimondin was shocked by seeing his wife being a serpent. Then Melusine flew out of the window immediately in the shape of winged serpent. She had never become human again.

In this story， Melusine represents fertility. She gave birth to ten sons， and she helped people transform wasteland into fields， taught them to cultivate lands and to construct castles and cities. The marriage to a mortal inspired her productivity and fertility， but the marriage confined her to the eternal form of a serpent. The image of Melusine—half a serpent and half a woman， was gradually preserved in humans collective unconsciousness. Thousands of years later， this image recurs in Christabel LaMotte.

2. Christabel LaMotte in Victorian Age

In Victorian age， Christabel LaMotte shared many similarities with the fairy Melusine. LaMotte was “Very pale. Not sure if it was the effect of near-albinism or a defect in the printing， probably the latter.” （Byatt， 133-134） “She was very fair， pale-skinned， with eyes， not unduly large….” （Byatt， 298） “How lively white her skin， her Lord well knew/The tracery of blue veins across the snow…. /But could not see the beauty in the sheen /Of agent scale and slate blue coiling fin….”（Byatt 135） Thus， both LaMotte and Melusine are in resemblance of their appearances.

Besides， LaMotte was creative and productive like Melusine. LaMotte recomposed the classical legend of the fairy and created many other works such as “Psyche”， “The City of Is”， “My Subject is Spilt Milk” and the fairy tale “The Glass Coffin” and so on.

Whats more， LaMottes love experience was alike to Melusines. LaMotte also experienced a kind of invasion like the peeping. In the novel， Ash was not really peeping into their house but he did interference to LaMottes normal life like an intruder. Later while LaMotte found her pregnancy， she had to separate with Ash forever. After her daughter was born， she asked her sister to adopt the girl. In a sense， LaMotte eventually became an exile because of her acquaintance with Ash.

From the above， LaMotte not only resembles Melusine in appearance but also shares similarities with her in their creativity and productivity. What they suffered after the breaking of prohibition was also nearly same.

3. Maud Bailey in Twentieth Century

Maud Bailey is an expert on LaMotte and she is the descendant of LaMotte in 20th century. The experience of Maud and Roland in Seale Court night is the recurrence of Melusine and Raimondin. When Roland peeked through the keyhole of the bathroom to see if Maud was inside， Maud was about to come out from the room. Then Roland went into the bathroom and he saw “the long Chinese dragon wavered palely away， on its aquamarine ground， along the shifting carpets， and the pale hair gleamed coldly above it” （Byatt 162）. Here not only the plot but also the image of Maud is similar to Melusine.

In addition， Maud was the descendent of LaMotte， which reinforces their connections. The special relationships between Maud and LaMotte make the womens history more united as a whole—the two figures are parallel to ancient Melusine.

Maud and Roland finally fell in love with each other but their future was not proved to be certain and definite enough， which is alike the experience of Melusine and LaMottes. From the above， we could see that the three female characters originate from the same image of the French legend. They lived in different periods and they were embodied with their respective features.

4. Conclusion

A.S. Byatt uses the typical character archetypes and images to reveal the changes of these archetypes and present the living states of women in different ages. The application of archetypes makes the history and the present an organic whole， and furthermore enhances the extent and profundity of Possession， which contribute the deep understanding of the novel.

REFERENCES：

[1]Jung， Carl Gustav. The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton： Princeton University Press， 1981. Print.

[2]Byatt， A. S. Possession. Beijing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， 2000. Print.

[3]程倩. 《歷史的叙述与叙述的历史》北京：人民文学出版社，2007.print.

[4]朱刚. 二十世纪西方文论. 北京：北京大学出版社， 2006. Print.