The Mundane and the Mystical : London and Love in Arthur Machen's "A Fragment of Life"
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2015 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Arthur Machen (1863-1947), a Welsh writer associated with Decadence and the author of the influential novella "The Great God Pan" (1894), felt a deep attachment to the wonderful region of Gwent, where he was born. His attachment was even intensified by his move to London in search for work. He experienced a marked contrast between the rural Gwent and the fin-de-siecle London, a contrast which found its way as a significant motif into his work. In his novella "A Fragment of Life," the contrast between the grey London suburb and the mystical ancient wood, which is evoked in the dreamy reveries of the characters, forms an important background to the story of Edward and Mary Darnell. This contrast is mainly conveyed by two motifs: the City, which is tightly connected with Edward's dull, mind-numbing working life, and a mulberry tree in Darnells' garden, which serves as a sanctuary where the couple often escapes their every-day material concerns. In fact, the City in this novella is a symbol of the mundane materialism Machen hated so much, while the mulberry tree is a vestige of nature in the midst of the urban environment he resented. The present paper focuses on the role the setting plays in the relationship of a seemingly ordinary couple. Actually, the fin-de-siecle London suburb seems to present a barrier in the couple's relationship whose suppressed sexuality almost comes to surface in dreamy moments like those under the mulberry tree. |
| Related projects: |