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A. S. Byatt, "The Thing in the Forest"

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Re-Reading Questions

Text on p. 35 of the full Ninth Edition

Re-Reading Questions

1. Many readers note the story's similarities to a fairy tale. Re-read the story, making a list of events, descriptions, and imagery that belong more to the world of dreams and fairy tales. Make another list of descriptions and details that place the story squarely within the realm of waking reality. Has Byatt drawn equally on both ways of telling the story? Can you envision the world of the fairy tale as clearly as you can the more ordinary world?

2. Look carefully at the setting. In the first half of the story, do you recognize any of the descriptions from fairy tales or other childhood stories? Why do you think Byatt set the children's story in wartime? Is there a psychological distinction between the adult world in the city and the world in the country?

3. Several reviewers see the "thing" in the story as a symbol of a great fear and the entire story as an allegory of the short- and long-term effects of that fear, particularly on children. Reconsider the story, searching for evidence to support or contradict this analysis. In this interpretation of the story, how does each character face her fears as an adult?

4. How do you interpret the ending of the story? Is it conclusive? Would you have ended it differently?

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