HOME » WORKSHOPS » FICTION » A. S. BYATT, "THE THING IN THE FOREST" » EXPLORATIONS

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

BIOGRAPHY

Reading » Re-Reading » Explorations

"The Thing in the Forest" and Fairy Tales

Byatt acknowledges that she self-consciously adapts the traditional forms of fairy tales for modern literary purposes. Review some characteristics of fairy tales or read J.R.R. Tolkein's "rules" for fairy tales. In "The Thing in the Forest," what does Byatt borrow from the traditional form? What kinds of characteristics has she avoided?

In interviews and essays about her fairy stories, Byatt sometimes refers to Bruno Bettelheim and his book The Uses of Enchantment. The Uses of Enchantment studies fairy tales from a psychoanalytic perspective, focusing on the function that these kinds of stories serve in the culture and in childhood development. For an overview, read a summary of The Uses of Enchantment. Then read Bettelheim's introductory chapter of the book. In what ways are Bettelheim's ideas relevant or irrelevant to "The Thing in the Forest"? Applying Bettelheim's ideas, write a psychoanalytical analysis of "The Thing in the Forest."

Byatt has written several other stories that borrow from fairy tales. Read one of these stories, like "Dragon's Breath" or "The Story of the Eldest Princess," and compare it to "The Thing in the Forest." Consider imagery, degree of realism, point of view, adaptation of fairy-tale conventions, and themes. To find a source for these stories, refer to the A.S. Byatt bibliography, which provides a comprehensive list of Byatt's short works.

Byatt and Critical Theory

Byatt has called her fairy stories a "postmodern creation and recreation of old forms." Scholarly interpretations of her works frequently place her writing within the framework of postmodernist concerns. For students unfamiliar with postmodern literary theory, readings, even introductory essays, can be quite difficult, but the rewards are considerable and well worth your time. Begin by reading Wikipedia's encyclopedia unit on postmodernism; written in an easy-to-understand hypertext style, this article includes an overview, background material, and a short discussion of the manifestation of postmodernism in various artistic genres. As you read the encyclopedia article, make note of ways that "The Thing in the Forest" could be considered postmodern. In analyzing "The Thing in the Forest" as a postmodern text, you might benefit by comparing the story to a list of postmodern literary characteristics. You will find variations on these characteristics listed in Mark Steinberg's review of postmodern themes and techniques, in Dr. David White's "Introduction to Modernism and Postmodernism," and in Professor Martin Irvine's "Approaches to Po-Mo."

A great deal of Byatt's fiction is postmodern in the sense that it is self-reflexive; it   draws attention to the act of storytelling, to myth making, to imagination, to the creative process. You can explore this technique more by reading the essay "Metafiction" on the SUNY Geneseo Web site or by studying the unit on metafiction from Emory University's Postcolonial Web site. Make a list of the characteristics of metafiction or use the one at the Emory University site. In what ways does "The Thing in the Forest" reflect these characteristics of metafiction? Return to the text of "The Thing in the Forest." Highlight words that relate to the creative process or to fiction making, such as "imagination" or "reality." How are these clues to the self-reflexive nature of the story?

How does the last sentence of the story relate to this self-reflexivity?

Although she sometimes disagrees with feminist theory, Byatt considers her writings to be feminist, particularly when the girls and women of her stories seek and establish freedoms or when they invert traditional expectations. In what ways can "The Thing in the Forest" be considered a feminist story?

The Cultural Context

The opening of the story takes place during World War II in England as children are evacuated from the cities and sent by train to the countryside. A great deal of the fear and apprehension experienced by Penny and Primrose arises from the alienation they feel when they are uprooted from their homes and sent to an unfamiliar environment without knowing exactly their destination or how long they will be gone. Byatt's detailed descriptions in these passages suggest the memories of someone who lived a wartime childhood in England. In fact, beginning in 1939, when the British witnessed the potential devastation of German aerial bombing, English children were taken from their schools and sent away from the cities for safety. At the BBC Web site dedicated to the history of World War II, David Prest has published an excellent article, "Evacuees in World War Two¾the True Story," recalling those experiences. Read the article and note how closely the historical details match those in "The Thing in the Forest." Listen to the audio memories associated with the evacuation. What do Prest and surviving evacuees say about the psychological effects of the evacuation? Can you find evidence of those psychological effects in Byatt's story?

In some cases, the evacuees were sent to a large country estate before being selected by local volunteers to go into foster homes. After the war, a number of these estates, because of their broader historical importance, became museums as part of the British Trust. In "The Thing in the Forest," the girls are billeted at such an estate and revisit it later in life after it has become a museum. Dartington Hall in Devon, England, was one of the estates housing the evacuees. How do the photographs of Darington Hall compare with the images of the estate in "The Thing in the Forest"? Is this how you imagined the estate to look? Is there anything about the gardens that reminds you of Byatt's description of the forest? Can you imagine two of the children in this archival photograph as the main characters in Byatt's story? Does seeing this photograph change in any way how you feel about the reality of their experience?

Icon Directory
In The Portable Intro to Literature
In The Seagull Reader
In Portable & The Seagull Reader