الموضوع: ما سر "الروعة" في افضل مائة رواية عالمية؟ دراسة بحثية
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قديم 12-23-2011, 04:18 PM
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96 ـ أطفال حكماء، للمؤلفة انجيلا كارتر.


96. Wise Children Angela Carter- A theatrical extravaganza by a brilliant exponent of magic realism.

==

Wise Children (1991) was the last novel written by Angela Carter. The novel follows the fortunes of twin chorus girls, Dora and Nora Chance, and their bizarre theatrical family. It explores the subversive nature of fatherhood, the denying of which leads Nora and Dora to frivolous "illegitimate" lechery. The novel plays on Carter's admiration of Shakespeare and her love of fairy tales and the surreal, incorporating a large amount of magical realism and elements of the carnivalesque that probes and twists our expectations of reality and society.
Background

Angela Carter wrote this novel after she knew she had been diagnosed with cancer. She had a small son and a husband whom she would be leaving behind and in this context, Deefholts notes, "The echoing refrain of the text -- "What a joy it is to dance and sing!" -- seems particularly potent."

Plot summary

The story begins on the 75th birthday of twin sisters, Dora and Nora Chance. By what Dora, who is also the narrator of the story, describes as a bizarre coincidence, it is also the 100th birthday of their natural father, Melchior Hazard, and his twin brother, Peregrine Hazard, who is believed to be dead. The date is similarly Shakespeare's birthday - April 23.
Dora and Nora's birthday gets off to a dramatic start when their half-brother, Tristram Hazard, who believes himself to be the nephew of the twins, arrives on their doorstep. He announces that Tiffany - his partner, and the goddaughter of the twins, is missing. Dora and Nora soon discover that Tiffany is pregnant with Tristram's baby, but he is unwilling to take on the responsibility. Once this bombshell has been dropped, it soon emerges that a body has been found, and it is believed to be Tiffany's.
Most of the novel consists of Dora's memories. As well as providing the backstory of her natural father, Melchior Hazard, her legal father, Peregrine Hazard, and her guardian, Grandma Chance, Dora describes key events of her life. These include her early theatreperformances, how she and her sister deal with being rejected by their father, as well as the time that she spent in Hollywood, producing a film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It also makes the reader wonder about a sexual and incestuous relationship between Peregrine and Dora as there are hints that some sexual activity took place on the Brighton trip, but Carter does not clear this mystery up.
Dora and Nora attend Melchior's 100th birthday party, where he acknowledges they are his children for the first time in their lives. The twins learn that both Peregrine and Tiffany are alive, and the true nature of their long-time enemies, Saskia and Imogen, is revealed.
The novel ends with Dora and Nora being presented with twin babies to look after - a gift from Peregrine. They realise that they "can't afford" to die for another twenty years, as they want to see the children grow up. The final line of the story is a message constantly conveyed by Carter throughout the novel: "What a joy it is to dance and sing!"

Main characters

· Dora Chance - 75 years of age, minor theatre and film star, illegitimate daughter of Melchior Hazard and "Pretty Kitty", who dies in childbirth. Believed by outsiders to be the daughter of Peregrine Hazard.
· Nora Chance - Twin sister and best friend of Dora.
· Melchior Hazard - High-profile theatre and film star, known for putting career before his family.
· Peregrine Hazard - Twin brother of Melchior, who raises Nora and Dora. Adventurer, explorer, actor. Embodies magic realism and the carnivalesque.
· Lady Atalanta Hazard (Wheelchair) - First wife of Melchior Hazard, mother of Saskia and Imogen. In her later life, she is cared for by Nora and Dora after her daughters push her down a staircase and take all her money
· Delia Delaney (Daisy Duck) - Actress, second wife of Melchior Hazard, and former lover of Peregrine Hazard. Later marries Puck from the production of 'Midsummer Night's Dream.'
· My Lady Margarine - Third wife of Melchior Hazard. Mother to Gareth and Tristram. Known as "Lady Margarine" because she stars in a margarine advert on TV.
· Grandma Chance - Guardian of Dora and Nora Chance. Peregrine suggests that Grandma Chance may have been Dora and Nora's mother, but Dora considers this unlikely. Nudist and vegetarian. She is also against picking flowers, believing it to be cruel.
· Saskia Hazard - Legal daughter of Melchior Hazard. TV chef. Cunning and ambitious. Has an ongoing relationship with Tristram, her half brother. Nemesis of Dora Chance. Assumed by Nora and Dora to be the biological daughter of Peregrine Hazard.
· Imogen Hazard - Legal daughter of Melchior Hazard, twin sister of Saskia Hazard. Plays a fish on a children's TV program.
· Tristram Hazard - Son of Melchior Hazard's third marriage. Presenter of "Lashings of Lolly." Twin brother of Gareth.
· Tiffany - Goddaughter of Dora and Nora Chance. Girlfriend of Tristram Hazard, with whom she hosts "Lashings of Lolly", a TV gameshow. Also pregnant with Tristram's baby.

Dramatis personae

Wise Children is notable for the number of identical and fraternal twins in its cast of characters. The complicated relationships between the characters, including some incestuous relationships, adds to the sense of incredulity which Angela Carter's use of magical realism has also created. She is pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable and possible so that a reader must suspend their disbelief to follow the novel.