Matthew Osborn answers “What do you think the two lovers and the...”

Melanie asked this question about The Awakening:

What do you think the two lovers and the lady in black represent in the story?

Matthew Osborn Hope is correct in her reply here.

The entire novel is built with wiccan symbology (nowadays we use the word "semiotics"). The colors, gems, broken cr…moreHope is correct in her reply here.

The entire novel is built with wiccan symbology (nowadays we use the word "semiotics"). The colors, gems, broken crystal, the Dionysian gathering (coven), the bird omens, and on and on - it's thick with symbols of the Dionysian Mysteries.

The archetype is Ariadne.

Notice this tarot reading of the two lovers:
"There was not a particle of earth beneath their feet. Their heads might have been turned upside-down..." (chapter VIII)

In reading the Tarot, when a card is upside down, it has a special meaning.

On further reading (it's been 40 years since I studied this book) - notice also the "bare white arm... received the cup" -- The Ace of Cups

This passage is a Tarot reading, indicating much about the story.

""She thrust a bare, white arm from the curtain which shielded her open door, and received the cup from his hands. She told him he was a bon garçon, and she meant it. Robert thanked her and turned away toward “the house.”
The lovers were just entering the grounds of the pension. They were leaning toward each other as the water-oaks bent from the sea. There was not a particle of earth beneath their feet. Their heads might have been turned upside-down, so absolutely did they tread upon blue ether. The lady in black, creeping behind them, looked a trifle paler and more jaded than usual."

(Chapter VIII)"

The Ace of Cups, which I just noticed, also supports another assertion of mine - I believe Edna is pregnant.

(less)

flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more