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Originally Posted by mark12_30
What struck me in Phantastes was the difference between the protective tree, and the Ash-- the protective tree felt dangerous, meaning mysterious and unpredictable; but not terrifying like the Ash tree. Why did she love, and why offer a part of her strength in protection? It was completely sacrificial. Why? Just because? What am I supposed to take away from that?
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Let me answer with a question: if your husband's life was in danger and you could save him by plucking out your eyelashes and placing the lashes around him in a protective circle, would you do it?
She does it just because ... love.
But what in Fairy does she love about/in him? His humanity?
Funny though, the Beech Tree/woman didn't strike me as unpredictable; mysterious, yes. But she was so given to Anados in love that unpreditability doesn't fit for me.
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The Ash Tree reminds me of Old Man Willow, or an Ent gone so terribly bad it's not funny. Maybe Tom Bombadil gone bad. Yeeks.
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Old Man Willow or an Ent, yes. Bombadil's more of an Earth entity than a tree entity. I'll keep my eyes open for Bombadil comparisons as I read Phantastes.
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Come to that, the Beech reminds me of Goldberry, of her golden sanctuary that she offered from the Storm. Except that Goldberry doesn't suffer in giving the sanctuary; the Beech does. (Straying, aren't I? Sorry.)
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Well, it's still Tolkien, so that's okay.
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At the moment (without rereading them both) the main difference between Smith and Phantastes is that while Smith is mostly mysterious, Phantastes is too, but is also very Dark. Phantastes has all the darkness of Mirkwood, Fangorn, and the Old Forest put together-- plus nasty trollish things, and worse. Smith never oppressed me that way, and conjures some mix of Lorien, the Shire, & Rivendell. But I suppose all that could be due to faulty memory...
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Interesting. Now that you mention it, Phantastes IS very dark. Especially at night (of course). But more than dark, it's wild. Wilder than SoWM somehow. Perhaps the wildness has to do with the sheer abundance of creatures of the wild, whereas the sense of Fairy in SWoM is of numinous intensity and power. The Wind and the Elves from the Silent Sea, for example, have more of an airy, spirit/breath power than the earthy, rainy, branch and snake and bramble wildness of Phantastes.
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EDIT: But for bedtme reading I'm definitely NOT reading Phantastes. Even the cover creeps me out. Smith it is...
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Heh, that's exactly when I DO read it.
