"Possession"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the novel, "Possession" by A.S. Byatt, which revolves around two contemporary scholars, Maud Bailey and Roland Mitchell, who are each immersed in the study of one of two Victorian poets and who happen to discover evidence of a previously unimagined relationship between their subjects, Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel La Motte. In particular, the paper analyzes how the title works very well for the book, since the word "possession" appears in the book many times and has multiple meanings; it relates to the characters and the main plot of the novel.

From the Paper:

"The two scholars discover that Randolph Henry Ash, assumed to be a devoted and faithful husband, and Christabel La Motte, a lesser-known "fairy poetess" and chaste spinster secretly had an extramarital romance. They discover their poems; their journal entries and letters of other interested parties. The whole rediscovery of a long-forgotten romance begins when Roland Mitchell, finds two rough drafts of a love letter written by Randolph Ash, an acclaimed literary figure known to be married man, to an unknown woman. He finds these letters in Randolph Henry Ash's copy of Vico. Roland soon finds a vague link between Ash's letters and a 19th century reclusive poetess named Christabel La Motte. To find out more about Motte, he enlists the help of Maud Bailey who is a La Motte scholar. Initially, Maud is reluctant to get involved in Roland's investigation, as she doesn't believe there was any romantic connection between the two poets. But she finally agrees."

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