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Re: GM's Lilith

PostPosted: November 28th, 2009, 4:48 am
by nomad
I finished a while ago, but then Thanksgiving happened. Lilith's fate was pretty dramatic. I don't think MacDonald was trapped by his theology - that was rather culmination of his idea and story. At any rate, it didn't seem at all contrived or forced. I'll write more later.

Re: GM's Lilith

PostPosted: December 22nd, 2009, 12:42 am
by nomad
Ok, so I meant a lot later.

Larry, I like your interpretation of the lovers/giants. That makes the bit about the lovers not wanting to grow up because they are afraid of becoming stupid, bullying giants intriguing.

I also agree with dwm that I liked parts of both books better than the whole of either. In Lilith, I particularly liked the skeleton couple and the way the narrator brought Lilith back to life. That was quite dramatic. Also the librarian/crow/Adam. And the leopards were pretty cool. But in Lilith, as in Phantastes, I felt the main character - the narrator - was the weak spot. Of course he's a literary device, but he sort of just stayed a literary device. His lack of character makes the whole thing feel a bit flat, despite the marvelous imagery of the individual scenes. I also just re-read Alice in Wonderland and Alice, who serves the same literary purpose of leading us through a series of odd scenes, has a very definite character. That makes you more invested in her journey. Of course, I realize that Lilith was actually the center of this story, not the narrator, but I still wanted the narrator to be more interesting.

Lilith herself is pretty awesome. Kind of like the one lost lamb that Christ will search for and bring back from the edge of a precipice - except a lamb with fangs.

Re: GM's Lilith

PostPosted: December 23rd, 2009, 7:00 pm
by Lioba

Re: GM's Lilith

PostPosted: January 14th, 2010, 10:24 pm
by nomad
Interesting point. It does seem that she her vicious side is rooted in defensiveness. But the ending shows that she knows she really both needs and wants what Adam offers, she just needs help accepting it. So just like everyone else, she needs the heeling sleep, only she needs it even more.