Marvelous Geometry: Narrative and Metafiction in Modern Fairy Tale

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Eternal thanks to Lesley Marx, who has been an invaluable source of support, encouragement, advice and meticulous reading over many years, as well as dealing with adverbs above and beyond the call of duty. I am also deeply grateful to Cristina Bacchilega for recommending the manuscript for publication, and to her, Don Haase, and all my readers for useful and challenging input during the revision process. As always, family and friends have offered support, discussion, and occasional exhortation where necessary. This research was made possible by Research Scholarships and Research Associateships from the University of Cape Town, as well as a grant from the National Research Foundation of South Africa. I am also grateful for funding from the Mellon Foundation during the revision process. This book is dedicated to the memory of my grandfather, Frank Voisey Collins, to whose library and love of literature I owe my interest in magical narrative. This page intentionally left blank The fairy tale prefers to speak of clothing and golden or silver armour rather than of bodies, not just because they are made of exquisite, shining materials, but because clothing and armour are artificial creations, because the structure, the geometry , of the raiment is further from nature, nearer the spirit, more abstract than the plasticity of the body. —Max Lüthi I like the geometrically patterned flowers best. . . . More than the ones that aim at realism, at looking real . . . —A. S. Byatt This page intentionally left blank ...