A. S. Byatt's Possession Summary

Chastity and the Relationship Gesture

"Romance, on the other hand, is marked by the emergence of the individual and the introduction of sentiment, exhibited mainly through external gesture" (Shaw 223). In a relationship people tend to rely on their feelings, actions and the participation of each individual. The medieval story of the Fairy Melusine connects relationships by water, romantic gestures and actions, therefore chastity plays an important role in many of the romantic relationships in A.S. Byatt's Possession.

Byatt hardly provides us with any intimate details about Christabel and Blanche’s suggested homosexual relationship. Samantha J. Caroll writes that in Possession there is no indication of sexual activity in Christabel and Blanche’s

Firstly, in Randolph and Ellen’s marriage Byatt addresses the matter of Randolph’s infidelity and the emotional aftermath Ellen has to deal with. The aftermath of Randoplh’s infidelity consists of a letter Ellen receives from Christabel about Randolph’s illegitimate child, in which she asks her to decide whether or not to tell her dying husband. Randolph had an affair with Christabel because Ellen could not fulfill his sexual needs due to vaginismus (450 – 62). Even though intimacy was a struggle, they found a way to make marriage work based on love and honesty. Secondly, Maud and Roland’s relationship moves at a slow pace and they prefer an emotional connection over a physical connection. In Maud and Roland’s relationship, the white room and water seem to be a significant part of their interactions. They share a vision of a white room and Maud is in the bathroom on more than one occasion. The bathroom connects Maud to the Fairy Melusine. She is in the bathroom when Roland looks through the keyhole to see if she is there. Her pale hair is is usually conceiled but this time Roland sees it as he looks through the keyhole. (147) This is similar to the exposure of Fairy Melusine in the bathroom on Saturday as half serpent. In Possession Roland tells Maud of his white room vision: “at my life, at the way it is – what I really want is to – to have nothing. An empty clean bed. I have this image of a clean empty bed in a clean empty room, where nothing is asked or to be asked” (Byatt 267). Ironically Maud shares his vision and desire to desire nothing; “her use of white as the site of desire leads us to believe that we desire a tabula rasa: the pure white page, the end of the story the longing fulfilled” (Jeffers 137). In both of the aforementioned relationships Byatt has opted for