During our guest lecturer's talk I had one of my brilliant awe-inspiring moments...
What if Giorgione's The Tempest is related to Marie Corelli's "Tempest?"
Try as I might I can't find ANY proof whatsoever of this but just think about it a moment... it's fun to comtemplate!
-As we already know, Marie Corelli plays with initials with her character of Mavis Clare, what if she is playing with the initials of Giorgione and The Tempest and Geoffrey Tempest?
-We also know, as we were informed from the speaker (although I cannot locate it) there is a snake on the bottom right corner. Well, what is the serpent a symbol for in basically all of Western literature? Why the Devil of course! Satan himself! And who is a main character in the Sorrows of Satan, um... Satan!
What if Giorgione's The Tempest is related to Marie Corelli's "Tempest?"
Try as I might I can't find ANY proof whatsoever of this but just think about it a moment... it's fun to comtemplate!
-As we already know, Marie Corelli plays with initials with her character of Mavis Clare, what if she is playing with the initials of Giorgione and The Tempest and Geoffrey Tempest?
-We also know, as we were informed from the speaker (although I cannot locate it) there is a snake on the bottom right corner. Well, what is the serpent a symbol for in basically all of Western literature? Why the Devil of course! Satan himself! And who is a main character in the Sorrows of Satan, um... Satan!
-If the snake is near the woman, who's lack of clothing could represent purity untouched by materialism of appearances, and the snake is tempting her. Corelli's Satan does this very thing to Mavis Clare, who Geoffrey describes as, "...fair face, earnest eyes and sweet smile of Mavis, - that woman-wearer of the laurel-crown,-that keeper of the lilies of purity and peace" (373), if one looks closely it appears that the woman in the painting is wearing a headdress of some kind, perhaps laurel and her cape is white like Easter Lilies, however without actually seeing the orginal it is difficult claim to back up. In the story, Lucio Rimanez approaches Mavis Clare and states, "'I have asked you, Mavis Clare,' said Lucio slowly, 'to let me serve you. you have genius,-a rare quality in a woman, -and I would advance your fortunes'" (335) to which she replies, "'...I have nothing to wish for... It is true I am not rich, -but then I do not want to be rich. I would not be the possessor of wealth for all the world! To be surrounded with sycophants and flatterers,- never to be able to distinguish false friends from true, - to be loved for what you have, and not for what you are!- oh no, it would be misery to me!'" (336).
-This mention of "sycophants and flatterers" could be represented by the dark arrogant looking gentleman to the left of the picture who watches the nude lady. Although, there is something to be said that the man is the precursor of Geoffrey who is jealous of Mavis Clare as well as being unable to help himself from admiring her, "Yes-I had hated her, - an now- now, almost I loved her!" (305) Is it this mixture of emotions which are readable in pompously dressed gentleman?
-The painting also has a stream or river. Well, after Lady Sybil's suicide we know that Geoffrey Tempest and Luico Rimanez take to the yacht. And it is Geoffrey's experiences on this voyage that leads to his eventual acceptance of God and dismissal of material way, "A certain intonation in these words filled me with such frantic horror that I fell on my knees in abject misery and almost prayed to the God I had through all my life disbelieved in and denied" (442) which leads to Rimanez eventually confronting Geoffrey about his real identity and forcing him to make a choice between God and Satan to which Geoffrey replies, "'GOD only!...Annihilation at His hands rather than life without Him! GOD only! I have chosen!'" (458). Could the bridge in the painting be representative of his "crossing over" to the holy side?
-How does Corelli describe this tempest which leads to Geoffrey Tempest's decision? Chapter XL begins, "THUNDER and wild tumult,-the glare of lightning..." (441). Well, what do we see in the centre of Giorgione's painting but a lightning bolt! Now, do something, Google "God" and count the serious depictions of God where he is holding a lightning bolt. Hmmm, interesting.
So, coincidence or not? Could Corelli have taken inspiration Sorrows of Satan from The Tempest? See, it's a neat idea!
No comments:
Post a Comment