Postmodern Recovery of History in A. S. Byatt's Possession: A Romance

Abstract

There are two stories running parallel in A. S. Byatt’sPossession: A Romance. First,inthe present time, where two Harvard academicians,Roland Mitchell and Dr. Maud Bailey getindulgedin a project to discover the writings and life of a Victorian poet,Randolph Henry Ash.Second, in the course of their research, the academicians unearth the love storyof poet Ash with Christabel LaMotte, a contemporary poet of his time. Poet Ash, according to the established notion was leading a content life with his family, and was not engaged in any untoward incidents and affairs. However, the discovery by Roland and Maud that Ash was involved in a serious love affair with Christabel was sure to compel historians to re-examine the Victorian history. These two parallel plots in the novel,makea point of departure from the traditional aspect of reading history. As such, it is essential to re-read the past events from memory aspect, a post-modern way of re-examining the lost history based on events and issues that were ignored because of relatively lesser importance.