Anne Sexton
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137 Sexton
Anne Sexton (November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet, known for her highly personal, confessional verse. The quotation which has been included in the novel is a section from Sextons poem “Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty)” Transformations (1971). This quotation was included because it explained what section of the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty”, is being considered in the following chapters from chapter 25.
The first 4 lines of the quotation describe the features of the uninvited fairy. The included quotation states the abstracted the turning point of the fairy tale in 5 lines, which is when uninvited fairy appears to make ominous prophecy. The first line starts with “The thirteenth fairy”, which indicates she is uninvited and odd through the use of numeric term “thirteen” in the fact that only twelve fairies were invited to the event. Second line “her fingers as long and thin as straws” relates to her oddness and strangeness how she is not related to the happy event. Next line “her eyes burnt by cigarettes” shows how dangerous and portentous a fairy and her prophecy could be in the future. In the last line “arrived with an evil gift”, by using the juxtaposing terms “evil gift”, Sexton divulged that the bad fairy is about to deliver a ominous and bad gift for Briar Rose that will affect her in the future. This quotation has been included to divulge an ominous omen for the future events that will occur in the following chapters with Josefs challenging story.
137 Travers
P.L. Travers (August 09, 1899 – April 23, 1996) was an Australian Novelists, actress and journalists, popularly remembered for her series of childrens novels about mystical nanny Mary Poppins. The quotation of “Once we have accepted the story we cannot escape the storys fate” is from Traverss own version and an essay on the meaning of fairy tales, “The sleeping Beauty” published in 1975.
Her quotation “Once we have accepted the story we cannot escape the storys fate” has a connotation that once the readers have understood and observed the story and its meanings, in this case the “Holocaust”, they cannot avoid or ignore the miserable story experience from the context of the Holocaust. Travers quotation has been included in this part of the story to instruct the readers that the following chapters from chapter 25 will deliver a serious and real story of the Holocaust event and will consider important events that may change the fate of the characters, Gemma and Josef.