Cold vision : inspired by "The Snow Queen"

Abstract

Exegesis. The exegesis argues that contemporary women writers continue to find inspiration in the fairy tale, drawing on its form, themes, characters, symbolism and motifs to tell new stories. In particular, the exegesis claims that writers turn to the fairy tale for three broad purposes, two of which are contradictory, thereby suggesting the elasticity of the fairy tale as a structure. Firstly, fairy tales are used normatively, as a means of providing a structure that preserves traditional values, roles and politics (supporting the status quo). Secondly, fairy tales are used subversively to provide a structure that challenges ideas and assumptions around traditional values, usually associated with gender (subverting the status quo). And, thirdly, fairy tales are used as a structural formula, framework or technical tool to enhance characterisation, mood, atmosphere and meaning. The exegesis examines the way three writers, A.S. Byatt, Mercedes Lackey and Francesca Block employ Hans Christian Andersen's ""The Snow Queen"" as a framework for their fiction. Finally, I subject my own novel, ""Cold Vision"", to the same analysis, aiming to articulate the ideas and knowledge that were symbolically or indirectly expressed in the story, decoding the novel and exposing its themes and symbolism to discussion.

Novel. When Evon Carr was a child, she believed in the power of her dreams. When her mother dies from cancer, Evon believes her dreams are responsible and vows never to dream again. As an adult, Evon works as a compliance officer for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship where she has learnt to be completely rational. She performs her duties with inhuman objectivity, remaining untouched by the human tragedy that she witnesses. Life starts to change for Evon on the day that her team raids a brothel and she detains an African healer dubbed "Mr Lucky", a man who never speaks. Instead, he gives Evon beads from his hair. Each bead unlocks a memory that takes Evon on a journey back to her childhood. With the help of her immigration team leader, Daniel Bell, Evon's unsympathetic approach to the people she encounters begins to change. When a woman commits suicide while being deported, Evon is forced to reconsider her hard-line approach to immigration enforcement and to come to terms with her own past. She returns to Mr Lucky, takes the last bead from him, and accepts her own guilt for her mother's death. Finally, she is able to dream again.