There is no truth, however overpowering and clear, but men may escape from it by shutting their eyes. Listen to The Literary Life: Commonplace Quotes: Angelina and Cindy go on to explore so many more of the ideas and themes presented in these chapters. In light of the Faerie Queene connections, Thomas wonders if there will be a true woman and a false woman in this story. Cindy highlights the role of the grandmother in this and other MacDonald stories. In this discussion, Angelina points out all the big themes of fairy tales and stories in general that we see right away in this story. In answer to Cindy’s question about the German word “Maerchen”, Thomas shares some ideas about what sorts of stories are included in that term. Angelina brings out the connections between Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and MacDonald’s Phantastes, including the questing element. Angelina and Cindy also give some pertinent biographical information about MacDonald and put him in his Victorian context. Also, Thomas and Angelina have a sale going on for an Advent Bundle of their popular webinars, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and The Poetry of Advent.Ĭindy shares a little about her past reading of many of MacDonald’s books and the effect they had on her. As mentioned before, Cindy’s new edition of Hallelujah: Cultivating Advent Traditions with Handel’s Messiah is available now. Before our hosts, Angelina, Cindy and Thomas begin the book chat, though, we wanted to let you know about some Advent and Christmas resources ready for the upcoming holiday season. Welcome back to The Literary Life Podcast and the beginning of our series on George MacDonald’s Phantastes.

Phantastes by George MacDonald