Out of all of Possession'sprimary characters, it's Randolph Henry Ash who most cares about the natural world. Ash might even be said to embody Victorian England's complex and sometimes troubled perspective on the natural sciences. This was the age when Darwin first became a reality, after all. What's the more accurate view of nature? The scientific one or the poetic one? Or are they complementary? Are they maybe even two versions of the same thing?
Questions About Man and the Natural World
- What kinds of scientific experimentation does Randolph Henry Ash conduct over the course of the novel?
- Compared to Randolph Henry Ash's "naturalistic" interests, how would you characterize Christabel LaMotte's interest in the natural world?
- Do any of the novel's twentieth-century characters demonstrate any interest in the natural world? If so, what kinds of interests do they have?
Chew on This
Although Christabel LaMotte's poetry demonstrates up-to-date knowledge of the natural world, it tends to represent nature figuratively, as a source of metaphors for women's experiences. By contrast, Randolph Henry Ash's poetry suggests that he's interested in the natural world for its own sake.
When Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte steal away together to North Yorkshire, their trip is both a "honeymoon" and a scientific expedition. As Randolph engages in zoological and geological studies that he hopes will give him deeper knowledge of the world around him, his affair with Christabel is also deepening his knowledge. Ultimately, the novel represents their love affair as a spiritual awakening that's on par with groundbreaking discoveries such as evolution, natural selection, and deep time.