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March 2010
Chalice by Robin McKinley
Amy Treadwell's short stories have appeared in Flash Fiction Online, Triangulation: Taking Flight, and Triangulation: Dark Glass. She teaches writing and literary analysis.
In her latest novel, Chalice, Robin McKinley weaves a trifold tale of redemptive union between land, lady, and master. At heart, this novel is a re-envisioned, raw, and dangerous Beauty and the Beast, but McKinley brings an unexpected twist to the tale by weaving in threads of the sacred Celtic land marriage. The story opens on Mirasol, a woodsman's daughter unexpectedly elevated to the second-highest position in the demense of Willowlands, a land devastated by the abuse, neglect, and violent deaths of the previous Master and Chalice. She executes her role as Chalice, or cup-bearer, with courage, but she fears her lack of experience and knowledge will undermine the complex rituals of her position and that her magic will not be strong enough to bind land and people together. Her role is complicated by the return of the Master's heir, a second son whose body and spirit have been partly converted to elemental fire. The uneasy Chalice and the inhuman Master must find a way to heal their troubled kingdom, despite their own doubts, the damage of their predecessors, and the challenge of an outblood Heir eager to usurp the new Master's place. This fairytale retelling is unusual due to its rich mythological underpinnings. The land responds to Chalice's touch like a spooked horse. She calms weeping earthlines by touch and soft-spoken words, and she gentles earthquakes with spoonfuls of honey. This female awareness of and connection to the land borrows from a very old mythological tradition known as the sacred marriage. Kings of Britain symbolically 'marry' the land by consummating a physical union with the land priestess, who represents the sovereignty goddess. In this tradition, he who marries the goddess has dominion over the land. The virgin goddess offers the ruler an intoxicating drink to confirm his sovereignty. Arthurian legends retain this imagery in the Grail quest. Modern authors such as Diana Paxson and Marion Zimmer Bradley have also tapped into the sacred marriage mythos for retellings of Tristan and Iseult and the Arturian legends. McKinley's retelling is worth a read simply for her skillful reinterpretation of this French fairytale with the untamed energy of Celtic myth. Fans of McKinely's Damar books will appreciate the author's dreamlike prose and the romantic overtones of this fairytale retelling. McKinley's talent for conveying a deep sympathy for animals without diminishing their wildness is another reward for readers. Another rich element is the honey that Mirasol cultivates for her rituals, a sweet sensory feast that will have readers reaching for their spoons. There are several drawbacks to the novel. The pacing is slow and intimate, perhaps too slow in the middle of the book. Certain passages were repeated too often for my tastes. I found the ending somewhat forced; the author may have struggled to balance the expected ending with an element of unexpected wildness, but the result, for me, was more compromised than transcendent. Still, like Chalice herself, McKinley swirls intimacy and danger into a heady cocktail. Sip with pleasure. |
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