Analysis of the Phoenix

Analysis of The Phoenix Sylvia Townsen wnsend d Wa Warner  rner   Author Background Background

Sylvia Townsend Warner was born in Middlesex in 1893. Her father was a house master in Harrow School. His early death was a blow to Sylvia and she moved to ondon soon after and found wor! in an armament factory. She had stron" leftist leanin"s and she wrote anti#fascist articles for communist $ublications. Her disli!e for commercialism is evident in this short story. story. %elevance of the Title  The &hoenix is the central character in the story. story. 'or most of of the time it $lays a $assive role but at the denouement is of its creation. The $hoenix is a bird that had unusual $owers. (t sets )re to itself when it turns old and dies in the con*a"ration but a new bird is born from the ashes. (n this story too there is a )re but it en"ulfs everyone in the vicinity. vicinity. (t does this in reven"e for the indi"nities its owner hea$s on it tryin" to ma!e "row old unnaturally. Main Themes  The main theme is the "reed of man man and his ex$loitation of nature for commercial success. Man comes into con*ict with

nature and nature exacts a heavy $rice. The $hoenix stands for nature and &oldero stands for the human race which will do anythin" for money. &oldero )nds that $eo$le are not interested in the $hoenix as it is +too ,uiet-. So he $uts the bird throu"h an arti)cial a"in" $rocess so that it will burn itself. There is also the theme of the societys fascination for the sensational and the "rotes,ue. &eo$le ,ueue in lar"e numbers to witness the macabre self immolation by the $hoenix.

Characters ord Strawberry He is a cultured nobleman whose aviary is his $ride. He is ea"er to add a $hoenix to it and travels to /rabia in search of  one. He )nds a "enuine one after which he s$ends time with the bird to win its con)dence. 0ac! home he $rovides the bird with all it needs. ord Strawberry stands for humans who never come into clash with nature as they understand it well. &oldero &oldero is the $ro$rietor of &olderos Wi2ard Wonderland where he exhibits his collection of unusual creatures. &oldero bids for and buys ord Strawberrys $hoenix when the nobleman dies. &oldero is in this business $urely for the money his collection brin"s him. He does not have any feelin"s for his creatures. When he )nds that the attraction for the $hoenix falls amon" the $ublic he loo!s for other ways to ma!e money. This is when he )nds out that when the $hoenix is old and wea! it bursts into *ames and from that )re a new $hoenix is born. The only trouble was that his $hoenix was in "ood health. So he sets about creatin" a

hostile environment for it. He cuts its food su$$ly !ee$s it with alley cats and birds that are inimical to the $hoenix. When he decides the time is ri"ht he advertises the s$ectacular end of the $hoenix and the birth of the new bird. What &older does not bar"ain for was the conse,uences of his action. The bird sets o a )re in which the s$ectators and &oldero $erish.

&lot ord Strawberry owns the $hoenix. When he dies the bird falls into the hands of the crafty &older who ma!es much money by exhibitin" the bird to the $ublic. 0ut when the initial fascination wears o the crowds thin. &oldero now wants the $ublic to see the "rand s$ectacle of the bird burstin" into *ames a ritual that ha$$ens when the bird becomes old. &oldero now mistreats the bird ma!in" it in)rm. He advertises the self immolation of the $hoenix. 4rowds thron" the venue alon" with the media the bird bursts into *ames there is a con*a"ration and all $resent includin" &oldero are burnt to death. Summary ord Strawberry owns a )ne aviary5 his ambition is to add a $hoenix to his collection. When he )nally $rocures one he !ee$s it well ta!in" "reat care of the bird. The ords death ma!es the future of the aviary uncertain with the entire lot u$ for sale. The $hoenix is bou"ht by &oldero an unscru$ulous man who ma!es money by exhibitin" stran"e animals. The

$hoenix draws hu"e crowds and earns &oldero money. 0ut once the initial fascination wears o $eo$le become bored as the bird is too ,uiet. This is when &older learns that when the $hoenix becomes old ad in)rm it bursts into *ames and from its ashes is born a new $hoenix. &oldero now "ets to a"in" the bird unnaturally by starvin" it and sub6ectin" it to "reat stress by $rovidin" it a hostile environment. He advertises the birds s$ectacular death in a few days in all the news$a$ers. &eo$le are fascinated and *oc! to buy tic!ets for the event. The media too is ready to cover the event. /s ex$ected the $hoenix bursts into *ames but in the resultin" con*a"ration all $resent there die includin" &oldero.

Meta$horical inferences  The $hoenix is a mythical bird that is a symbol of immortality because from the )re that consumes one bird another is born. The bird in this story stands for nature. &oldero is a symbol for man who is "reedy and tin!ers with nature in his $ursuit for money. Whereas )re for the bird is not the end &oldero and the s$ectators $erish in the )re. There is $oetic  6ustice in the birds reven"e. an"ua"e  The lan"ua"e is often loaded with irony. Warner satirises the sensation hun"ry society and the crude commercial values of &oldero.

7 (m$ortant uotes 1. 0ut for many years the )nest set of a$artments remained em$ty with 6ust a label sayin" +&H:;<(=. Habitat /rabia.ord Strawberry !e$t the )nest aviary in ;uro$e. (t was s$acious enou"h to house full "rown ea"les. The climate control inside ensured that hummin" birds and snow buntin"s that lived on the two ends of the climate s$ectrum existed comfortably inside. The only bird that was missin" was the fabulous $hoenix a native of /rabia. >. >. 0ut it was not $ued by these attentions and when it was no lon"er in the news and the visits fell o it showed no $i,ue or rancour. (t ate well and seemed $erfectly contented. ord Strawberry travelled all the way to /rabia to $rocure the $hoenix. When it was brou"ht home it caused a sensation and a steady stream of visitors ornitholo"ists $oets 6ournalists and milliners )led $ast $ausin" to exclaim and "aw!. /fter a while all was ,uiet and the stream of visitors dried. 0ut the bird minded neither the constant attention nor the inattention. (t was an amiable bird that was contented with life and nothin" much could u$set it. 3. 0ut then business slac!ened. The $hoenix was as handsome as ever and amiable5 but as Mr. &oldero said it hadnt "ot /llure. ;ven at $o$ular $rices the $hoenix was not really $o$ular. (t was too ,uiet too classical.  To be"in with the $hoenix was a ma6or attraction at &olderos Wi2ard Wonderland with lar"e crowds $ayin" to$ $rices to see the $hoenix. 0ut as time went on $eo$le "ot 6aded with the $hoenix as it did not do anythin" much. (t did not *a$ about or screech. (ts "ood

loo!s were not enou"h to draw the crowds in. &oldero reduced his $rices but the crowds did not come. ?. +Su$$ose- continued Mr. &oldero +we could somehow "et him ali"ht@ Wed advertise it beforehand of course wor! u$ interest. Then wed have a new bird and a bird with some romance about it a bird with a life story. We could sell a bird li!e that.&oldero is des$erate to ma!e $ro)t usin" the $hoenix.  The numbers of $eo$le comin" in to view it had dwindled over the wee!s. Thats when &oldero learns a little more about the bird and its habits. The $hoenix would burst into *ames when it became old and from the *ames a new bird would rise. (f this $hoenix would set itself ali"ht they could ex$loit that event by whettin" the a$$etite of the $eo$le for sensation and sellin" the event as a me"a ha$$enin". A. These could not be won by manners but the $hoenix darted above their heads and *a$$ed its "olden win"s in their faces and daunted them. /s $art of the a"in" $rocess &oldero ex$oses the $hoenix to a hostile environment. He starved the bird so it "rew thin he turned its heatin" o and housed it with noisy ,uerulous birds. Thou"h these birds troubled it )rst he won them over by bein" $leasant all throu"h. 0ut when alley cats were moved into its a$artment the $hoenix became a""ressive and they cowed down. 7. +adies and "entlemen this is the thrillin" moment the world has breathlessly awaited. The le"end of centuries is materiali2in" before our modern eyes. The $hoenixB/fter months of $re$aration it a$$ears that the $hoenix has a"ed thou"h arti)cially. The crowds comin" to see the $hoenix has swelled a"ain. Moviema!ers to whom )lmin" ri"hts have been sold are in attendance. The

louds$ea!ers !ee$ blarin" sentimental mush in order to whi$ u$ sentiment amon" the $ublic. The whole exercise is conducted with an eye on the money the event will brin" in. uestions 1. ord Strawberry went to "reat len"ths to $rocure "enuine birds. How does he "et the $hoenix@ >. What circumstances cause the $hoenix to arrive at &olderos Wi2ard Wonderland@ 3. &oldero is a smart businessman thou"h he is no lover of animals. How does he ma!e money when the $hoenix comes to him@ ?. When does &oldero be"in to loo! for des$erate remedies@ A. 4an this story be read as an alle"ory on the con*ict between man and nature@ Su$$ort your answer with relevant ar"uments. 7. The story is a satire on modern commercial interests where everythin" is subordinate to money. What are your views on this@ Su$$ort your answer with relevant ar"uments.