Return with New Complexities: Robert Coover's "Briar Rose"

Author(s): Sünje Redies

Source: Marvels & Tales, Vol. 18, No. 1 (2004), pp. 9-27
Published by: Wayne State University Press
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 SÜNJE REDIES

Return with New Complexities:

Robert Coover's Briar Rose

Postmodernist fictionusuallyaddressescertainsemioticconcernsabout the

relationshipbetween languageand things, betweenwordandworld.Itsliterary
techniquescast doubt on what we tend to call"real":theworldin itssocial- if
-
not material manifestation, the subjectas an entity, historical"facts"and
"grandnarratives" as global,totalizing
explanations forsocietyand thehuman
condition.The worldis experienced and conveyedthrough language,and the
chargesagainst those "truths"range from seeing them as taintedbythemedium
to assumingtheyare entirely createdby it. The worlditselfis radicallycalled
intoquestion,and thestatusof realityand our place in it are unclear.Post-
modernism createsontological uncertainties wheremodernism posed mainly
epistemological ones(McHale6-11).
Arthasnotbeenconsidered tobe a reliablemirror ofreality sincetheonset
ofmodernism in artabouta hundredyearsago. Bynowitis notevenbelieved
to providea sourceofmeaningororderin thefaceofgeneralchaos.The result-
ingliterarypracticeinvolvestechniques thatrevealboththeprocessesthrough
whichfiction producesmeaning and the statusoffictional
artificial constructs.
Thiscanbe achievedthrough or
implicit explicit reflection on constructionand
product: metafiction. Also, forms
traditional ofnarrative logic arebroken and a
radicaldestabilization ofthefictionalworldand itsprinciples results.
One way of contemplating the fictionalconstruction of meaningis con-
sciousintertextuality. The idea of theauthoras originalcreatorhas longbeen
challenged,and a number oftheories regardall textsas intertextual,as theymay

Marvels
& Tales:
Journal Vol.18,No.1 (2004),
Studies,
ofFairy-Tale © 2004by
pp.9-27.Copyright
State
Wayne Press,
University MI48201.
Detroit,

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 REDIES
SÜNJE

all just be networksof quotationsand incorporations of existingtexts.1

Postmodern texts,however, often directlyaddressthisproblembyreferring, in
onewayoranother, tospecifictextsorgenres.Theresults havebeencalledpar-
odiesby LindaHutcheon(22), pastichesby Fredric Jameson(72), or palimp-
sestsbyGérardGenette (532). In ordertounderstand them,thereaderneedsto
haveinternalized a setofrulesand conventions oftheparodiedworksor gen-
res,thatis, possessa specificcompetence(whichmaywellbe unconscious).
Onlythencan readersunderstand andjudgea particular performance.2
One ofthegenresused by postmodernist writersis theclassicalfairy tale,
andtheirstoriesdemandtobe readinrelation tofairy-taletraditions.
Judgments
aboutthesestoriesuse ourcompetence, whichdetermines ourexpectations of
them.Theseexpectations areindirectly or directly
addressed, and we are there-
foreforced toquestionourunderstanding ofthosetales.In usingformula fiction
to createpastiche,palimpsest, or parody,artistsexposethemechanisms that
makeup ourcompetence in understanding them.Formulaic - and fairy
fiction
talescan be countedas an exampleofthis - emphasizesthelogicand dynamic
ofcertainforms ofplotand is rule-driven. Postmodernist writersuse itparodi-
callyto showhowworldsareconstructed throughnarrative. The stylized char-
acteristics
ofa genre,consciously, thatis,metafictionally,
applied,present stories
as organized art,as gameswithcertainrules.

BriarRose
"Dornröschen" is one ofthebest-known talesfromtheGrimms' but
collection,
likemostofthemhas predecessors in otherEuropeancountries. Atthebegin-
ningoftheseventeenth century,theNeapolitanwriterGiambattista Basilecol-
lectedfifty
storiesinhisPentamerone, whichoriginatefromtheoraltradition but
werewritten downin baroquestyle.His "Sun,Moon,and Talia"resembles the
later"Dornröschen." TheFrenchwriter CharlesPerraultclosedhis 1697 collec-
tionoftaleswith"La belleau bois dormant." Butevenmuchearlier, thebasic
elements oftheAarne-Thompson type410 talecan be foundin an episodeof
thefourteenth-century FrenchArthurian (Thompson97).
storyPerceforest
In thefamousand stillthemostwidelyknownversionby thebrothers
Grimm(adaptedby Disneyfortheiranimatedfilm),the royalcouple cele-
bratesthebirthoftheirlong-wanted child.A fairywho has notbeen invited
to thefeastscornfully predictsthatthegirlwilldie at theage of fifteenafter
prickingherself on a spindle.Another fairymitigatesthe curse: The girlwill
notdie butsleep fora hundredyears.Whenthegirlreachesthecriticalage,
thepredictioncomestrue.Despiteherparents'efforts to ban all spinnersand
theirspinningwheelsand spindlesfromthekingdom,thegirlfindsthelast
one remaining.She fallsasleep(and withhertheentirecourt).A thorny hedge
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 COOVER'SBRIAR
ROSE

growsaroundthecastle,and afterone hundredyearsthehedgeopensto allow

a princeto pass through. He findstheprincess,kissesher,and she awakes.
In Basileand Perrault, thestorydoes notend withtheprincessawaken-
-
ing theheroineand herchildrenhaveto facefurther persecution bytheevil
and cannibalistic mother-in-law. They arerescued and finally reunited withthe
the
prince.In Basile's"Sun,Moon and Talia," sleeping Talia is impregnated in
hersleepby a traveling kingand givesbirthto twins:Sun and Moon. She is
notkissedawake,butone oftheinfants suckstheflaxenfiber - a variation on
orpredecessor ofthespindle - fromthemother's finger, whereupon she wakes
up. In thiscase thereis a logicalconnection betweenthecauseoftheenchant-
mentand thebreakingofthespell.In Grimms'tale,thekissand thespellare
notcausallyrelated.The kissmaynotevenbe thedisenchantment - itmerely
coincideswiththe momentwhen the sleep was predictedto end anyway
Especiallyin theGrimms' versionofthetale,thefatalnecessity characteristic
forfairy-tale plotsis evident. The princeappears because it was predictedhe
would.All otherprincesweretherefore destinedto fail.The same appliesto
theprediction thattheprincesswillprickherselfon a spindle(or a hardflax-
en fibre)and fallasleep:all efforts to avoidthisbyremoving all signsofspin-
ning from the kingdomonly make the view
girl the one remaining withfatal
curiosity.As in so manyfairy tales,a prohibitioncausesitsownviolation - the
structure is actuallyone oforderand obedience,notprohibition and disobe-
dience.In all variantsofthetale,fallingasleepand wakingup followthelaw
ofinevitability thatis typicalforthefairytaleas a genre,and thatis centralto
itsstrategy ofnaturalization and themaskingofitsartifice.3
The popularfairy-tale elementsofenchantment and release,paralysis and
newlifearecentralthemesoftheBriarRose tale.Perrault, likeBasile,includ-
ed thechildren-motif in his story.In his case theirnamesare Dawn and Day
(l'AuroreandleJour).Theyareconceived, however, aftertheprincess is released.
The princeis presentwhentheprincesswakesup, but onlyin theGrimms'
talearethereleaseand thekissone and thesame.Sleepand wakinghavebeen
interpreted as centralelementsofthelifecycle,clad in a fantastical story.The
awakenings of nature after winter, of the day aftereach are
night, perennially
repetitiveprocesses(Lüthi22).
Also,as in othertales,a younggirlentersadulthood:thefirst sheddingof
bloodmarksboththebeginning ofwomanhoodand thelossofinnocence.The
hundred-year sleepcan be read as a signofpassivity ofthegirlwithinthispro-
her in
cess, helplessness waiting for her savior.The sleepalso meansisolation.
-
Growingup is associatedwithdanger a curse,albeitan inevitable one. The
maleherocomestotherescuebecausenatureseemingly intendedhimtodo so,
and his heroicdeed reintegrates the girlintosocietyas a wife.Moreboldly
the
interpreted, shedding of blood turnsthegirlintoan objectof desireand

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eroticizesher- but her sexualitylies dormantuntila situationis createdin

whichtheeroticis allowedand fitting (Brooks9). Bothheroand heroinereach
fulfillmentthrough theirreenactment of modelsofbehaviorsupported inmany
classicalfairytales:theprincessembodiesa lovely,practically will-lessfemale
of the
object beauty; prince stands for the male yearningsforthis object.The
taledoes notdevelopthesemetaphors intopsychological explanations, refuses
toanalyzethemotivation ofthecharacters. Instead,itsimplyactsoutthechain
ofeventsthatlead fromtheloss ofintegrity to itsreinstatement. who
Perrault,
as usualattacheda moraltohisSleepingBeautytale,stresses theimportance of
theprincess'swaiting. With"theironyoftheelegantsalon"(Lüthi22), Perrault
praisesthevirtueofpatience,especiallyin nubilewomen.The moralpresents
passionand anticipation as wellas desirefulfilledin marriageas majorsubjects
oftheBriarRosetale.Maintaining thesemodelsin conventional versionsofthe
talenot onlyensuresthefairy-tale characters' happinesswithinthestorybut
also thereaderor listener'ssatisfaction in hearingthetalewiththeexpected
and,as itwere,"right" outcome.

RobertCooveťs Briar Rose

The US-American writer RobertCooverhas publishedfiction sincethe 1960s.
Becauseofhis deployment -
ofpostmodernistespecially - strate-
metafictional
gieshe is oftenmentioned alongsideauthorssuchas ThomasPynchon, William
H. Gass,and DonaldBarthelme.4 Cooverwritesalongseveralpartly relatedand
overlapping thematic lines:theorganization ofcommunities andtheirdiscourses,
therelationship oftherealand thefantastic in fiction,theroleofstorytelling in
human discourse,and the significance of mythand fairytales in society.
Identifiablecharacters,thelogicofevents, a linearplot,andself-contained narra-
tiveare elementsCoovereitherquestionsor completely dispenseswith.He
mixes,dissolves,orgrossly exaggerates traditional genremarkers. Thefocusofhis
textsis fluidand inconsistent. to
According Coover, the work and experience of
thewritermean"theimposingof orderon a disordered reality"(Gordon6).
Considering theunstablenatureofso-calledreality, anyformofconceptualiza-
tion,be itscientific
orartistic,
is onlypartof"theuniversal fictionmakingprocess"
(Gordon2). ForCoover,therefore, theverymechanisms ofliteraryformandcre-
ationareparamount - histextsaremostly self-reflective
andflaunt boththeirfic-
tionalstatusandtheirfictional creation ofmeaning. ItseemsaptthatCooverhas
alsobeenadvocating andteaching theuse ofhypertext andhypermedia forsome
time,which expand and redefine theboundaries and limitsof the traditional
lit-
erarytext and new of
explore ways reading writing. and He is thefounder of the
hypertext programat BrownUniversity, partof whichis theproduction of a
hypertext versionofBriarRose.

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 COOVER'SBRIAR
ROSE

In hisfirstcollection ofshortstories, PricksongsandDescants (1969), Coover

firstaddressedthesignificance of myth,biblicalnarration, and classicalfairy
'
tales."The Door: Л Prologue ofSorts'containselementsof "LittleRed Riding
Hood," "Jackand the Beanstalk," and "Beautyand the Beast,"whereas"The
Gingerbread House" is a surreal and fragmented deconstruction of"Hanseland
Gretei."Theseand therestofthestoriesin thecollection epitomizetheimpos-
ing of an order through particular structured discourses:religion,politics,
and
games,fables,myths, fairy tales.
These discourseshave moral implications.
Mythsand fairy tales,forinstance, purportcertainnotionsofthearchaicideas
of good and evil,rightand wrong,and sustaincertainpatternsof male and
female behavior inlove,sexuality, andmarriage. A centralfocusofCoover'stexts
is the arbitrary quality of those models, which are oftenadoptedblindlyas
archetypes formorally and politically -
behavior thatis, actas mythsin
correct
Barthes's sense.5On thelevelofthetexttheyplaywiththefairy taleas a highly
conventionalized narrative system that arousescertain expectationsin theread-
ersbasedon competence. Theseexpectations areonlyfulfilledinsofaras identi-
fication remainspossible,but are contrasted witha performance thatdeviates
fromthenorm - a languagegameorSprachspiel Coovertookup hisrevisionist
projectagaininhis 1973story "The Dead Queen."6In his"Dedicatoria y Prólogo
a Don Miguelde Cervantes Saavedra,"Coovercompareshis innovative ambi-
tionswiththeeffect thatCervantes's workhad on worldliterature and formu-
latesa program forhisworkas a writer:

[You]struggled againsttheunconsciousmythic residuein humanlife

and soughtto synthesize the unsynthesizable, salliedforthagainst
adolescentthought-modes and exhaustedart forms,and returned
homewithnewcomplexities. [. . .] The novelistuses familiar
mythic
or historicalforms to combat the contentofthoseformsand to com-
batthereader(lector amantisimol) to thereal,awayfrommystification
to clarification,away from magicto maturity, awayfrommystery to
revelation. .
[. .] It is to theneed for new modes of perceptionand fic-
tionalformsthatI [. . .] addressthesestories.(77-79)
Literaturemustconstantly reinventitselfand questionitsowntraditions. This
needhas notchangedsinceCervantes's times.
BriarRose, publishedin 1996 to wide criticalattentionand acclaim,is so
farthelatestin Coover'sseriesofmetafictional deconstructionsoffairytales,
thepossible"apotheosisof Coover'scritiquesoffairytales"(Evenson231). It
distillsCoover'sdeconstructionist
strategiesfirstused in "TheDoor"and "The
Gingerbread House." In Briar
RoseCoover uses and deconstructs taleon
a fairy
a largerscalethanhe does in Pricksongs andDescants . Formally,he once more
breaks with traditionalnarrationand plot structure, linearityand logic.
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Consequently, thetextposes questionsaboutthenatureofliterary fictionand

itsportrayal of thehumancondition.Butmoreobviouslythanin his earlier
collection,thereis a reawakening ofthetext'sdormant metaphors and a result-
ing emphasis on sexuality,its norms and power relations(Bacchilega,
Postmodern 47). The deconstruction targetsthenaturalizing strategiesof the
fairytale:itsportrayal ofsocial and gender roles as wellas genderidentity and
sexualbehavior.BriarRoseexaminestheworkingsof desireand "stripsbare
thestory's body of sexualmeaning"(Gorra)alongwiththe alreadyfamiliar
deconstruction ofstory,plot,and narration. The resultis a synthesis ofcele-
brationand repudiation ofthefairytale(Walsh153-54).
The structure ofthenovellaconsistsofforty- twoshortscenes,similarto
filmcuts.7The pointof view apparently alternatesamongthe prince,the
sleepingprincess, and an old woman- thefairy. In thecourseofthenarration
thestatusof everycharacter is shakenand theirperspectives eitherbecome
are inverted,
relative, or made irrelevant.Waking and dreaming, experience
and hallucination blurintoone another. The structure followsthewell-known
techniqueofrepetition
fairy-tale and variation,albeitin a differentcontext.

HopelesslyEnmeshed- The Antiheroin Briar Rose

The storycutsintoone momentof the BriarRose tale in whichtheprince
slashesthrough thebriarsand disenchantment is imminent. Thisone pointin
time,however, cannot pass, and the characters and the reader remainright
thereforthe lengthof the book. Initially, fulfillment and progressseem to
comequicklyBut,to theprince,thesuccessalreadyseemsdeceptive:"He is
surprisedto discoverhow easyit is. The branchespartlike thighs,thesilky
petalscaresshischeeks"(1). Alreadyin thisopeningscene,thesexualsubtext
ofthetaleis brought to thesurface.TherescueoftheSleepingBeautyis direct-
lylinkedto sexualconquest.Thismotifrecursthroughout thebook,making
obviouswhattraditional versionsof the tale allude to, playwith,but don't
makeexplicit.CristinaBacchilegaaccordingly statesthatBriarRose"pushes
thecentralmetaphor ofthetaleto itslimits"("RobertCoover"109).
Also at the verybeginning,the novella'sdiegeticself-reflectiveness is
introduced:"He has undertaken thisgreatadventure, not forthe supposed
reward - whatis anotherlonelybedriddenprincess? - butin orderto provoke
a confrontationwiththeawfulpowersofenchantment itself.To tamemystery
To make,at last,his name"(1). His motivesarehonor,knowledge, "theexer-
ciseofmagicalpowers,"and "alsolove,ofcourse"(4). Lovedriveshimon,but
onlywithinthe framework of conquestand possessionand witha view to
ascertaininghisheroicidentity,thatis,themakingofhisname.His loveseems
to be a predominantly physicaland eroticexperience, clad in theclichéddis-

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 COOVER'SBRIAR
ROSE

courseof romanceand chivalry. Cooverexposesthoseclichésby givinghis

prince dreams "principally of an amorousnature"(58), which,however,are
oftendriven merelyby lust- dreams oftheprincess's bodyand hispossession
-
ofthisbody whilehavinghimmimicthecatchphrases ofnobleconquest.
The traditionalfairytale is not
peopled by characters butfigures actingas
operationaldevices or functions, the
carrying story to its inevitableconclu-
sion.Characterdevelopment, choice,orpsychological motivations areneglect-
ed orsimplifiedto achievetheunambiguity ofthe"right thing to do." Coover's
princerecallsthestructures that seem to reassureand confirm his "1am
status:
he whowillawakenBeauty!"(15). Atthesametimehe seemsto heartheecho
ofhis sentencein thevoicesofhis dead predecessors. Suddenly, he does not
seemto be thefreeadventurer he believedhimselfto be. The slightest devia-
tionsfromthelinearcausality ofthefairy talehave thrown him offbalance and
stophis progress.
He wisheshe could remember moreaboutwho or whatsethimoff
on thisadventure, and how it is he knowsthathis commitment and
courage are so It
required. is almost as his
though questing - which
is probablynoteven"his"at all,butrathera something out therein
the world beyond this bramblyarena into which he has been
absorbed,in thewaythatan idea sucksup thought - wereinventing
him,fromscratchas it were .
[. .]: is thiswhatitmeans "tomakeone's
name?"(15)
In a diegetically
metafictional waythispassageshowshow thefairy tale-
itsstructure -
and itsmythmakingcontrolthecharacter in assigning hima part
thatdoesn'tallowforindividuality. On theone handhe reallyis confronting the
veryconceptofenchantment as he wantedto,but he doesn't do so ofhis own
freewill.He is himself a plaything of themythmaking powersand is literally
caught in the briars.
His entanglement makes his motivation waver,and he
doubtsthatthereis anypointin continuing hisstruggle tosucceed.MaybeRose
isn'tthebeautiful objectoflove(orlust)sheis allegedtobe butsomething tobe
scaredof,orshemaylongbe deadandwithered. He doesnotbelievein hisrole
anymore - whyshouldn't he be facingthesamefateas hispredecessors, whose
bonesrattle in thewindall aroundhim?He fearsbeing"forever-aftered" intothe
anonymity oftheirdeaths.The linguistic turnsthefairy-tale
self-reflectivity for-
mula intoan experienceof the subject - the integration intoa hopelessand
namelesseternity. Fortheindividual, thisfairytaleis ultimately a nightmare.
Flicking between and the
resignation rashness, prince realizesthatall he
has leftis his imagination. In his mindhe has forcedhis way throughthe
hedge and reaches Rose'sbedside. He also knowsthathe doesn'tevenwantto
fulfillhis taskanylongerafterhe has reflected on whatit would meanto be

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kingand marriedto theprincess.Thisseemsmerelyan excuseto concealthe

factthatit is clearlyimpossibleforhimto moveon and save theprincess.So
whatmakeshimgo on trying? Nothingless thantheoverwhelming forceof
fairy-taledestiny:"He continues, compelledbyvocation"(58). In theend,all
senseofreality is lostfortheprince:"Although stilltrappedin thehedge,he
has somehowclawedhis way through"(74). Againand again he seemsto
standbeforetheprincess's bed and breaksthespell- and realizeshe is still
trappedin thebriars.Someofthescenesinvolving theprincecannotbe placed
chronologically, and itoften remains unclear from which positionhe is viewed.
Thetemporal relation ofthenarrator cannotbe identified: Is thenarration synch-
ronous,ulterior, anterior? Allseemsto be partofa perennially repeating struc-
ture,whichis not time-bound. The commonexperiencesof time - thatis,
continuity, chronology, linearity- are all dispensedwith,and withthemthe
traditionalstorytelling format has disappeared.To theprince,thehedgeand
itsimplications, thatis,imprisonment and inevitability,aretheveryforcesthat
lurehimon. Paralysisand helplessness notwithstanding, he cannotbut con-
tinuetrying. Thisformofcompulsive repetition enactsthefateofthetaleitself
and is therefore partofthemetafiction thatis BriarRose.
In theprince's mindthesuccessful completion ofhistaskwouldbringever-
lasting fame and the establishment or affirmation of therightful order.Buthe
also sensesan innerstruggle againstthefairy-tale "nature" ofthings.He knows
about"a distinction betweenthebreaking ofherspellandthehappily-ever-after
part"(59). He is loathto leavehis free,pleasant,and simplelifebehindforever
after.So whilethequestseemstobe whatis expectedofanddesiredbyhim,the
consequencesmightbe less thanwelcome.He also knowsthattheprincess
woulddisagree; he knowsthatthewholepointofherone-hundred-year waitis
thatwhatfollowsconstitutes theestablished and traditionaloutcome, thatis,
marriage as theintegration andtaming ofdesiresintoa sociallyacceptable struc-
ture- itis the"truemeaningofhername"(59). Theprince's goaland hisgreat-
est fearis "forever-aftering" - a linguistic conceptualization theprincipleof
of
fairy-taleendings. Once the prince starts reflectingon thewhy,thetowersdis-
appearfromsightveryquickly. In rejecting hisroleas a "fabledfool"(8) andby
atypicallyreflecting on and justifying his actions,andcontemplating theirmean-
ing in the way outlined above, he makes itimpossible to succeed.
In BriarRose, thefigure ofthemalefairy-tale herois metafictionally ana-
lyzedand deconstructed. In theend it is irrelevant whetherhe getsintothe
castleor not: the disenchantment itself,theverytaskthatdefineshim,has
beenthoroughly putintoquestion.He wouldliketo "makehisname,"thatis,
tobecomea subject.Butifhe followsthepredetermined structure,thatmeans
he has to be a subjectwithintheparameter ofmaleactivity, femalepassivity,
and theunionofthetwoin marriage, as wellas sexualdesirecontrolled and

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 СOOVER'SBRIAR
ROSE

boundwithinthesocialframework ofromantic loveand marriage.8 The prince

heroby realizingwhatit is he is doing:thetradi-
his partoffairy-tale
forfeits
tionalherocan by definitionneverhavesucha consciousness noran identity
otherthanthatofthestereotype; he is nota roundcharacter buta flatone and
cannotmakehisname.He mustnotbe awareofthestructure he is following.
As thistalehas beentoldand retold,theherohas remaineda type,a function,
and theretelling progress(fortimehas literally
has notsignified stopped)but
has merelyconfirmed of
expectations thetale.

She cannotawaken:
Evasive Realityand Dreams in Briar Rose
In additionto themusingsofthetrappedprince,thenovellapresentsRose's
dreamsaboutherrescue.Againand againshe is kissed,wakesup- and is yet
stillasleep,in a waysimilarto theprince'sdeceptionsofbreakingthrough the
hedge. She has already been sleeping forone hundred years.The moment of
disenchantment seemsimminent, butis forever postponed.Atthesametime,
themomentwhenthespellwas castneverpasses:"Sheis beingstabbedagain
and againbythetreacherous spindle,impregnated witha despairfromwhich,
forall herfury, she cannotawaken"(3). The despairshe feelsis directly linked
-
to thesexualaspectofherfate ithas impregnated her,and there'sno escape.
The linearity oftimeis denied,and one momentseemsto containall others:
past,present, future, and all those"what-might-have-been" alternativeworlds
existat thesametime.
The SleepingBeautyfinally realizesthat"hersequentialdisenchantments
[are] the very essence of her being,thefairy's spellbindinghernot to a sus-
penseful waitingforwhatmightyetbe,butto theeternalreenactment ofwhat,
otherthan,she can neverbe" (85). She is trulycaughtin the fiction,and
literallycannotescape theframeof thetale.The fictionis therefore realized
withinitself.The cursewhichtheheroineexperiences as a never-ending "spin-
dled pain"consistsoftherepeatedillusionofbeingfreedand wakingup, and
the inevitabledisappointment of realizingthatnothinghas happened.The
story therefore takes its own status - a fictional
literally heroinewill forever
remaininsidethenarration, and "really"nothinghappens.
The "oldcrone" - "thebad fairy,whois also thegoodfairy" (80)- tellsdif-
ferent versionsoftheSleepingBeautytale,whicharerepeatedoverandover.The
relationship between fairy and princessis an ontological paradox:thefairy is a
figure in Rose'sdreams, but at thesame time seems to be hermentor and gov-
erness,a witchand a guardian, who existsindependently ofherand controls
Rose'smindfromoutsideand insideat once:"a stoolin theservant's quarters of
thismooncalf's headwhereshecansitquietly" (33). Itis notclearwhether there

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outsideRose'sdreamworldandwhether
is a "reality" theprincein thehedgeis
noteventually part of these dreams, just like all the other princeswho seemto
comeand freeher.Thiskindofpostmodern narration has oftenbeencompared
toM. C. Escher's famous"Drawing Hands"(1948),inwhichonehanddrawsthe
otherand bothare creators and creations at thesametime.Thereis no clear
"highest" diegetic level.
Thereality constructed fromthediegesisis therefore erratic.Ifall eventsare
readas beingcontained in Rose'sdreams,thereis no ontological confusion. But
theuse ofvarying focalization (theprince,thefairyand Roseall actas focalizers
at somepoint)and theillusionofa numberofdiegeticlevelsrenderthisread-
ingproblematic. Hierarchies ofnarrative levelsarecreatedand thendestroyed:
"Sheawakenstorepeatedawakenings as thoughtrappedin somestrange mech-
anism, and she longs now to bring it to a standstill" (78). The mechanism, of
course,is thefairy talethathas "stopped" ata pointin thestoryand doesnotact
outthechainofeventsthatbringaboutthecureoftheproblemcreatedat the
beginning ofthetale.Rosewakesup and feelspleasure,pain,indifference, hate,
orloveforhervarioussaviors,onlyto realizethatshehas gonethrough anoth-
er dreamsequence.This deliberate confusion of thereader(and thefictional
character) regarding the status ofdiegetic levels, thepresentation ofan imbed-
ded sequenceas primary narrative,is Brian McHale's trompe loeil, characteris-
a
ticofpostmodernist fictionused to questiontheontological statusofthenarra-
tion(115-16). The statusofa sceneis oftenunclear.Usuallya changein the
diegeticlevelis also a changeoftheontological status.In traditional narrative,
whentwodisparate levelsbelong to the same "world," theyareclearlysetapart
spatiallyorchronologically. Buta narrative suchas BriarRosedoesnotallowfor
a realityto actas a framefora storywithinit.The princess's dreamscan there-
forenotsimplybe takenas theprimary narration or thefirst diegeticlevel,as
therearehintstowardthehigherpositionofthefairy withherinfluence andher
magic:"Herchargehasjust emergedfroma nightmarish awakening in which
shewas kissedbya toadand turnedintoone herself'(40). Thisis theEscher-
problem: Whichhandis drawing which?
Thepassagealso standsfortheultimate paradoxofthetext:Itis theawak-
eningthatis nightmarish. Whatwe regardas thehappyendingofthetale-
therescue,thekiss,thewedding - is thenightmare, and thefixation ofstruc-
turesis thehorror, or rather:The happyendingis theultimatedelusion,for
everyversionofit is presented as eithertorture or farce.The awakenings are
recognized as deceptionsand thereturns to thedreamworld(whichhas never
been left)are therestoration ofnormality - theunfixedstate,thedeferral of
and But
completion meaning. Rose, epitome the ofthe passivefairy-tale hero-
ine,keepshopingfortherealawakeningthatwillbringhappinessand peace.
She sees thehorrorofherawakenings as "wrong."

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Thethirdnarrative strain,thestoriesoftheold fairy, shouldbe containedin

the princess'sdreams,but again thishierarchy is brokenby metalepsesor
"strangeloops"(McHale 120). In one ofthestoriestheprincessgivesbirthto
twochildren(an allusionto "Sun,Moon,and Talia").Roseinterrupts thefairy
by saying it doesn'tstrikeher as a credible tale."What do you know aboutit,
you little
ninny? the
snaps fairy, pickingup one of thechildren and its
smacking
bottom" (41). Thechildren fromtheembeddednarrative have"jumpedup" one
narrativelevel.Imagination is presented as a conjuring ofsortsin varioussimi-
larinstances. Tellingstories
literally bringsevents and even peopleintobeing.
Everystory seems familiarto the sleepingprincess, but at thesametimeshe
has no memory to determine whenand whereshehas heardthembefore.Rose
has no senseoftimeand thesequenceofeventsbecauseshe cannotremember
things:
Andyet,so oftenhaveherdreamsrevisited fragmentsand imagesof
dreamsdreamtbefore,a sortofrecognizable architecture
has grown
up around them,such that,thougheach dreamis, mustbe, intrinsi-
callyunique, is
there an ambient about
familiarity themall thatcon-
sole heras memory might.(5)
Thatis all thenarrative - "a sortofrecognizable
has tooffer a net
architecture,"
insteadof linearlogic.Familiarelementsand repetition in the formof fairy
talesoffer reassurance Atthesametime,theydon'tgivemeaning
and stability.
to lifeand provideno sensibleorder.The storiescannotultimately be identi-
fiedorlinkedto anyspecificcontextor teller, and thustheirmeaningremains
elusive.Theyseem to existwithouthavingbeen createdby anyone(as fairy
talestendto do), and thisveryfactnow rendersthemproblematic. In one of
herdreamsRoseis told(bya pluckedgoose,whichis verylikelyan ironicallu-
sionto "MotherGoose,"thatparadigmofthefemalestoryteller, who has been
stripped of herdress and appears rather unappetizing and thatshe
ridiculous)
willneverawakenbecausethestoryshe was in no longerexists.This inter-
pretation, however, is notunanimously supportedbythetext.It ratherseems
thatthestoriesareno less realthanthedreams,illusions,and allegedexperi-
ences of thecharacters. Rose doesn'twake up, but thatonlymeansthatthe
storieswillcontinueforever, and thismeansthatby definition she willkeep
waitingfortheprince.It seemsthat it is not the storythat doesn'texistany-
morebutreality as a conceptthathas disappeared.
Theseemingly endlessrepetitions ofthesame-but-different eventsand ele-
mentsof thetaleserveto questionitsveracity. The textsupportsthenotion,
however, thatcreating fictionsand tellingstoriesare incredibly powerful pro-
cesses.Turning wordsintoreality, orconjuring, is a meansofshapingexperience
and thustheworld,and theshapesmaywelldeviatefromtraditional patterns.
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Ifthenotionofseparaterealmsoftheimaginary and therealis dispensedwith,

ifone is theother, thenstoriesarelife,notrepresentations oflife.It also follows
thattheirboundaries havetobe extended, they have to become pluralistic,mul-
tifaceted,allowfortherepressed to riseto thesurface. Storiesthencan contain
theirown alternatives - evento thepointof totalambiguity The resultis an
awareness Thereis no dichotomy
ofpossibility. offiction andreality,buttheyare
bothfacetsof thesame,universalstory.Rose,however,does not followthis
-
expansionof possibilitiesherexpectations remainunchangedand she stub-
bornlyclings to her notionof the "right"story,as statedabove.She cannotfol-
low thereader's learningcurve or take any ofthe lessonson board.She
fairy's
keepshopingfortherealprinceandtherealawakening. Rose'sexplicit ambition
to be madewhole(2), whichto thebestofherknowl-
or desireis forintegrity,
edgedependson beingkissedand rescuedby theprince.As theprincesenses
at one point,the"truemeaningof hername"is herprolongedwaitingto be
includedin thiswayThislongingis "allsheknowsofrageand lust"(2), which
againindicates thechanneling andbindingfunction ofthesesocialstructures of
otherwise wildand uncontrollable forces.

Haven'tI toldyou a thousandtimes?

Desire in Plot and Narration
The idea of Rose beingentertained by the fairyin her dreamsgoes back to
Perrault'sversionofthetale:"caril y a apparence[. . .] que la bonneFée,pen-
dantun si longsomneil,luyavaitprocurele plaisirdes songesagréables" (195;
"forit seems[. . .] thatthegood fairykeptheramusedwithpleasantdreams
duringher long sleep").In BriarRoseit becomesclearthatthiscould have
beenlessthanpleasantand agreeablefortheprincessand thatmaybeitwasn't
the"good"fairy who entertained herin thatwayafterall.
The fairy/crone in Coover'staleis a combination ofthefemalestoryteller
(oftheMotherGoosetype),thebad fairy and enchantress, thewitch,butalso
thewell-wishing motherfigureand good fairy. She thuscombinesa number
ofpossiblestereotypes ofwomenin thefairy tale.She is thewisewomanwith
magicalpowersbutalso thegrandmother ornanny, and hermainpoweris her
storytelling(see Warner 25). In contexts
fairy-tale tale-tellinghas traditionally
been therealmofwomen.Evencollections by men such as Perraultor Basile
oftenuse thedeviceof a femalenarrator to lend credibilityto theirstories.
Women,oftenperceivedto be closerto nature(the"earthmother"), are also
believedtohaveaccessto truths and formsofknowledgethatis unavailableto
men.Whattheytellus,itseems,musttherefore be informed bybasicand eter-
nal certaintiesaboutlife.BriarRoseoffers an alternative versionofthefemale
storyteller,one whose wisdomhas seen throughthe mask of the tale and

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resultsin the cynicismthatdrivesRose mad withconfusion.She seems to

knownotthetruthbut theimpossibility of truthand certainly identifies the
sugarcoated fairytalesas and
escapist numbing constructions. Again, clear-cut
distinctionsbetweengood and bad and theidentification ofmotivesaremade
impossibleas the old woman changesroles,suggestingthatdefinitions of
virtueand benevolencecan be deceptive.
The talesRosehearsretraceelementsofdifferent versionsoftheSleeping
Beauty tale.One purpose is to keep the princess calm. The fairyhas repeated
mostofthestoriesoverand over,and she mightas well,forRosehas no mem-
ory.Thefairy needstokeepon telling storiesforherownsakeas muchas Rose's
becauseifshestopsshemay"losethethreadand sinkawayherself intoa sleep
as deepas thatsheinhabits, thusgravely endangering them both" (56). It is for
thisreasonthatsheinvents variationsofthetaleswhilepreserving themainplot.
The fairy reenacts theoraltradition as an alternative to therigidstructures that
lead to paralysis.Variation withintherepetition and thisis how
is life-giving,
oral tale-tellinghas developed.Thereare potentially endlessvariations of the
sameplot,ifone keepson tellingthestories.Thisnarrative strategyis reminis-
cent of AngelaCarter'streatment of fairytalesin her collectionTheBloody
Chamber(1979). Like Carter,Cooverrevealslayersupon layersof historical
development in thetale,olderversions andbawdyelements foundin Basileand
Perrault thatweresanitizedawayin the Grimms'version(Walsh 162). They
becomepartofthenewtextand complicate it,becausesuddenlytheyareseen
as alternativeslacking the determination and linearity ofthefairytalethatwe
know.If thereare alternatives, -
possiblevariations and therealwayshave
been- whyshouldit be one wayratherthananother? Couldn'ttherebe even
more,unthought-of versions with yet different outcomes?
Passagesthatare revealedto be unrealwithinthe frameof a story, that
have nothappenedevenin thefictional worldof thetext,thatare canceled
afterthey have been told,are defined as scenes written sousrature.9BriarRose
consistsalmostexclusively ofsuchpassages.Episodeswritten sousrature often
containemotionally chargedmaterialthatmakestheirinvalidation themore
disappointing. Thereare rape scenes,weddings,lovingreunions:veryoften
thecontentis sexual.The presentation rangesfromtheeroticto theporno-
the
graphic, pathetic, or the comic: "He strippedoffhis princelyfinery and,
witha flourish, watchinghimselfin a roundgilt-framed mirroron thewall,
strucka pose worthyof the greatclassic sculptors,withthatfunnything
betweenhis legshoppinglikea frog"(42). Theseboutsoffarceoftenseemto
attackcertaininterpretations offairy-tale symbolism, parodying,forinstance,
Freudiananalysesofcoded meanings.
The fairyalso gives a fairlycomprehensive summaryof the central
themesof the fairytale: "beautiesand princes,obstacles,awakenings,and

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what-happened-nexts, weavingin a collectionof monsters, dragons,ogres,

jests,rapes,riddles, murders, magic,maimings, dead bodies, and babies[. . .]
theillusionofboundaries, aboveall thatofthebody[. . .] alongwiththecon-
testbetweenlightand dark,thepassionsofjealousyand desire,cannibalism,
seductionand adultery" (57). She uses linguistic self-reflectivity:
bringing the
in
subjectstogether groups of threeand using alliteration (murders, magic,
maimings)pointsto theconstructedness and theirformulaic quality,echoing
thefondness ofthefairy taleforgroupsofthreeandsimilarstructuring devices.
Buthoweverinventive she becomes,thevariations ofthetaleseemultimately
pointless.Rose can neverremember the stories,and theireffect is therefore
ephemeral. The fairy/crone longsfora living,organicstructure butalso forre-
affirmation,while"awaiting thatwhichshe herself, in heringenerate ambiva-
lence, has ordained" (7).
The storiesRose listensto are "dreamtime morallessons"thattellofthe
mechanisms ofhumandesire:thepleasureobtainedfromwithheldsatisfac-
tion.Desireand fulfillment seemto be thebasic elementsofstorytelling and
sexualityalike.Andindeedthedesirein thefairy's tales,theprincess's dreams,
and theprince'svisionsis mostlysexual.The conceptofdesireas themotor
ofplothas beenoutlinedbyPeterBrooks(38): Desirestandsat thebeginning
ofnarrative and spursit intoaction,igniteschange.On thetextuallevelthe
desire is that of the reader who wants to constructa finitemeaning.
"Narratives portray themotorsof desirethatdriveand consumetheirplots,
and theyalso laybarethenatureofnarration as a formofhumandesire:the
need to tellas a primary humandrivethatseeksto seduce and to subjugate
thelistener]" (61). Desireis thedynamicofplot.Repetition and redundancy
in thiscontextpostponefulfillment butcarrythepromiseofa morecomplete
satisfactionin theend. "[Repetitionas bindingprolongsand formalizes the
middle,and also preparestheend"(320). Redundancy is carriedto extremes
in BriarRose, butwithoutoffering anykindofsatisfaction, meaningor sense.
The repeatednarrations of thefairyare explorations of humandesire - and
the desireformeaning,fora completestoryand a satisfactory end, runs
together withthephysicaldesiresthetaleis about.Byrefusing to offer satis-
factionto thereaderand thecharacters alike,Cooverdrawsattention to the
parallelsof storyand sexuality. Rejectingthe pure and romanticintentions
thatfairy talesusuallyenact,he exposesbothvillainsand heroesas drivenby
moreviolent,carnal,and base desires.
The reflection on theroleof fairytalesis complex,sincetheold crone
oftenrefuses to giveherstoriestraditional, happy,and fulfilling structures and
outcomes.Theirsoothingand affirmative effect
is therefore diminished, as is
thatof providing hope. Mostof theprincesand kingscomingto therescue
proveto be dishonorable or unheroic,some beingmarriedelsewhere:"The

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princesweremarried-?! Of course,whatdid you expect,my child?"(19).

Theirwivessometimes slipintotheroleofthecannibalistic mother-in-law we
and
knowfromBasileand Perrault, pursue princess the and her children. But
even the releaseas such again and again becomesambiguous:"Whenshe
woke up- How did she wake up? Did a princekissher?Ah. No. Well,not
then"(18). In some of thetalesRose,in allusionto Basile,bearschildrenin
hersleep,in othersshe becomesa motheraftershe is released.Butit is not
necessarily a princeor evena singlesaviorwho releasesher;onceitis a whole
gang of "ruffians" who "saveher"in a ratherdubiousfashion.The storieswith
unsatisfying outcomes(suchas thecannibalistic wifetriumphing overthehero-
ine) aredismissedas "wrong" byRose.The artificial, consolingelementofthe
fairy tale stands forthe "true"and -
"real" exactly effect
the thatnaturalization
has in theclassicaltales.Butthis naturalization cannot be maintained. Little
bylittle,theidea thatthereis a "right" versionofthestory(in itselfa paradox)
is deconstructed. In manypassages,all the narrationcan offeris simplyto
repeatthestockphrasesofthefairytalesuch as "happilyeverafter"or "once
upon a time,"mainlyout ofcontext.
The veryidea thattheendingtraditionally perceivedas a happyone is
indeed the desirableoutcomeis thoroughly deconstructed. The sleeping
princessis theobjectofthemalegazeorevenrape: "a band of all hav-
ruffians,
inga go on herlifelessbody,sometimes morethanone at a time."Ifthatisn't
bad enough,thesemen turnout to be "herfather's householdknights." The
forcesthat violate the helplessgirlare inside her own domestic circle."Oh
mother, she groans,whyam I theone?Becauseyouwon'tlisten!criestheill-
tempered old scold"(34). Alltheconsolationthecrone(hereperceivedas sur-
rogatemother)can offer aremorestoriesofevenunluckiergirlsthanRosein
otherfairytalessuchas Beautyand theBeastor theFrogPrince.The alterna-
tivesseem clear- one formof violencecan onlybe exchangedforanother,
evenmoreunsavoryone. Rose'sbodyand mindare equallyhelpless.Passive
and vacanttheyrelyon beingpossessedand filled.Withoutattachment to
-
eitherparentsor husband and both are presentedas undesirableby the
crone- thegirlremainsinert.
The tales,endlesslyrepeated,turnintotorture, ultimately eventheones
witha happyending. Rose cannot bring herselfto believe in them anymore.
Andshealso comestobelievethatithas beenthegoodfairy whowisheddeath
on her- deathas theultimateend synonymous withfulfillment: "to expire
beforesuffering themiseryoftheever-after partof the human span"(80). She
sensesitwas theevilfairy who the
changed spell,sentencing Rose to deathin
life,and lifein death.Individualfreedom and autonomy seemimpossible, and
deathis viewedas theonlyreleasefroma paralyzedexistence,in whichthe
"everafter" is a curse,nota blessing.Withoutthisdeath,theconsciousness of

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thesubjectcan onlybe a sortofstructured architecture or networkofredun-

danciesand repetitions. Rose is forever refusedtheoverallviewofherexis-
tencethatis onlypossiblein retrospect. Rose'sambiguousexistence - neither
-
dead nor alive deprivesherof hope and memories, whichare time-bound
experiences, fortimehas stopped. The of
onlyfeeling subjectivity forRoseis
pain: "It anchors locates
her, a selfwhen all else in sleepunbinds and scatters
it. [. . .] I am thathurts"(5). Pain is métonymie forthecursethatis on her,
whichis bothherprisonand heressence.

Conclusion
Coover'sBriarRoseis an ontological puzzle.Narrative levelsand theirhierar-
chiescollapse;eventsare canceledin retrospect; linearchronology givesway
to a network ofredundant structures. The heterocosm ofthenovellais unsta-
ble. Alleged"realities"turnout to be dreams,narrations, or hallucinations. In
Rose'sdreams,insideand outsideruntogether; thatis, it is notclearwhether
thereis a realityoutsideherdreamsat all.
Does Coover'snovellaexpresswhatRose comesto knowin herdreams?
"Youwillneverawakenbecausethestoryyou werein no longerexists"(65).
The futilehope forfulfillment ofexpectations and classicalfairy-tale traditions
seemtosuggest justthat.The fairytale as narration fails again and again.There
is no storyanymore thatcan be abstracted fromthe text. The familiarandwell-
troddenpathscannotbe avoided:"Happilyeverafter." The riskof "forever-
aftering" is presentin conceptsof heroismas well as deathand is therefore
ambiguous.The happyendingspresented bythefairy aremereillusionswith-
in a sleep fromwhichthereis no awakeningand whichtherefore defersthe
end indeterminately and at thesametimequestionsit.The fairy-tale worldis
circular,withouta realending.
Thepictureoftheindividual paintedhereis one ofimprisonment in struc-
tures, which are seen
onlyincompletely or understood. Motivations are sud-
denlyrealizedto be internalized rules,and are questioned, fought, denied,or
internalized again- buttheindividual is neverin control ofevents,as is seenin
thestruggles oftheenmeshedprince.Roseseemsevenmorepassivein thatshe
has no hope and no memory, whichwould be theinstruments to fulfilher
desires.She can neverreachhergoalbutonlymovealonga chainofrepetitive
illusions.The figuresin BriarRoseareisolated:theprinceand Roseareseparat-
ed forever, and eventhoughRoseseemsto be in thecompanyofthefairy, the
latter's
statusis notclear,and she is nothuman.Rosehas an unstructured and
ephemeral consciousness,and she definesherself thoughhersuffering and her
roleas victim.The fairy'sanswertoherquestion"Whoam I? [. . .] Whatam I?"
is a cynicalcomment on thecharacter ofthefairy tale:

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You are she who has renouncedthe naturalfunctions, she who

invadesthedreamsoftheinnocent, shewho harborswildforcesand
so definesand provokestheheroic,andyetyouarethemagicalbride,
ofall good thebell and flower,she throughwhomall gloryis to be
won, love known, the rootout of whichall need germinates.
(13)

Rose,then,is merely a function. The desireshe causesis as littlefulfilled as her

own.Theidentity oftheprinceis madeup froma numberofclichesfromfairy
tale,myth, andlegend,andhisdesiremoveswithina setframe ofmalegrandeur
andvirility. Thepowersoftheimagination don'tpromiseinnovation oractivity:
His thoughts and experiences seemto go roundin circles.He remainspassive,
too.Eventhoughhe suspectshe mighthavebecometoo psychologically com-
plexfortheroleofthehero,he fallsback intotraditional patterns ofbehavior
again.Both Rose and the prince follow their idea of "To
"fate." be the one"is the
statetowhichall actionsand experiences point. Realaction, choice,is notan
or
option.The productofwishfulfillment in theclassicalfairy taleis an individu-
al thatis integratedintoa (social)structure: desiregonewrongbuttransformed
and reintegrated withinan acceptedvaluesystem. BriarRosedoesn'tpermitthis
sortofgratification and so revealsit as simplistic. The mechanisms ofhuman
desirearepresented as perverted, caughtup in fictions and clichés.
Havingbegun to debunk the fairy-tale mythtwenty-seven yearsbefore, the
authorof BriarRosenow adds a new level of complexity by thematizing the
deconstruction ofthefairy taleinsidethestoryas wellas through thestoryas a
whole(see Evenson237). The textillustrates theattackon themythas wellas
thestubborn adherence to thetradition in therelationship oftheold croneand
thesleepingbeauty.Cooverexploresa numberofanalytical possibilities ofthe
SleepingBeautytalein a parodieand sometimes cynicalfashion,confronting
and thematizing thecorrelated powersdriving narrative
the as wellas itscast:
physicaldesire,romantic notions of love, and the need to tellstories.
"To existis to be spell-bound, "one of Coover'sheroeshas claimedelse-
where.10 The structure ofthefairy taleas perceivedin Coover'sfiction is over-
powering, and one reason for this is the basic human desire for structure and
meaning as realizedinnarrative. The reader's desire narrative
for structure is mir-
roredin theunfulfilled physicaldesiresofRose and theprince.Consequently,
theconstraints thattraditional tale-telling imposesare matchedby its stifling
of
depiction sexuality and of male and female desire:femalepuritycombined
withpassivity versusmale conquest and possession- whichprovideshighly
limitedoptionsfortheencounter ofmanandwoman.Interestingly, in BriarRose
thisisjustas paralyzing forthemanas itis forthewoman.11 Butrefusing unam-
Briar Rose presents erotic desireas ambivalent - at the level
biguousjudgments,
oftheplotit can be pleasant,passionate, or
violent,ludicrous, threatening. Its

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fulfillmentis forever
deferred. Theresultis an obsessivereenactment offamiliar
structuresthathaveceasedtofunction andcanonlybe present as theirownpar-
odies- bothon thelevelofthecharacters' sexualityand desireand on thelevel
ofnarration.
Ultimately, thethreecharacters remainlockedin theirrespective worlds
and followtheirplots:theprincesshopes forherdisenchantment, theprince
hacksthrough thebriars,and thecrone,whiledesperately trying toshowRose
thather hopes are futile,stillrelieson maintaining the statusquo to keep
tellingstories.Traditionally,theunfoldingof the fairy-tale plot is the space
wherethe fulfillment of desireis temporarily withheld.The motivation for
redundantnarration - thatis, makingsense of and structuring this space
through narrative- is stillpresentin theold crone.She is thestoryteller-cum-
deconstructionist:thefairytalecannotbe repudiatedwithoutdemonstrating
thetenacity ofthenarrative impulse.

Notes
1. Oneexample wouldbe Bakhtin's concept ofheteroglossia.
2. Genette adaptsChomsky's notions of competence andperformance to describe
thisparticular form I usethoseterms
ofintertextuality. withregard tothereader
andthewriter ofintertextual
fictionalike,whereas Genette doesnotseemtotake
thereader intoaccount. SeeGenette 109-11.
3. Thisis anareaexplored byZipes;andbyBacchilega, Postmodern.
4. SeeEvenson 1-3.Several scholars haveincluded Pynchon, Gass,Barthelme, and
Cooverin theirexaminations of postmodernist fiction(see, e.g.,McCaffery;
Maltby).
5. Zipeshasdeveloped a theoryon themythification offairy talesin FairyTaleas
Myth/Myth as Fairy Tale,where he uses Barthes's
definition
of myth as a secondary
signsystem todescribe howfairy talesmasktheir ownartifice.A sign(astheinter-
playofsignifier andsignified)
is taken outofcontext andfilledwithnewmeaning;
itbecomes thesignifierfora newsignified. Thesignified
entitiesareoften ideologies
or"isms." Whilea signinlanguage is unmotivated andarbitrary, myths aremoti-
vatedbyhistorical analogies,buthidetheirmotivation andseem"natural." See
Barthes 102-10.
6. See theanalysis ofthestory byBacchilega (Postmodern38-42),whofocuses on
of
aspects gender deconstructionand narrative
mirroring.
7. Interestingly,
"TheGingerbread House"consists ofthesamenumber offragmen-
taryscenes, a factpointed outbyMichael Walshinhisdoctoral one
dissertation,
chapter ofwhichanalyzes BriarRose(153-81).
8. Walshgoesas faras tostatethetalehasserved "generationsas a paradigm forgen-
derrelations" (154).
9. McHaleadaptsDerrida's philosophical concepttoliterarytexts (102-03).
10. "TheMagicPoker" (Pricksongs
30).
11. Bacchilega (Postmodern 47) examines thispointinCoover's "TheDeadQueen."

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WorksCited

Bacchilega,Cristina.Postmodern FairyTales : Genderand Narrative Strategies.

U of
Philadelphia: Pennsylvania P,1997.
. "Robert Coover."TheOxford Companion toFairyTales.Ed.JackZipes.Oxford:
Oxford UP,2000.108-09.
Bakhtin, Mikhail."From thePre-History ofNovelistic Discourse." Modern Criticismand
Theory: A Reader.Ed.DavidLodge.London:Longman, 1988.128-32.
Barthes,Roland. Mythen desAlltags.Trans. Helmut Scheffel.Frankfurt:Suhrkamp, 1964.
Brooks, Peter.Readingforthe Plot:Design and Intentionin New
Narrative. York: Knopf,
1984.
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