Peace in the Post-Reformation. John Bossy
Krier treats Love's Labour's Lost in relation to Klein's concepts of envy and gratitude: the lords envy the ladies, and deflect that envy onto the locals of lesser rank; by contrast, characters such as Holofernes and Armado show gratitude, if somewhat pedantically. She also analyzes the play as rewriting elements of the Parlement ofFoules (to which another chapter is devoted). Discussing Faerie Queene, book 4, Krier sees die endless bloody fight between Cambello and the brothers Priamond, Diamond, and Triamond in relation to their desire for absorption into a chthonic mother identified with the underworld. They are trapped in a cultural tradition; Spenser's female characters Cambina and Canacee provide alternatives, and suggest a tribute to women's oral culture. Krier also emphasizes the importance of Spenser's praise of the cosmic, generative Venus (borrowed from Lucretius, the subject of another chapter) in bringing about the resolution of the poem. The book concludes with a chapter on the Winter's Tale. Krier suggests that Leontes' jealousy emerges because he feels threatened by Hermione's expressions of desire; he feels crowded and needs more space. He is regenerated partly because he is able to listen to the fantastic stories the play gives him, and partly because of the way Hermione and Paulina use their aggression. Birth Passages opens up new possibilities for feminist criticism, using psychological theory which ought to be better known. Krier's ear for literary echoes and for poetic strategies such as catalogues, similitudes, and the vernacular, convincingly constructs the tradition for which she argues, linking it as well to such unexpected figures as Emerson, Frost, and Angela Carter. Her claim that authors can be creative and grateful to their predecessors at die same time is refreshing. This is a gracefully written book that will provoke thought — if not always agreement — among readers interested in gender and literary relations.