THE WHOLE SIGNIFICANCE OF UNITY: A STUDY OF THEMATIC STRUCTURE IN THE PLAYS OF CHRISTOPHER FRY by JAMES WOODFIELD B.A., University of British Columbia, 1965 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of English We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1971 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of £L W Q tf The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date ABSTRACT In Curtmantle, William Marshal recalls that Henry's appoint• ment of Becket to Canterbury promised unity, but "the whole significance of unity was not debated." Christopher Fry is constantly exploring the nature of unity and seeking its significance. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how the themes of his plays are structured in language and patterns of action which both exemplify unity and reach for ontological meaning in terms of a vision of a unified universe. Fry's work concentrates on a group of closely related themes: the positive power of love, both eros and agape; the wonder, paradoxes and unity of existence; the cycle of life, death and renewal; the operation of necessity and the nature of individuality; and man's relationship with the universe and with God. A direct approach could be made on a thematic basis, but the emphasis of this dissertation is on the structural integration of each separate play, and on the way in.which these themes are expressed through aspects of structure. Many of the themes are common to several plays, and the variety of forms which Fry develops to express them is one indication of his stature as a dramatist. Another possible organization of material would be to group the plays under the headings "secular." and "religious." This method would make an arbitrary distinction'.between plays that have an overt religious content and those that do not. One of the important results of these analyses is that the "secular" plays exhibit patterns that make religious statements as positive as those that deal directly with religious subjects. The chronological play-by-play approach chosen contains the built-in danger of fragmentation. Against this disadvantage stands the advantage that the development of Fry's ideas, techniques and skill can be observed. A unifying factor is that themes and configurations—particularly in character relationships—recur and are reworked in fresh contexts. The dominant direction of Fry's work is in a dual quest, for meaning and for God. Each play is, in Fry's own phrase from A Sleep of Prisoners, an "exploration into God," and . " the analyses aim to show how this quest is pursued in each play. Critical attention has tended to focus on Fry's verse at the expense of a broader view of his plays. The poetry is only one means—albeit an extremely important one—through which the themes are expressed. They also receive implicit expression through other aspects of the dramatic structure, dealt with where appropriate. Part of the introduction, which first places Fry in a general historical and cultural perspective, deals with the function of poetry in modern drama, and with Fry's views on the subject. The choice of poetry as a vehicle for dramatic expression stems from his world view: it is a natural mode for a man who sees existence as a complex mystery to be comprehended intuitively rather than rationally. He is acutely aware that existence is not only mysterious and complex, but that it also has a shape or pattern in which meaning can be found. For Fry, the combination of mystery and pattern finds its best expression in the form of poetic drama. CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements i Preface ii List of Plays and Abbreviations v I Introduction 1 II The Boy with a Cart: Faith and Quest .... 29 III The Firstborn: Antithesis and Enigma .... 47 IV A Phoenix Too Frequent: Exchange 73 V Thor, with Angels: Sacrifice 96 VI S-M L^dy' s Not for Burning: Harlequinade . .117 VII Venus Observed: Eros 146 VIII A Sleep of Prisoners: Exploration . .164 IX The Dark Is Light Enough: Agape 185 x Curtmantle: The Form of Unity 201 XI Conclusion 219 Bibliography 232 Vita Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following for their help and co-operation: to Mr. Fry for his time and courtesy when I visited him; to the Macmillan Family Fellowship for two years' financial subsistence; to the University of New Brunswick for summer travel grants which facilitated completion of the dissertation; to Dr. M. W. Steinberg and the other readers for their criticism and suggestions; and to my wife, Catherine, for bearing with the inhibitions placed on family and social life by the demands of a dissertation. Preface In Gurtmantle, William Marshal recalls that Henry's appoint• ment of Becket to Canterbury promised unity, but "the whole significance of unity was not debated." Christopher Fry is constantly exploring the nature of unity and seeking its signi• ficance. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how the themes of his plays are structured in language and patterns of action which both exemplify unity and reach for ontological meaning in terms of a vision of a unified universe. Fry's work concentrates on a group of closely related themes: the positive power of love, both eros and agape; the wonder, para• doxes and unity of existence; the cycle of life, death and renewal; the operation of necessity and the nature of individuality; and man's relationship with the universe and with God. A direct approach could be made on a thematic basis, but I have chosen to place the emphasis of my dissertation on the structural integration of each separate play, and to show how these themes are expressed through aspects of structure. Many of the themes are common to several plays, and the variety of forms which Fry develops to express them is one indication of his stature as a dramatist. Another possible organization of material would be to group the plays under the headings "secular" and "religious." This method would make an arbitrary distinction between plays that have an overt religious content and those that do not. One of the important results of my analyses is that the "secular" plays exhibit patterns that make religious statements as positive as those that deal directly with religious subjects. The chronological play-by-play approach I have chosen contains the built-in danger of fragmentation.. Against this disadvantage stands the advantage that the development of Fry's ideas, techniques and skill can be observed. A unifying factor is that themes and configurations—particularly in character relationships--recur and are reworked in fresh contexts. The dominant direction of Fry's work is in a dual quest for meaning and for God. Each play is, in Fry's own phrase from A Sleep of Prisoners, an "exploration into God," and in my analyses my aim is to show how this quest is pursued in each play. Critical attention has tended to focus on Fry's verse at the expense of a broader view of his plays. The poetry is only one means—albeit an extremely important one—through which the themes are expressed. They also receive implicit expression through other aspects of the dramatic structure, which I will deal with where appropriate. Part of my introduction, which first places Fry in a general historical and cultural perspective, deals with the function of poetry in modern drama, and with Fry's views on the subject. The choice of poetry as a vehicle for dramatic expression stems from his world view: it is a natural mode for a man who sees existence as a complex mystery to be comprehended intuitively rather than rationally. He is acutely aware that existence is not only mysterious and complex, but that it also has a shape or pattern in which meaning can be found. For Fry, the combination of mystery and pattern finds its best expression in the form of poetic drama. List of Plays and Abbreviations The Box with a Cart (1939) Boy The Firstborn (1946) Firstborn A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946) Phoenix Thor, with Angels (1948) Thor The Lady's Not for Burning (1949) Lady Venus Observed (1950) Venus A Sleep of Prisoners (1951) Sleep The Dark Is Light Enough (1954) Dark Curtmantle (1961) Curtmantle A Yard of Sun (1970) Yard In each chapter after the Introduction, a play is given its full title when first mentioned; thereafter, the abbreviated title is used. Chapter One Introduction Christopher Fry was born at Bristol on Dec. 18, 1907, to Charles John Harris and Emma Marguerite Hammond, the daughter of Emma Louise Fry. Charles Harris, an ex-architect Anglican lay preacher, died in 1910. Derek Stanford records that Fry "retained deep and powerful impressions of his father. The faith and personality of his parent... constituted a kind of subconscious ideal." Stanford suggests that Cuthman's recollections of his father in The Boy with a Cart reflect Fry's own filial emotions, and that the "missionary urgency" of some of Fry's plays is related to this early influence.