How we cite our quotes: Possession: A Romance. London: Vintage Books, 1991.
Quote #1
At 11.00 he found what he thought was the relevant passage in Vico. Vico had looked for historical fact in the poetic metaphors of myth and legend; this piecing together was his 'new science'. His Proserpine was the corn, the origin of commerce and community. Randolph Henry Ash's Proserpine had been seen as a Victorian reflection of religious doubt, a meditation on the myths of Resurrection. (1.6)
On the whole, Possession doesn't spend a lot of time on Randolph Henry Ash's own religious doubt. We know that he does doubt, but his uncertainty doesn't seem to bother him as much as Christabel LaMotte's bothers her.
Quote #2
On the whole, Possession doesn't spend a lot of time on Randolph Henry Ash's own religious doubt. We know that he does doubt, but his uncertainty doesn't seem to bother him as much as Christabel LaMotte's bothers her.
These comments from James Blackadder give us our first impression of Christabel LaMotte as a religious writer. Although Blackadder isn't entirely justified in characterizing her work in this way, his comments do introduce us to an important aspect of Christabel's personality.
Quote #3
If you can order your Thoughts and shape them into Art, good: if you can live in the obligations and affections of Daily Life, good. But do not get into the habit of morbid Self-examination. Nothing so unfits a woman for producing good work, or for living usefully. The Lord will take care of the second of these—opportunities will be found. The first is a matter of Will. (4.31)
This passage, quoted from a letter that Christabel LaMotte wrote to one of her nieces, continues to build our impression of Christabel as a religious woman. It's important to note that this letter was written in 1886, more than twenty-five years after her affair with Randolph Henry Ash. Despite the ups and downs she has experienced in life, Christabel seems to have retained her Christian faith in God.