The Rabbit Room

Since we now know Phantastes provides instruction on true knighthood,  the conversation in Paradiso Canto 17 is interesting.  Dante is speaking with his ancestor Cacciaguida who had been a knight who served in the crusades and they have a conversation about service and honor, doing what needs to be done (for Dante speaking the truth) in spite of…[Read more]

Since this story seems  to be swimming through a river of Dante,  thought I’d share this resource I just discovered:

It is a digital archive of art related to the Comedia and organized by the story structure. The site is a super great UI experience and easy to navigate, become familiar with the story and look into ways story elements have bee…[Read more]

Since this story seems  to be swimming through a river of Dante,  thought I’d share this resource I just discovered:

It is a digital archive of art related to the Comedia and organized by its structure. The site is a super great UI experience and easy to navigate, become familiar with the story and look into ways story elements have been seen by…[Read more]

More on Yew trees.  This one is 4,000 years old and sits in Wales churchyard – obviously, the tree was there first.

Beautiful, Sofia! The patterns and colors speak of adventure.

Cool! So many things happening… trust, beauty, movement/current, mystery.

Thank you, Tyler. I enjoyed reading your comments.

You know, I’m going to pull out a couple verses anyway:

Thanks especially for these, and the reminder that our failures do not hinder the wonderful plans that our God has in store.

This is marvelous. I wanted to pick out a verse or two I could point to as my favorite here, but doing so wouldn’t seem to do the whole justice. You did a wonderful job grabbing the reader’s investment with the familiarity of a mother’s warmth and youthful ignorance, then transporting them into Anodos’ journey via the images you wove in,…[Read more]

Great connections! Thanks for sharing. I especially appreciate the attention you bring to the fact that, at the moment Anodos decided to act to save the innocent children in the yew temple, the evil itself was unseen much in the same way the wooden men were unseen when the knight assisted the girl with wings. Thanks also @daron-benson and @7walkers…[Read more]

It looks like a bird to me with the wing flying up. The Holy Spirit appeared as a dove and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death verse from Romans seems to fit the delivering way out that the mark provided in the story…..????

I can see why this book can be read again and again. I LOVED the descriptions of nature, beauty and music that save us. I love the simple phrases that have such meaning in the context of the story that stay in my mind and help me in the every day. Here are a few, “One wine is left in the broken bowl, Tis- TO LOVE, AND LOVE AND LOVE”. The hopeful…[Read more]

Great scenes, lovely images.

I noticed this too. The knight was honored for his nurturing traits, “indulging in all the gentleness of a womanly heart.” This barely seems to be recognized in our time, I wonder if it was a rare idea in MacDonald’s day. I bet all the women loved it! Because I am not well read, I don’t know if this was a novel thought. I like his brave, strong…[Read more]

I’ve not read as much Goethe as I hope to someday, but I do know he has some interesting theories on color perception. In our current story; MacDonald spends a lot of time describing how the personality of the Elder Planet residents can be read – informing the reader about where the individual was born and what traits they might exhibit based on i…[Read more]

Marie, you raise very important points about service and how it can reverse sometimes and actually become a selfish thing. You are sharing a wise word here and we should all have ears to hear!

In the course of the story, in spite of the emphasis we – in this discussion thread- have been putting on the motivating love between Anodos and his…[Read more]

Thanks for asking, Tyler.  Here are a couple more thoughts.

One of the many things Anodos learns from the Elder Planet women is an instinct to nurture found children.

“But no sooner is a child found, than its claim for protection and nurture obliterates all feeling of choice in the matter…”

There is a lot to think about in the connection betwee…[Read more]