#1 Flower Phantoms by Ronald Fraser
Oct 04, 2017•1 hr 7 min
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Summary
The hosts discuss Ronald Fraser's "Flower Phantoms," an unusual 1926 fantasy novella featuring Judy, a botanical student at Kew Gardens, who experiences a psychosexual communion with an orchid. The conversation explores the book's treatment of female sexuality, contrasting chaste adoration with violent desire, and its examination of epistemological questions through Judy's interactions with the plant world. They also analyze the author's metafictional struggle with language and representation, the role of observation, and the problematic duality of male/female principles culminating in an ambiguous ending.Episode description
In this episode, we discuss Ronald Fraser's 'Flower Phantoms' (1926), an obscure fantasy in which Judy, a student of botanical sciences, engages in a psycho-sexual communion with the soul of an orchid in Kew Gardens.
We were beguiled by this strange, orchidaceous novella. Over the course of the programme, we consider Fraser's at once fascinating and problematic treatment of female sexuality, his preoccupation with epistemological questions, and his meditations on the creative act itself
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