Notes on Breaking the Angelic Image by Edith Lazaros Honig

As I am set on creating fantasy images, it was important for me to do some deeper research into where fantasy stories originates from. Breaking the Angelic Image: Woman Power in Victorian Children's Fantasy by Edith Lazaros Honig is an aid to help me understand this. This information will allow my project to have more substance, more understanding and I can then implement this knowledge into my own work. To me, understanding the origin of where my work is from is entirely necessary - if I don't understand my work to the fullest extent, the work won't be as strong visually or conceptually.

First published in 1988, this book gives a detailed explanation of how and why fantasy became so important to people, particularly little girls, within the Victorian era by separating the book into chapters based on important and reoccurring characters within these books; Mothers, Spinsters, Girls and Magical Women.

 Within this post, I will be copying key quotes I picked up and noted down while reading this book, and offering my thoughts, opinions and understanding of them. I believe this will help me progress with my work as I will then know the significance of it to a better degree.

"A well written fantasy not only has a tale to tell, but it also transmits messages to the reader - some of these overt 'morals', but most subliminal, often symbolic messages that teach us about many aspects of life" (page 1-2)

- This alone highlights the importance of good fantasy. It's not simply a story but it also educates about certain aspects of life and living to the reader, or in my case, the viewer. This could be education about my own life which would then be interpreted in a way a viewer understands due to the different circumstances and experiences; in other words, what I show will always be interpreted in a way at least slightly different to how I feel about the image simply due to living different lives from the viewer. Just as a good fantasy novel is more than a story, good fantasy imagery is more than just a pretty picture.

"Fine fantasies that are popular as well are obviously among the most influential works a child will ever read" (page 2)

- This continues the explanation of the importance of fantasy, particularly to a child. While i'm not planning for my images to necessarily become targeted at children, it may appeal to them. But it will also appeal to those who read or indulged in fantasy as a child- for this quote explains that fantasy sticks with the child and ends up influencing them as a person and their development.

Paraphrased: The Victorian era embraced fantasy and fairytale, whereas the 18th century that came before it saw it as "frivolous and injurious to the child" (page 2)

- During the 18th century, fantasy and fairytale were seen as a waste of time, unimportant and even harmful to children. It was frowned upon for children to be reading such novels until the Victorian era emerged. Then, because of the previous outlook on fantasy it was seen as something new and exciting, and the genre flourished because of it. 

"Although Victorian women were still being repressed in the home and the marketplace, the female figure in  some form, adult or child, real or magical, played a major role in most of these books, just as she did in the adult novels of the era . . . the notions of femaleness that Victorian children acquired from their fantastic reading would affect their life view and that of all whom they touched" (page 2)

- This appeared to be a turning point for women/girls. They finally got to see themselves as the hero instead of having to read their brother's books and replacing the fictional boy hero with imagery of themselves. They were beginning to see themselves represented as more than housewives, which I can only imagine would be incredible in this period of time. These representations then stuck with the children as they grew up, influencing their lives and those around them. 

Paraphrased: Loads of influential fantasy writers such as Charles Williams, W.H Austen and J.R.R Tolkien have been heavily influenced by writer George Macdonald. In fact, C.S Lewis quotes him in every single one of his books. (page 3)

It's obvious than Honig as well as many influential fantasy writers have been incredibly inspired by MacDonald throughout their writing lives due to how much he's mentioned in this book. I will definitely need to research his work more as it seems to be one of the pillars that made fantasy literature so popular. This could even influence my own work.

Paraphrased: Women read more novels and so authors often focused on female characters in this period (page 3)
- It's really important to know your target audience. This may have changed since, however it's great to know who was initially absorbing this fantasy world when it first emerged, and why the characters were written the way they were; in this case, female.

Paraphrased: Victorian's children's fantasy, particularly Alice in Wonderland may provide the link between the submissive protagonist female character and the modern day fictional woman (page 3)

- Adult novels did feature women due to that was who read them most, however the women in these stories often remained as submissive as they were expected to be in real life. Women were presented in fiction as they were to be in their own lives - an inspiration or example of how they should act, almost. However, children's literature challenged this as it was seen to be more acceptable or the hero to challenge these norms as it was meant for children and not adults who had lists of responsibilities. The modern woman, who is incredibly more free than the average woman in the Victorian era, will relate to these characters more than those written in adult books of the time. Alice from Alice in Wonderland is a key role in this; she thinks little about her actions and speaks her mind regardless of consequences. She is also smart, and uses knowledge as a form of power. She questions the whys and hows of the world she lives in, and the world she dreams up.

Paraphrased: Girls in the Victorian era were expected to do a lot, cleaning, caring, reading to her family. A girl's brother would go to school while she stays at home (page 3)

- Fantasy therefore became a form of escapism from all of this.

Paraphrased: In Victorian fantasy, the submissive girl is still represented in a way that she is polite and home educated, but she also acquired traits that were commonly seen in boy's novels;  adventurous and independent, even aggressive. This started with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which set off a chain reaction for further fantasy novels to follow this. (page 69)
- Some Victorian traditions and values remained in the books, or they wouldn't have been so widely accepted.  However they did give a sense of freedom and curiosity to girls that they hadn't been able to explore previously.

"Alice's eyes are opened. She learns to deal with new situations by acquiring new weapons - not only defensive weapons but aggressive ones as well. She learns to be independent, resourceful, daring, adventurous and even assertive" (page 77)
- This explains just how and why Alice's story became so popular. She is given traits that she can use in her favour, as Honig explains it, her weapons. These come by living her story and going through multiple scenarios that teach her how to retaliate rather than be submissive, which would have been expected of a Victorian girl.

"this 'wonderful dream' and this wonderful heroine marked a new era in children's books and inspired all the adventures - the fine and the forgettable - that were to come after" (page 77)
- Carroll's story has inspired fantasy novels and stories for decades after it was published. Honig claims that all of the stories that came after it were inspired by Carroll's Alice in some way, shape, or form. To me, it's incredible that this one story has created something i'm so entranced by, and that has affected not only children's lives but adults as well, throughout a huge period of time.

"Only in children's fantasy do we meet girls who either remain heroic and independent up until maturity . . . or who show full promise of doing so" (page 99)
- Showing a girl with these qualities was less taboo than a mother having them because she is not of age yet and has this freedom and a far smaller list of expectations and responsibilities, which is why fantasy became so popular in children's books.

"Lasting fantasy is the workings of the subconscious - written, at least in part, by the subconscious mind of the writer and imprinting itself on the subconscious mind of the reader so that the best fantasy becomes a part of us and stays with us" (Page 99)
- This is a really interesting theory to me; Honig is suggesting that those who create and write fantasy is being controlled and guided by their mind without even realising. If the writings are successful, it then imprints itself within the reader, or in my case hopefully, the viewer, without them realising the effect it's had on them. This makes me question the effect the vast amount of fantasy I indulged in as a child, teen and adult has had on me.  It's more than likely the reason I find such comfort in the unreal and the mysterious, but it's probably also affected the way I live my life, my views and the way I see the world.

"Fantasy is so close to madness" (page 99)
- I found this to be a good future title or caption, especially as it reminds me of the quote;
"Alice: But I don't want to go among mad people.
The Cat: Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

"If it is madness that allows us to see a girl's soul as it really is - bold and heroic - then it is a fine madness indeed, and one that leaves the reader ever grateful" (page 109)
- I think this is a really lovely quote due to the fact it reassures a reader that she is truly bold and heroic and that part of a fantasy novel is not made up for the fantasy but an element of truth. Like in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Honig explains that this madness is not bad or detrimental, but a blessing. This 'madness' allows girls to be accepting of themselves, especially in this Victorian period when that's all they had to see a freeing representation of themselves.

Paraphrased: Grown women were not people of power in this era, so in literature this was echoed. In order to give women power, they were presented as odd and unnatural; therefore became a witch or even a monster. "The reader is not encouraged to sympathise with her, but to revile her" (page 112)
- This explains how women were portrayed as powerful. Honig also suggests on the same page that witches are not always evil and can be good, but regardless they are unnatural and a figment of the fantasy world they live in, in order to present a woman as having more power than men. Honig later says on the same page that "any woman with power, even power over herself may be considered 'witch-like'", showing how truly abnormal it was for a woman to possess any source of power during the Victorian era.

(on why women are godmothers rather than men) "it must also reveal something about the writer's image of mothers/women and even perhaps reveal something of the writer's of psychological needs" (page 117)
- A story and it's characters come from the mind of the writer; but they're sparked and sourced from something within that mind. The writer may not even be aware of this source, but what Honig is suggesting is that the way women are perceived as more caring and protective than men comes from within the mind of the writer. This then perhaps suggests that the writer is in need of this love and care and associates that with women, and hence the godmother becomes a woman.



This book has thoroughly helped my understand the birth of fantasy novels, which has and probably always will, influenced photography of the same genre. It's incredibly important to know where my work stands not only not in contemporary practice, but how it relates to previous decades and how contemporary fantasy photography came to be.
I found the discussion on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland most interesting, how it was the foundation for all fantasy after that publication. Alice's story broke the ice into a whole new genre and even today it lives on in a very strong manner. Nearly everybody in the 1st world, western world, would be able to conjure an image of the Mad Hatter, Alice, or the Cheshire Cat should they be asked.
The discussion on the portrayal of women and how this was so important to women of the time reading these novel is also key to my practice. As a woman myself, creating an image of a woman, it's both a relief and inspiring to know that these novels gave girls such a freedom that they'd never had the opportunity to experience before.
I know that this book will not only stay with me throughout this project, but throughout my whole photographic practice as it is simply key to anything to do with fantasy.