The Gap of Time – Jeanette Winterson
The Hogarth
Shakespeare is a selection of re-tellings of the Bard’s tales by acclaimed
writers set in the 21st century. Launched in October 2015, this
‘cover story’ as Jeanette Winterson calls it, begins the series with a
retelling of ‘The Winter’s Tale’.
Jeanette Winterson is a very gifted storyteller. She has a
way of bending time and using non-linear narratives which simultaneously may
upset our train of thought but yet gives us a greater sense of clarity by the
end. The gaps she leaves in between the telling of stories (especially myths
and reworking of tales) is fully intended. You will understand this as you
start reading her any of her fiction (at least in the ones I have read so far).
And in retelling The Winter’s Tale, she uses a ‘Three Act’ structure with two
intervals woven in to fit the old story in a new avatar.
In case you haven’t read the bard’s version, don’t worry,
she has included a brief overview of the original before the ‘cover version’
begins. The story revolves around King Leontes of Sicily who suspects his
virtuous wife, Queen Hermione of having an affair with his best friend
Polixenes , King of Bohemia. The jealousy results in him banishing his baby
daughter, death of his bereaved young son and the reported death of his
wife. Of course he also tries to get his
best friend killed as well. The repercussions of these acts take many years to heal.
Even though his actions are deplorable, in this play, one of the last ones by
Shakespeare, he seems to believe in second chances and forgiveness.
Jeannette Winterson transports this tale to modern day
London and the players are Leo , a fund manager whose wife is Mimi ( a.k.a
Hermione) , a popular French singer. His childhood friend Xeno, a video game
designer is the one whom he suspects of having an affair with his heavily
pregnant wife. The added complexity in this story comes in the background story
of Leo and Xeno who while growing up together in a boarding school had been lovers
and emotionally dependent on each other. The overpowering irrational jealousy
results in Leo acting wildly violent towards his best friend and his wife. None
of his actions are excusable, and borders on horrific.
He attempts to get rid of his newborn daughter Perdita, ‘the
little lost one'. She ends up being rescued by Shep and his son Clo. They bring
them up as her own and then time moves forward to bring us to the inevitable
end – Perdita falls in love with Xeno’s son , Zel. They all meet and the truth
of her birth mother , who had become a recluse in the meantime is revealed. She
comes back to sing on stage. And there ends the tale with the curtain opening
to reveal Mimi on stage after a long gap of time. Jeanette Winterson leaves the
story there.
She claims a personal relationship to this story – the story
of a foundling, a lost baby. Since she herself was adopted in real life, this
had become a story she has worked on many times according to her. It becomes a
tale of the possibility of the reversal of time, of the power of forgiveness
and the possibilities of the future that we cannot foresee but can hope for.
Hogarth Shakespeare series |
Obviously writing the first of the series must have been a
daunting task, but she has executed it brilliantly. The characters and their inner
motivations surprisingly keep us hooked. The
danger we feel for their safety (definitely not Leo’s though ) is very real and
palpable. This is a great challenge indeed, since the Bard’s tale is already
known and yet the suspense still
remains.