The phoenix by sylvia warner

The pheonixBy sylivia Warner

About the Mythical Phoenix

phoenix is a symbol of immortality.The

phoenix bursts into flames at the end of its

life, only to rise up from its ashes.It is typically associated

with the sun god Apollo.It appears in both Egyptian and Greek mythology.

Theme

Greed and the derailing of the natural order of things for profits are the main themes of The Phoenix.

Irony

The crowds that flocked to view the phoenix, unnaturally aged for the profit of Poldero, go in hopes of seeing the grand death of the phoenix, but instead, they are the ones to die,

Conflict

There are two conflicts occurring in The Phoenix. One conflict is Man versus Self. Poldero has a greed for profit and goes to extremes to gain profits when the phoenix stops bringing him such. This leads into the second conflict, Man versus Nature. To gain profits from the phoenix, he tries various ways to age the phoenix unnaturally, hence messing with the natural order of things.

mockery

This story is a mockery on the human need to view grotesque things, the extremes one will go to for greed, and the repercussions of messing with the natural order of things.

The Characters

Lord StrawberryHe is a bird-loving noblemen who collected a variety of birds in his aviary. The one bird he does not have in his aviary is the Phoenix. Once he acquires this rare, legendary bird, he dies soon after, and his aviary is sold to the public, including the phoenix.

The PhoenixIt is a legendary, rare bird. Legend has it that the phoenix builds itself a nest at the end of its life, bursts into flames, and then arises young again from its ashes.

Mr. PolderoHe is a greedy, money-minded businessman. He is the owner of "Poldero's Wizard Wonderland," a collection of strange and bizarre sights, to which the phoenix would be a profitable addition.

The Plot

The nobleman Lord Strawberry is a collector of fine birds; although, the one bird he has yet to add to his collection is the mythical phoenix. After much searching and fake phoenixes, he finally finds the genuine phoenix, wins its confidence, and takes it home to his aviary. Unfortunately, Lord Strawberry dies soon after, leaving the birds of his aviary up for bid by the public. His dead, occurring after a world war, left may short on money and birdseed. Mr. Poldero then comes into the ownership of the phoenix.Mr. Poldero adds the phoenix to his "Poldero's Wizard Wonderland." The bird makes him great profits, until the crowds begin to lose interest. Mr. Poldero then decides to go on a new profit-seeking venture with the phoenix, learning that it will explode into a grand show of flames at the end of its life. He begins to age the phoenix unnaturally, by making it as miserable as possible

He scarcely fed it, made it cold, put disagreeable birds in with it, put alley cats in with it, and, finally, put the phoenix into a wet environment, which was not suitable since its natural habitat, Arabia, was very dry. He also abused the bird daily.When Mr. Poldero was sure that the phoenix was as near death as possible, he called upon the media to advertise the spectacular show of the phoenix's death and revival. Crowds and cameras soon flock to watch the phoenix as it dies. It expectantly burst into flames and was born again, though in this blaze incinerated the greedy Poldero and viewers.

6 important quotes

1. But for many years the finest set of apartments remained empty, with just a label saying: “PHOENIX. Habitat: Arabia.”Lord Strawberry kept the finest aviary in Europe. It was spacious enough to house full grown eagles. The climate control inside ensured that humming birds and snow buntings that lived on the two ends of the climate spectrum existed comfortably inside. The only bird that was missing was the fabulous phoenix, a native of Arabia.

2. But it was not puffed by these attentions, and when it was no longer in the news, and the visits fell off, it showed no pique or rancour. It ate well, and seemed perfectly contented.Lord Strawberry travelled all the way to Arabia to procure the phoenix. When it was brought home, it caused a sensation and a steady stream of visitors, ornithologists, poets, journalists and milliners filed past, pausing to exclaim and gawk. After a while all was quiet and the stream of visitors dried. But the bird minded neither the constant attention nor the inattention. It was an amiable bird that was contented with life and nothing much could upset it..

3. But then business slackened. The phoenix was as handsome as ever, and amiable; but, as Mr. Poldero said, it hadn’t got Allure. Even at popular prices the phoenix was not really popular. It was too quiet, too classical.To begin with, the phoenix was a major attraction at Poldero’s Wizard Wonderland with large crowds paying top prices to see the phoenix. But as time went on, people got jaded with the phoenix as it did not do anything much. It did not flap about or screech. Its good looks were not enough to draw the crowds in. Poldero reduced his prices but the crowds did not come.

4. “Suppose,” continued Mr. Poldero, “we could somehow get him alight? We’d advertise it beforehand, of course, work up interest. Then we’d have a new bird, and a bird with some romance about it, a bird with a life story. We could sell a bird like that.”Poldero is desperate to make profit using the phoenix. The numbers of people coming in to view it had dwindled over the weeks. That’s when Poldero learns a little more about the bird and its habits. The phoenix would burst into flames when it became old and from the flames a new bird would rise. If this phoenix would set itself alight, they could exploit that event by whetting the appetite of the people for sensation and selling the event as a mega happening.

5. These could not be won by manners, but the phoenix darted above their heads and flapped its golden wings in their faces, and daunted them.As part of the aging process, Poldero exposes the phoenix to a hostile environment. He starved the bird so it grew thin, he turned its heating off and housed it with noisy, querulous birds. Though these birds troubled it first, he won them over by being pleasant all through. But when alley cats were moved into its apartment, the phoenix became aggressive and they cowed down.

6. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the thrilling moment the world has breathlessly awaited. The legend of centuries is materializing before our modern eyes. The phoenix…”After months of preparation, it appears that the phoenix has aged, though artificially. The crowds coming to see the phoenix has swelled again. Moviemakers to whom filming rights have been sold are in attendance. The loudspeakers keep blaring sentimental mush in order to whip up sentiment among the public. The whole exercise is conducted with an eye on the money the event will bring in.

Author background

Warner was born in Middlesex in 1893. Her father was a house master in Harrow School. His early death was a blow to Sylvia and she moved to London soon after and found work in an armament factory. She had strong leftist leanings and she wrote anti-fascist articles for communist publications. Her dislike for commercialism is evident in this short story.

Relevance of the title

The Phoenix is the central character in the story. For most of the time it plays a passive role but at the denouement is of its creation. The phoenix is a bird that had unusual powers. It sets fire to itself when it turns old and dies in the conflagration but a new bird is born from the ashes. In this story too there is a fire but it engulfs everyone in the vicinity. It does this in revenge for the indignities its owner heaps on it trying to make grow old unnaturally.

The main theme

main theme is the greed of man and his exploitation of nature for commercial success. Man comes into conflict with nature and nature exacts a heavy price. The phoenix stands for nature and Poldero stands for the human race which will do anything for money. Poldero finds that people are not interested in the phoenix as it is “too quiet”. So he puts the bird through an artificial aging process so that it will burn itself. There is also the theme of the society’s fascination for the sensational and the grotesque. People queue in large numbers to witness the macabre self immolation by the phoenix.

Metaphorical inferences

the phoenix is a mythical bird that is a symbol of immortality because from the fire that consumes one bird, another is born. The bird in this story stands for nature. Poldero is a symbol for man who is greedy and tinkers with nature in his pursuit for money. Whereas fire for the bird is not the end, Poldero and the spectators perish in the fire. There is poetic justice in the bird’s revenge.

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