The Beginning of Spring — Penelope Fitzgerald — IB English Literature (2015)
Nature is characterised by beautiful phenomena which we are often enthralled by, but there is also an element of mystery in nature that makes it particularly captivating and a spectacle to be appreciated as well as feared. In ‘The Beginning of Spring’ by Penelope Fitzgerald, the author explores the mystery and danger in nature together with our fragile place in it. The passage includes picturesque images of an animated forest in a typical Russian village, which is juxtaposed by the dingy and deteriorating dacha in which the humans reside.
At the beginning of the passage, the speaker ensconces the reader into a typically Russian setting characterised by industrial development. The dacha, which is a land plot normally found in the exurbs of Russian city, is situated only “three miles away” from “a large industrial town”; the author makes allusions to typical Russian beverages, and mention of “Tea […] drunk with pickled lemons”, “pears in vinegar” along with other aspects of Russian gastronomy to establish that this is a human setting and the reader can visualise this setting through the physical aspects with which it is delineated.
As the passage develops, the speaker portrays the fragile state of the dacha by describing it is as “deteriorating” and “unkempt” as well as “threatened by the decaying earth” that surrounds it. Here, the author uses visual imagery when describing the “decaying earth” along with “loose floorboards of the flooring” to express the dacha’s threatened existence. The dacha’s temporary place in this natural setting is also suggested by the unexplained transition from one tenant to another. Further, the disappearance of the previous estate owner, Prince Demidov, is not given much attention by the speaker whose dubious account of it (“[Prince Demidov] had forgotten them, or perhaps he never returned”) does not shed much light on the matter, which only makes his disappearance even more suspect and reinforces the mystery that surrounds the forest along with the threat it poses towards the new settlers.
The author consigns the forest to the category of “shadows”, which has an undercurrent of ominosity. The forest is said to begin only a “few yards away from the veranda”, which portrays it as being encroaching on this property given that it is in such close proximity. The tree trunks are described as having “fragmented” and “shivered” into “dark and light patches”, and the chiaroscuro effect of the lurid movements of the trees evoke a disturbing and disorientating image, which is reinforced by the dynamic verbs “fragmented” and “shivered” as they mirror the ferocity of these movements.
There is also the element of an ongoing war in these forests suggested by the speaker. The forest is forced to defend itself against “the spring rain” that brings with it “complication” in the form of of “perilous” rain drops. The warmongering nature of the raindrops is signified by them “perilously” hanging on to even the “heaviest twig” almost as though they were consciously determined to snap the branches. The “brilliant silver” and “dark” appearance of the raindrops evokes a metallic image almost as though the raindrops were sharp metal objects cutting through the exposed plants. The arrival of the rain is compared to an “invasion” that could bring the “whole system in jeopardy”, and in attempt to defend themselves, the “twigs” and “boughs” are said to “sigh” and “sway back”. Personification is used here to highlight the vigour of the various defence mechanisms that the forest employs to preserve its existence but the raindrops display a great deal of “tenacity” by possessing the intention to “stay on” the leaves “at all costs”. The author deliberately presents this conflict between the forest and the advent of spring rain in a hyperbolic and theatrical fashion to heighten the drama behind these natural events, which entertains and engages the reader.
As well as having the capacity for war, the forest exhibits beautiful and awe-inspiring properties. Firstly, the plentifulness of the forest is illustrated by the variety of foods it yields for the neighbouring cities: “salted melons”, “soused apples”, “onions and plums” are just some of the exotic foodstuff the forests produces. Mention of these foods appeals to the readers’ sense of taste through gustatory imagery and augments our appreciation of the forest. In addition, the forest’s exuberance is further typified through the “aromatic scent” which it is said to have “breathed out”. Here, the use of personification by ascribing the forest with the ability to “breathe” together with the use of olfactory imagery by its production of a “scent” highlight both the vitality of the forest and its astounding effect on the senses. The speaker describes the “scent” as being “memorable”, which highlights the forest’s ability to conjure up placid thoughts and gives the forest a nostalgic and sentimental value.
Finally, there is a sense of eternity and everlastingness of the forest suggested by the speaker towards the end of the passage, for once the two new residents (Egor and Matriona) fall asleep “like the dead”, only the “sound of birch trees can be heard”. The use of the simile “like the dead”, when describing the residents’ retreat to sleep reminds the reader of the temporariness of human existence and the speaker’s matter-of-fact tone when expressing this indicates their acceptance of this reality. In contrast, the ever present sounds of the “birch trees” together with all of the other natural occurrences that seem to continue into the night are suggestive of the forest’s enduring existence despite the “complications” it encounters which the speaker captures in an epic light.
