How do you think your muse would react if it were placed into 'Alice in Wonderland'?
Fuchsia was initially puzzled by the Journal's reference to a story she had never heard of. However, her curiosity was quickly answered, when it provided her a means to read the story in question. And so Fuchsia, Countess of Gormenghast, spent much of the day (after her official tasks were completed, of course) curled up in a large chair with the Journal, enrapt in the adventures of the girl who had fallen down the Rabbit-Hole.
Almost without realizing it, Fuchsia mentally put her own seven and a half-year old self into the lead character, imagining it was she who grew and shrank with the ingestion of the different size of the Caterpillar's mushroom, who presented her thimble solemnly to the Dodo only to receive it back again (although Fuchsia mused that she wouldn't have been so upset to have lost it. At that age, she had found embroidery dreadfully tedious). The main difference between herself and Alice, Fuchsia thought to herself, was that Alice was a bit more patient than Fuchsia had been at that age. Additionally, Fuchsia fancied that she would have rather had an angry fit of kicking furiously at the walls instead of weeping to create the Pool of Tears that Alice later swam through. In her version, Fuchsia rather thought that instead of a pool, it might have been a heap of debris that her shrunken self (courtesy of the White Rabbit's fan) might have had to pick her way through. Although possibly that might have solved the problem of getting the little door open, if I had kicked it open instead of having to fuss about with keys, Fuchsia thought.
It occured strongly to Fuchsia that the Queen of Hearts reminded her a great deal of her mother, the Countess Gertrude. Perhaps Gertrude was not as inclined to pronounce frequent sentences of death to all who displeased her, but she was a very imposing woman, very much in charge, and could be a fury when her temper was unwisely brought to a breaking-point. Fuchsia was aware that to some degree she had inherited her mother's temper, so she felt it was all for the best that Alice was a bit more respectful of the Queen than Fuchsia would have been -- very likely, Fuchsia and the Queen (wearing the features of Countess Gertrude in Fuchsia's minds-eye) would have had a dreadful shouting row at one point or another, and it would be Fuchsia under sentence of execution instead of appearing as a witness at the trial of the Knave of Hearts. Could the Knave be Fuchsia's brother Titus? Although she was fairly certain that Titus could swim, so perhaps not. Or else...Steerpike! Fuchsia thought eagerly. At that time, he certainly wanted to steal the tarts of the ruling family Groan, and take them quite away! Fuchsia quite delightedly imagined Steerpike's smug smirk upon the posturing Knave.
Later on, Steerpike was not quite sure what inspired his Countess to playfully announce at the dinner high table, "Move over! I want a clean cup!", but he nodded to the other courtiers to shift down a spot in deference to the whims of the imaginative Lady Fuchsia.
(Cross-posted to theatrical_muse)
Almost without realizing it, Fuchsia mentally put her own seven and a half-year old self into the lead character, imagining it was she who grew and shrank with the ingestion of the different size of the Caterpillar's mushroom, who presented her thimble solemnly to the Dodo only to receive it back again (although Fuchsia mused that she wouldn't have been so upset to have lost it. At that age, she had found embroidery dreadfully tedious). The main difference between herself and Alice, Fuchsia thought to herself, was that Alice was a bit more patient than Fuchsia had been at that age. Additionally, Fuchsia fancied that she would have rather had an angry fit of kicking furiously at the walls instead of weeping to create the Pool of Tears that Alice later swam through. In her version, Fuchsia rather thought that instead of a pool, it might have been a heap of debris that her shrunken self (courtesy of the White Rabbit's fan) might have had to pick her way through. Although possibly that might have solved the problem of getting the little door open, if I had kicked it open instead of having to fuss about with keys, Fuchsia thought.
It occured strongly to Fuchsia that the Queen of Hearts reminded her a great deal of her mother, the Countess Gertrude. Perhaps Gertrude was not as inclined to pronounce frequent sentences of death to all who displeased her, but she was a very imposing woman, very much in charge, and could be a fury when her temper was unwisely brought to a breaking-point. Fuchsia was aware that to some degree she had inherited her mother's temper, so she felt it was all for the best that Alice was a bit more respectful of the Queen than Fuchsia would have been -- very likely, Fuchsia and the Queen (wearing the features of Countess Gertrude in Fuchsia's minds-eye) would have had a dreadful shouting row at one point or another, and it would be Fuchsia under sentence of execution instead of appearing as a witness at the trial of the Knave of Hearts. Could the Knave be Fuchsia's brother Titus? Although she was fairly certain that Titus could swim, so perhaps not. Or else...Steerpike! Fuchsia thought eagerly. At that time, he certainly wanted to steal the tarts of the ruling family Groan, and take them quite away! Fuchsia quite delightedly imagined Steerpike's smug smirk upon the posturing Knave.
Later on, Steerpike was not quite sure what inspired his Countess to playfully announce at the dinner high table, "Move over! I want a clean cup!", but he nodded to the other courtiers to shift down a spot in deference to the whims of the imaginative Lady Fuchsia.
(Cross-posted to theatrical_muse)