The Power of Storytelling
In Ali Smith’s Autumn, one of the obvious threads throughout is that of stories and storytelling. This oft-debated theme may be seen by many as a one-sided idealization of Daniel on Elizabeth’s part, but that is too simple an interpretation and hinders Smith’s view on the powers of storytelling. By looking at the different ways in which stories appear in this novel, we stand to gain a better understanding of Smith’s view on the power stories have in their ability to connect people together despite the years between them. The way in which she incorporates different unique methods of storytelling into her writing support the idea of an equal relationship between these two main characters. Stylistic choices such as the lack of quotation marks and a non-sequential timeline as well as free indirect discourse and an abundance of literary references are used to show that just as Elisabeth needs Daniel in order to see the past, Daniel needs Elisabeth in order to see the future. In doing so, different generations can learn from past mistakes and create a brighter future.
In order to better understand the relationship between Daniel and Elisabeth, it is first important to look at his relationship with his sister, because his relationship with Hannah is a way to compare his treatment of his loved ones. Towards the end of the novel, and his life, is one of the chapters that takes place in the strange dream world Daniel is often seen in. This time in particular, he is interacting with his younger sister in some long-ago memory of his last summer at home. The reflections on his relationship with his sister revolve through this time warp as he tries to remember her name. It is from this memory with his sister where it is revealed that she taught him more about the world than would be expected.
One such thing he learned from her is how to look at the world through literature. The question Daniel is seen asking Elisabeth time and time again came from Hannah. “Tell me what you’re reading” she demands from, and then questions repeatedly at every turn of the plot, her far older brother (185). It is this kind of thinking that he admires most, and it is this kind of thinking that he tries to instill in Elisabeth. The first time he asks her this question and she reacts in the way only an eleven-year-old can, he tells her, “always be reading something… How else will we read the world?” (68). His desire to teach Elisabeth the ways in which his sister thought prove how strong the connection is between them. Sharing a personal way of seeing the world with someone can only be done with those that are deeply trusted.
In a similar way, Hannah’s way of thinking is also what reveals Smith’s main belief in the power of storytelling. At a point of desperation in this same dream world, Daniel asks God for help in remembering his sister’s name and is answered by a disembodied voice. This voice claims to be everything and yet also to be “the voice that tells no story” (192). Daniel, in his surrealist state, catches the voice in its own contradiction. He uses a lesson he learned from his sister to dispute this idea. He tells the voice that “there’s always, there will always be, more story. That’s what story is” (193). At this moment Daniel realizes he may be nearing the end of his life, but he also knows that this does not mean it is the end of his story. It was not the end of Hannah’s story and it will not be the end of his. He will live on through Elisabeth as Hannah lived on through him.
Both this moment of suspended time and the non-sequential way in which Smith reveals the importance of this otherwise mundane question—what are you reading today? —shows a lot about how she sees the power of a story. By choosing to make the timeline disjointed instead of cohesive and orderly, Smith is showing the usual gaps in understanding that different generations often have. However, it is clear to see that in her eyes, stories can connect the past to the present. Right as the section to Daniel’s dream world opens, it starts with “Here is an old story so new that it’s still in the middle of happening” (181). This story being referred to is that of life and death. In Smith’s eyes, life is the story, but death is not the ending. To her, the connection between generations is what keeps the story moving and vice versa. Without the story, without life, there would be nothing to bridge that gap between generations which is why the idea of storytelling is so prominent between Daniel and Elisabeth. It is what shows they care for one another equally and deeply.
This point of view around storytelling can be seen again when looking at the interactions between Elisabeth and Daniel as he lays asleep in the care facility. Or rather, how Elisabeth interacts with a usually sleeping Daniel. When she starts reading aloud to him she begins to heal from the hurt he caused her ten years ago even without him being fully conscious. The literary references we get in these moments between them are what both shape the current state of their relationship and also show just how powerful a story is.
The first time Elisabeth reads out loud to him she is reading Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Specifically, the scene she is reading to him is the one where Narcissus dies and is being fawned over by the Nymphs and Echo. Smith’s choice in having this be the scene that Elisabeth reads aloud seems to point toward the idea of Daniel being self-centered and that he never actually cared for her. However, it is not Narcissus that is really the one being focused on in this passage; his name is not mentioned here at all. Instead, it is “his sisters, the nymphs of the spring… the wood nymphs… and Echo” that we see here (171). Smith chose this passage because the mourning of the nymphs here is representative of Elisabeth’s grief both at losing Daniel and that she only now is taking the time to finally forgive him. This literary reference can also be related back to Smith’s idea of stories connecting generations. She has taken this book from two thousand years ago and is using it as Elisabeth’s method of both forgiving Daniel and as a way to mend their relationship.
For the last book that Elisabeth reads to Daniel, she chooses Charles Dicken’s novel A Tale of Two Cities. She is reading the famous first sentence of the novel that sets up its universality. Unsurprisingly, this universality reflects Smith’s idea of story being continuous and full of the exact dualities that connect generations. As Elisabeth reads the words “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” and so on, she experiences a moment of clarity (201). Just as Hannah had taught Daniel and then Daniel taught Elisabeth all those years ago, reading lets you see the world. At this moment she can finally see that, all those years ago, when she thought he didn’t actually care for her was simply her being “hopelessly hurt, about something stupid” (202). She can see that just because he does not love her in the way he did Boty, does not mean he did not still care for her.
When Daniel and Elisabeth are last together, when they finally get to speak again, Elisabeth pulls out A Tale of Two Cities. As she does so, he wakes up, looks her in the eye, and says, “Thought it’d be you. Good. Nice to see you. What are you reading?” (258). This simple statement effectively takes them full circle. Once again Daniel sees Elisabeth as a sister and is showing that he had been waiting; waiting for her to show up so they could once again get down to the important matters—books.
This entire novel is full of free indirect discourse (especially when we see Elisabeth with her mother or Daniel in his past). By not using that device at all, it shows that there is nothing being hidden between these two friends. When Elisabeth starts her thought spiral on “what if Goldilocks was doing what she was doing because she had no choice” there is no holding back (121). Free indirect discourse is not necessary because she doesn’t feel the need to covet her thoughts from him. Narrative exposition is not needed to show just how emphatic she feels about the subject Daniel has opened her eyes too. Only the closest of friends can feel as open with each other as these two clearly do.
A truly pivotal moment in Daniel and Elisabeth’s relationship is built up around one story in particular: the man with a gun and the person in a tree costume. This moment of verbal worldbuilding between the two has a dual purpose in Daniel’s eyes. He is entertaining his young friend of course, but he is also showing her how the world works. By telling thirteen-year-old Elisabeth that “whoever makes up the story makes up the world” he is forming her future (119). In this scene in particular, it is to represent the openness of their conversation. Daniel’s desire to openly tell Elisabeth about the world is a great indication of how much he cares and believes in her. He sees her as the future and knows the importance she can have in the world. He does not hide behind her age as an excuse to shelter her from the way the world works.
When Elisabeth has finally gotten to the core of Daniel’s lesson in the way he told the Goldilocks story and declares that she will “be giving her the benefits of the doubt” he knows that she now has a better understanding of the world around her (121). And when he tells her that she’s now ready for bagatelle, there’s a deeper meaning behind it. “Now you’re ready, Daniel said,” implies she is ready to take on the world (121). He feels he has done his job of impacting the future generations and used this method of storytelling to do so. He was open and caring and taught this young girl how the world works in a way that lets her do all the realizing. His storytelling is a method of teaching that both bridges the generations between them and also shows the care and love he has for her.
Along with a lack of quotation marks, this section of the story is also lacking an abundance of narrative exposition. In fact, in this entire chapter there are only five paragraphs where the narrator explicitly gives the reader any background information. This choice on Smith’s part does two things for the story. The first, and most obvious, being that it puts a real emphasis on the dialogue between Daniel and Elisabeth. It shows that what they are doing is nowhere near as important as what they are saying. The first page of the chapter is where three of these five paragraphs of exposition are, and they simply set up the location and purpose of this conversation.
From childhood to old age, the relationship between these two people that are generations apart has always been built around the telling of stories. Looking at storytelling in the ways that Smith wants allows two things to be seen. The first is that stories can bridge the differences in generations. They can mend wounds, open eyes, and create understanding. And the second, building from the first, is that Daniel truly did see Elisabeth as a special person to him. No one takes the time to be that nurturing throughout a child’s whole life without having love in their heart. Using this relationship as an example and keeping in mind Smith’s beliefs, the next steps of the current generations should work towards creating better understanding and hopefully then avoid the same mistakes that have been made.
Works Cited
Smith, Ali. Autumn. New York, Anchor Books, 2016.
(I forgot to post this to the blog last night but I posted it to d2l on time so hopefully that's what matters more)
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