In the King's Arms (21 page)
Read In the King's Arms Online
Authors: Sonia Taitz
“That’s the one from the Abbey, with Shelagh. See?” He hoisted her up.
“Yeah. Shelagh’s winking at you. She must love the performance.”
“Oh, yeah, she saw the dress rehearsal, so I’m not that nervous about my—Oh, God, that’s my father,” he said suddenly. “He’s really come.”
“Peter will be so glad!” said Lily. But she knew that he had come for Julian, and for her.
“Can you believe he actually came all the way to England?”
“It’s not that far.”
“It’s worlds away. He hasn’t been here for years!”
“What should we do? Go over?”
“No. Look. Peter sees him, too.” Peter was edging through the crowd toward his father, waving gawkily. Dressed as Prospero, he looked stiff and uncomfortable. The father, dressed in an old tweedy jacket, gave him a hearty slap on the back and they shook hands with a single muscular jerk, like men.
“We’ll see him later,” said Julian. “When Caliban fades back into the night.”
“I’m scared,” she said softly. “He looks so much like you.”
“Who? Caliban?”
“No. Your father. I see why your mother never got over it.”
42
T
HE LIGHTS FADED, and the audience slowly drifted away. Even their murmurs were gone, and the warm June night was thick with silence. Trailing behind, the last to leave, Lily and Julian walked to the River Isis. Each boarded a small punt. The oarsmen drew them on, down the river, and did not turn to see a young woman, dressed in white (a costume donation from the OUDS clan), with flowers wound in her hair, and the young man, also in white. The river wound, round and round, through the shadowy medieval town.
HE LIGHTS FADED, and the audience slowly drifted away. Even their murmurs were gone, and the warm June night was thick with silence. Trailing behind, the last to leave, Lily and Julian walked to the River Isis. Each boarded a small punt. The oarsmen drew them on, down the river, and did not turn to see a young woman, dressed in white (a costume donation from the OUDS clan), with flowers wound in her hair, and the young man, also in white. The river wound, round and round, through the shadowy medieval town.
In a third little boat, just ahead of them, sat Lily’s parents. Their boat traveled the waters, which whispered in the dark of sorrows, forgiveness, and hope, reaching an area illumined only by a circle of candles. And there, around the circle, were Julian’s father, and Peter, and Shelagh Eveline Fanning, and even Mrs. Dancer, glowing in the warmth of the flame.
Josef and Gretta Taub disembarked first and were warmly embraced. As their daughter’s boat arrived, they reached out their hands to help her step onto the shore. Lily embraced her parents, kissing each one on their soft, old cheeks. Slowly, she released them into the circle of candlelight. Julian came last, walked over to her at the center, where they joined hands.
When the woman and the man stepped into this center, flowers
rained from every tree, and small bells tinkled. There were actors up in the boughs, to send them on their way. Then, an old, silk prayer shawl, trailing long white threads from every corner, was spread out and held over their heads. It was a marriage canopy as Prospero would have made it, King of Magic that he was. Held by human hands, the shawl vibrated with the frailty, and bravery, of love.
rained from every tree, and small bells tinkled. There were actors up in the boughs, to send them on their way. Then, an old, silk prayer shawl, trailing long white threads from every corner, was spread out and held over their heads. It was a marriage canopy as Prospero would have made it, King of Magic that he was. Held by human hands, the shawl vibrated with the frailty, and bravery, of love.
Julian took Lily’s hand in his and gripping it tightly, said,
Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight,
And hurt not.
Sometimes, a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears;
And sometimes voices,
That, if I then had wak’d after long sleep
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming
The clouds me thought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that when I wak’d
I cried to dream again.
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight,
And hurt not.
Sometimes, a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears;
And sometimes voices,
That, if I then had wak’d after long sleep
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming
The clouds me thought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that when I wak’d
I cried to dream again.
And looking all around her, and above her, Lily, responding, cried:
“Oh, brave new world, that has such people in it!”
To which sentiment, Peter pealed, “Amen to
that
!” causing everyone to laugh, including the young female Rabbi from Headington.
that
!” causing everyone to laugh, including the young female Rabbi from Headington.
Minutes later, after reciting the requisite vows, Lily and Julian were declared “husband and wife.” Julian then stomped on a glass,
shattering it into shards. He had learned that every joy brings sorrow, and every sorrow, joy, that temples are devastated and mourned, but also rebuilt.
shattering it into shards. He had learned that every joy brings sorrow, and every sorrow, joy, that temples are devastated and mourned, but also rebuilt.
So, after the stomp, there was a happy commotion. The isle was full of noises, sounds, sweet airs, and “Mazel Tovs,” that give delight, and fade, after long revels, into stillness.
43
I
N TIME, Lily would give birth to a little girl, breathing companionably upon her mother’s breast. A funny little thing: blue eyes streaming under pale lids, wet black thatch sticking out in all directions.
N TIME, Lily would give birth to a little girl, breathing companionably upon her mother’s breast. A funny little thing: blue eyes streaming under pale lids, wet black thatch sticking out in all directions.
Brilliant as a star.
This would happen in Ireland, where Julian began his career. In time, they would travel throughout, and beyond, the dwindling British Kingdom. They would travel to London (where Peter lectured), and Edinburgh, to Tel Aviv and New York City and all the way to beneficent Miami, where Lily’s parents would spend their happiest years. Lily, observing, remembering, would write about it all: how a man leaves his family and cleaves to his wife. How a world is made, destroyed, and restored when the lion and the lamb reconcile. She would write about how grandparents hold babies and sense the divine, a taste, at last, of what we all call eternal.
But for now, Lily had no thoughts beyond the wedding circles on her hand and on her husband’s. They were as golden as the light that traveled across water and land, rising to greet them as they woke up in each other’s arms.
Acknowledgements
This book was written roughly twenty-five years ago, and would not have seen the light of the 21
st
century day were it not for the loving ministrations of my editor and publisher, Ellie McGrath, founder of McWitty Press. I think it is no small coincidence that the imprint’s title contains not only the word “witty,” but also a near-rhyme to McVitie, manufacturer of England’s finest “digestive” biscuits: Ellie is that wise and that nurturing. I would also like to thank Stephanie Sosnow, Debra Berman, Lynn Schwartz and Susan Weinstein, all of them wonderful people and loyal friends. Abby Kagan and Jenny Carrow lent me their visionary skills, and I am grateful to them for giving such a beautiful face to my ideas. My husband Paul was a wonderful support during all this midwifery, as were my children, Emma, Gabriel and Phoebe. Lastly, I am grateful to my late parents, Simon and Gita Taitz, for their enduring love and support for my every venture, romantic or practical.
st
century day were it not for the loving ministrations of my editor and publisher, Ellie McGrath, founder of McWitty Press. I think it is no small coincidence that the imprint’s title contains not only the word “witty,” but also a near-rhyme to McVitie, manufacturer of England’s finest “digestive” biscuits: Ellie is that wise and that nurturing. I would also like to thank Stephanie Sosnow, Debra Berman, Lynn Schwartz and Susan Weinstein, all of them wonderful people and loyal friends. Abby Kagan and Jenny Carrow lent me their visionary skills, and I am grateful to them for giving such a beautiful face to my ideas. My husband Paul was a wonderful support during all this midwifery, as were my children, Emma, Gabriel and Phoebe. Lastly, I am grateful to my late parents, Simon and Gita Taitz, for their enduring love and support for my every venture, romantic or practical.
About the Author
Sonia Taitz is an essayist, playwright, and graduate of Yale Law School and Oxford University, where she received an M.Phil in Literature and was awarded the Lord Bullock Prize for Fiction. Author of
Mothering Heights
(William Morrow and Berkley), her work has appeared in
The New York Times
,
O: the Oprah Magazine
,
People, The New York Observer
, and many other publications. Her plays have been performed in Oxford, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Mothering Heights
(William Morrow and Berkley), her work has appeared in
The New York Times
,
O: the Oprah Magazine
,
People, The New York Observer
, and many other publications. Her plays have been performed in Oxford, New York, and Washington, D.C.
In The King’s Arms
is her first novel.
is her first novel.
Reader’s Guide
1. What do you think is meant by the title of
In the King’s Arms
? What sort of kings are there in the book, and what types of power do they have? Is their power real in all cases?
In the King’s Arms
? What sort of kings are there in the book, and what types of power do they have? Is their power real in all cases?
2. How do you explain Lily’s desire to leave her parents and her homogeneous, Jewish world? Is it heroic bravery, or an act of betrayal? Why does she feel a need to move away? Is her move to Europe more shocking than if she had, say, gone to Canada or California?
3. This book is set in the 1970s, with flashbacks to the war-torn 1940s. To what extent is Lily living in her parent’s time? Are her fixations and fears relevant today? Do we still live in a world in which so much depends on where one comes from and what God one worships?
4. Why do Lily and Julian choose each other? Will she be happy with him? Will she feel safe, in the way that Archibald does, in the world they will create together? Will Julian?
5. The book contains flashbacks into the horrors of the Holocaust. Does this background explain the insularity of Lily’s parents? Is this insularity
vital to the preservation of their Jewish culture? In other words, do cultures need to be protected from both prejudice and assimilation?
vital to the preservation of their Jewish culture? In other words, do cultures need to be protected from both prejudice and assimilation?
6. Do you think Lily’s parents will ultimately be able to embrace Julian as their son-in-law? Will Lily’s journey open their hearts and/or help heal their wounds? How will Lily’s daughter see the world?
7. Are Julian’s mother and step-father as insular as Lily’s? What motivates their strong feelings? What has happened to their vision of Great Britain in more modern times? What has happened to the idea of nationalism?
8. Do you think love will conquer all, as the final chapter suggests? Does this book resolve the problems faced by Romeo and Juliet? What would have to happen in the world so that people like Lily and Julian can truly build a life together?
9.
In the King’s Arms
is not just a story about love but about reconciliation. In what ways does Lily show her desire to reconcile Gentiles and Jews? What drives this desire?
In the King’s Arms
is not just a story about love but about reconciliation. In what ways does Lily show her desire to reconcile Gentiles and Jews? What drives this desire?
10. Do we still face the old cultural vendettas with which previous generations struggled? What forms do they currently take? Do you wish, as Lily sometimes does, for a common “communion”?
An Interview with Sonia Taitz
Q: What made you decide to write this book?
I was compelled to write this book by an insistent idealism. I truly believe that, as Anne Frank so famously said, “people are basically good.” The beauty of love, its openness and trust, convinced me that I could write a story in which walls of distance, hatred and prejudice could fall down between loving people.
Q: To what extent does this novel reflect your own upbringing?
My parents were refugees, Lithuanian-Jewish survivors of the Holocaust in Europe. As their daughter, I was taught from a very young age that Jews were permanent targets of a vast, undying hatred, and that I must be vigilant. Slowly, I developed a different sense of the world, my own sense of possibilities. Of course, expansiveness was easy for me—I grew up in America in a prosperous and idealistic time. Women, people of color, worshippers of different religions—all these so-called minorities were absorbed and accepted as equals in our culture. I wanted to step out and show my parents (and myself) that this new world was “basically good,” and that Jews were no longer the sacrificial lamb of the world, as they saw it.
Q: How did you “show” them this?
They themselves came to the same conclusion as they grew older, perhaps aided by my academic and professional success, both in
America and in Europe. My father was especially proud when I got into Yale Law School; it convinced him that in America, an immigrant’s child could do anything. When I went to Oxford, he was even more bowled over. His own schooling in Europe had ended abruptly, as had my mother’s. In his case, his father had been killed by the Cossacks when he was small, and he had to begin working soon after; in my mother’s case, a career as a concert pianist was aborted when the Nazis came into Lithuania.
America and in Europe. My father was especially proud when I got into Yale Law School; it convinced him that in America, an immigrant’s child could do anything. When I went to Oxford, he was even more bowled over. His own schooling in Europe had ended abruptly, as had my mother’s. In his case, his father had been killed by the Cossacks when he was small, and he had to begin working soon after; in my mother’s case, a career as a concert pianist was aborted when the Nazis came into Lithuania.
Q: Did you practice law?
Yes, for a time. It was my father’s wish—in urging me to go to Law School—that I “save the world,” but what I mostly did in the early years was help major corporations fight enormous cases that dragged on forever. More recently, I returned to the law as a
pro bono
advocate for foster children as well as victims of sexual and domestic abuse.
pro bono
advocate for foster children as well as victims of sexual and domestic abuse.
Q: When did you become a writer?
I’d always written, starting from high school. At Oxford, I wrote fiction and plays. I wrote this book during my time as a corporate litigator. I got an agent immediately, and made thrilling plans for a life as an “artist.” My agent found many interested editors; several asked to meet me. One, a
grande dame
with her own imprint, spoke to me in her office for hours as we drank tea from porcelain cups. Regrettably, she decided against publishing
In the King’s Arms
(and that year published an English writer who is now world-famous!). Next, a senior editor, from a prestigious, small house, invited me in to discuss his changes for the book. If I made them, he said, he would make me “a literary event,” and a certain critic from
The Washington Post
would review me on the front page. So I went home, made the changes and. . . .
grande dame
with her own imprint, spoke to me in her office for hours as we drank tea from porcelain cups. Regrettably, she decided against publishing
In the King’s Arms
(and that year published an English writer who is now world-famous!). Next, a senior editor, from a prestigious, small house, invited me in to discuss his changes for the book. If I made them, he said, he would make me “a literary event,” and a certain critic from
The Washington Post
would review me on the front page. So I went home, made the changes and. . . .
Q: They didn’t publish the book?
That kind of thing is quite common, I found. The senior editor loved the changes I made, but his publisher decided against the novel because he had just acquired something similar—another book that took place in Oxford.
Q: What year was that?
Oh, about 1986 or so.
Q: You mean, 25 years ago?
Yes.
Q: Does that kind of time frame make you want to give up on writing?
No. I got a book called
Mothering Heights
published by the estimable William Morrow, and enjoyed a heady ride (media blitz, paperback, foreign rights), which is unusual for us writers. A struggle is far more typical. So it’s a good thing that I am a dogged idealist, as struggle is what I faced despite the relative success of that first book. My new memoir, rejected by dozens of publishers (despite my having the best agent in the world), is coming out next year. Like the Jews, I like to beat the odds by surviving. And in the end, art, like any true love, is always worth the effort.
Mothering Heights
published by the estimable William Morrow, and enjoyed a heady ride (media blitz, paperback, foreign rights), which is unusual for us writers. A struggle is far more typical. So it’s a good thing that I am a dogged idealist, as struggle is what I faced despite the relative success of that first book. My new memoir, rejected by dozens of publishers (despite my having the best agent in the world), is coming out next year. Like the Jews, I like to beat the odds by surviving. And in the end, art, like any true love, is always worth the effort.
Q: What attracted you to write a book about two young people from different cultures?
I am always interested in polarities and how to reconcile them. I am also a product of two cultures: orthodox Jewish, born and bred in a Yiddish-speaking immigrant’s ghetto; and American, happy, bold and optimistic. I see the world through two lenses, each with a different view. It’s dizzying, at times, but the perspective is inspiring.
Q: Do you think the young lovers can conquer their cultural and religious differences?
My husband is a passionate convert to Judaism and past Board Member of our lively synagogue; so, yes.
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