Chimera (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: John Barth
- First Published: 1972
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—mythological
- Time of Work: Antiquity and the mid-twentieth century
- Setting: The realm of mythic heroes, the Arabian Empire at the height of its power, and tidewater Maryland
- Genres: Long fiction, Mythological literature, Fantasy
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Mythology or myths, Twentieth century, Storytelling, Fratricide, parricide, or filicide, Heroes or heroism, Greek or Roman times, Middle age, Middle East, Maryland
- Locales: Maryland, Mythical lands
The Plot
John Barth’s fascination with the intricacies of narrative possibility and the complex, evolving interrelationship between an author and a work in progress drew him to the plight of Scheherazade, his figure for an ultimate author who must hold the attention of her audience or lose her life. Using a pattern of doubling that establishes a multiple perspective informing the three parts of Chimera, Barth presents the classic fable of Scheherazade’s predicament—to keep the shah’s interest in a never-ending story so he will spare her life in order to learn...
[The entire page is 1003 words long]
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