Salman Rushdies novel 'The Enchantress of Florence' is a powerful and multi-dimensional

expression of the incarnation of globalization in literature !mportant themes arise as relevant to

globalization through the technical advantages of magic realism" which Rushdie emplo#s as the
$e# component for unveiling otherwise improbable dimensions of stor# telling in historical
fiction The most important thematic consistencies in light of it being a global novel arise
primaril# through fore-grounded variance in identit#" time" place" and realism within and
amongst the characters These themes" as magnified b# the effects of magic realism enhance their
face value b# enhancing the temporal and spatial scales in which the# exist Rushdie uses the
familiar and established art of stor#telling to connect meaning between the abstract natures of
themes in the novel This most fundamental theme does not enable seamless transition between
in-se%uential segments" but rather it further emphasizes the feeling of dis&uncture that can be
attributed to the intangible and conceptual magnitude of globalization
'r&un 'ppadurai defines magic realism in '(odernit# at )arge' as it relates to the power of the
imagination *as expressed in dreams" songs" fantasies" m#ths" and stories+ ,e describes an
important source of imagination as *contact with" news of" and rumors about others- who have
become inhabitants of- farawa# worlds+ .'ppadurai" /01 !n this context" where 'ppadurai
references more contemporar# media influences" Rushdie implies stor#telling as the medium for
such exchanges of inspirational information ,e delegates these two ma&or components of magic
realism to two ma&or characters2 the Emperor '$bar encompassing the power of the imagination
and the foreigner (ogor 'more directl# representing the power of stor#telling These s#mbols
seem naturall# befitting" as the two characters are respectivel# interconnected throughout the
novel
A study of the magic realism style as used in Salman Rushdies novels
Midnights Children and The Enchantress of Florence
Born in India in 1947, the year of Indian independence, Salman Rushdie grew up in both
India and Britain, going to Rugby School and then Kings !ollege, !ambridge to study "istory#
"is writing has attracted uni$ersal praise as well as contro$ersy % the publication of his no$el,
The Satanic Verses, caused the religious ruler of Iran to place a fatwa on Rushdie for alleged
blasphemy against Islam# &ll his no$els portray the magic realism style, something Rushdie has
ta'en and de$eloped as his own o$er the years# (his study will focus on the most critically
acclaimed of his wor's to date, Midnights Children which won the )an Boo'er pri*e in 19+1,
the Boo'er of Boo'ers and (he Best of the Boo'ers pri*e , and his most recent wor', The
Enchantress of Florence. Both of these wor's clearly portray the magic realism style set in an
important historical conte-t, and by underta'ing a study of the style as used in these no$els, this
essay will analyse how the belie$ability of magic realism has been achie$ed#
"istory and bac'ground to the magic realism style.
/& comingling of the improbable and the mundane
1
, is the phrase Salman Rushdie
himself used to describe the magic realism style used in his literature, a style that he has
effecti$ely portrayed since his first no$el Grimus in 1970# (he term magic realism is thought to
ha$e been first used in the 1912s by the 3erman art critic 4ran* Roh# /)agischer Realismus as
1
)# &# Bowers, Magic(al) ealism, Routledge, 1224# p4
he called it, was coined in relation to a group of artists sharing a new $ision and style in their
wor', to create elements of the surreal brought into a supposed belief within real scenes# Since
then, the term magic realism has been used to describe literature as well, and this literary style
is thought to ha$e ta'en off in South &merica with writers such as 3abriel 3arc5a )6r7ue* and
&le8o !arpentier# 4rom there it spread across the world, from &merica to Britain, India and
&ustralia, becoming a popular style throughout the twentieth century and onwards# (here
appears to be no e-act definition of magic realism, as it appears in $arious guises# "owe$er, the
following citation sums up the $iew of most people in regard to its use in literature.
/It 9magic realism: relies on the full acceptance of the $eracity of the fiction during
the reading e-perience, no matter how different this perspecti$e may be to the
readers non%reading opinions and 8udgements#
1
It is belief in the fantasy presented in the no$els that is the 'ey to its success# ;ften the
literature appears as a 8u-taposition of the unreal with accepted facts and settings, fre7uently
with importance placed on the historical period, something that is seen in both Midnights
Children and The Enchantress of Florence# In literature, the most important aspect of the magic
realism style is its belie$ability in the no$el, and the reader must be encouraged to $iew the
magical occurrences as an e-pected part of the story# (here is a delicate s'ill to this, for readers
must be persuaded to drop any preconceptions of the magical e$ents, and become immersed in
the world of the no$el# <riters do this in a number of ways, most commonly with an effecti$e
narrati$e style, metaphors and a highly detailed, $i$id setting, all of which are present in
Midnights Children and The Enchantress of Florence.
)agic realism in Midnights Children
)uch of the literature associated with magic realism is regarded as post%colonial# (he
magic realism style in these no$els is sometimes used to spea' out against the oppressi$e
ruling power that go$erns the writer or the characters country# In the case of Midnights
Children this applies subtly, against <illiam )ethwold and the British rule in India# "owe$er, the
no$el is not seen to be an acti$e piece of anti%British literature, yet it shows how important
Indian independence is to its people# Rushdie does this by creating the one%thousand%and%one
children with special powers born at midnight on the e$e of Indian independence in 1947#
/India, the new myth , a collecti$e fiction in which anything was possible
=
/&ll
o$er the new India, the dream we all shared, children were being born who were
only partially the offspring of their parents , the children of midnight were also the
children of the time. fathered, you understand, by history# It can happen#
>specially in a country which is itself a sort of dream
4
(heir magical presence is seen to reflect the $iew at this time in history that Indian
independence was indeed a magical e$ent, the stuff of dreams for many people# (herefore, in
conte-t, it seems to readers that the /)idnights !hildren can indeed e-ist, for they were born in
a time of such happiness and euphoria# 4urthermore, magic is an inherent feature of Indian
1
Bowers, 1224, p4
=
S# Rushdie, Midnights Children, ?intage Boo's, 122+ p102
4
Midnights Children p109
culture, /superstition, mumbo%8umbo and all things magical would ne$er be bro'en in India
0
, and
this strengthens the belie$ability of magic in its Indian setting# (his possibility of truth ma'es the
supernatural e$ents in the no$el belie$able, thus ma'ing the style effecti$e#
;ne feature of magic realism is the reliance of readers on the narrator, to belie$e both
the real and fantasy aspects of the /reality displayed in the boo', and treat them with e7ual
acceptance# (he narrati$e stance employed in Midnights Children is an unusual yet effecti$e
one# Saleem, the narrator and protagonist, is able to recount his parents and grandparents
past in such $i$id detail, despite not yet ha$ing been born, as well as relating the story of his
own life# "is alternation between third person omniscient and first person when narrating the
past before his birth is unusual, as first person narration is usually used when the narrator is
present in the scene# "owe$er, this is effecti$e in displaying the fantasy side to the no$el,
because it shows us that Saleem is somehow able to recount a past he didnt e-perience# (he
fact that Saleem is able to retell the past so $i$idly does not stri'e the reader as implausible
because the narrati$e style is present from the first chapter# In this way, the magic realism style
is used effecti$ely as it seems belie$able to readers, yet, from an ob8ecti$e $iewpoint it must
surely be unfeasible in real life#
4urthermore, the narrati$e stance is used to heighten the ine$itability and importance of
Saleems life to come, because he is placing himself, as narrator, in e$ents he wasnt in$ol$ed
in# (his allows him to tell us the story with an emphasis on things that will affect his life in the
future#
/)y grandfathers nose### I wish to place on record my gratitude to this mighty
organ , if not for it, who would e$er ha$e belie$ed me to be truly my mothers
son, my grandfathers grandson@ , this colossal apparatus which was to be my
birthright, too
A
(his is 8ust one of the many instances in the no$el when Saleem mentions future e$ents, thus
creating prophetic irony# Rushdie is dispelling any delayed e-position and yet also heightening
the sense of intrigue in the reader because they want to find out why an e$ent in the past will
become so important later on# By doing this he has gi$en Saleems life a sense of fate and
destiny, things often associated with magic, and therefore, this strengthens the presence of the
magic realism style in the no$el# &lso, by referencing Saleems magical nose throughout the plot
before his birth, by the time its true powers are apparent, they are e-pected and belie$able#
Rushdie also introduces more prophetic irony with the introduction of Ramram Seth, a
soothsayer# "e prophesies Saleems life to his mother during her pregnancy, but in such a way
that only becomes clear later in the boo'#
/& son###such a sonB###& son, Sahiba, who will ne$er be older than his motherland
, neither older nor younger###(here will be two heads , but you shall see only one
, there will be 'nees and a nose, a nose and 'nees###Cewspaper praises him,
two mothers raise himB###washing will hide him , $oices will guide himB 4riends
mutilate him , blood will betray himB ###Spittoons will brain him , doctors will drain
him , 8ungle will claim him , wi*ards reclaim himB Solders will try him , tyrants
0
Midnights Children p+0
A
Midnights Children p9
will fry him###"e will ha$e sons without ha$ing sonsB "e will be old before he is
oldB !nd he "ill die... #efore he is dead.
$
Soothsayers are often said to be magicians and yet the modern day perception of them is that
their s'ills are merely ritualised guesswor' % indeed at first glance, the prophecy of Saleems life
appears spell%li'e and not to ma'e any sense at all# "owe$er, by the end we can see that the
prophecy was completely accurate, and shows readers that magic does e-ist in the boo'# (he
initial presence of this character adds a sense of magic while ma'ing it seem normal because of
the modern day perception of soothsayers, and it is not until the end of the boo' that we $iew
the prophecy as a true magical e$ent# "ere, Rushdie has again struc' the delicate balance
between the belie$able and the unbelie$able, essential to the success of the magic realism
style#
(he author also uses Saleem to lead us through the no$el as a storyteller# (his is
important for the success of the literary style, because the only account and $iew of the story is
that of SaleemsD therefore we are forced to belie$e it# "owe$er, we are also encouraged to form
our own opinions on the supernatural occurrences that unfold# /I ma'e no commentD these
e$ents, which ha$e tumbled from my lips any old how, garbled by haste and emotion, are for
others to 8udge#
+
In this way the unnatural e$ents must be ta'en as the truth, yet their meaning
is sub8ect to interpretation# By following this idea throughout the no$el, Saleems tale does not
draw ob$ious attention to the magical e$ents, thus ma'ing them more belie$able in the plot
while allowing the reader to form their own opinion on their $alidity#
"owe$er, the presence of a storyteller, in this case Saleem recounting his life, ma'es
readers draw connotations with fables or fantastical tales that ha$e been embellished as they
ha$e been retold o$er the years# (he loose presentation of some details and dates in the story
also gi$es us a sense of a magical presence, something which ma'es history change to fit a
story# Indeed Saleem himself admits that he is getting confused and muddled with the story he
is telling#
/Re%reading my wor', I ha$e disco$ered an error in chronology# (he
assassination of )ahatma 3handi occurs, in these pages, on the wrong date###
does one error in$alidate the entire fabric@ &m I so far gone, in my desperate
need for meaning, that Im prepared to distort e$erything### in order to place
myself in a central role@
9
Eue to this uncertainty o$er the plots acceptability, readers are made to doubt the belie$ability
of Saleems tale, and in this sense the use of the magic realism style could be said to show a
wea'ness# "owe$er due to the $i$id and in%depth portrayal of India and the other settings along
with the historical e$ents, this /wea'ness is remedied because readers who belie$e the realistic
setting and conte-t of the no$el are then persuaded to belie$e the bi*arre plot#
Saleem as a character also has a deeper, underlying significance in the no$el# <hile he
represents Indian independence and Indias rebirth, he is also the /bearer of that ancient face of
India#
12
7
Midnights Children p114 % 110
+
Midnights Children p==
9
Midnights Children p1=2
/I shall e$entually crumble into Fappro-imatelyG si- hundred and thirty million
particles of anonymous and necessarily obli$ious dust
11
F(he appro-imate
population of India between 1971 and 19+1 when Saleem says thisG
11
/H(hees
ob8ect hereH , a tug on my nose , Ithees is human geography### see here the
Eeccan peninsula hanging downBH#
1=
(hese are the $isible similarities between India and Saleem, but there is another less ob$ious
similarity# /;ne day in 1A==, an >ast India !ompany officer named )ethwold saw a $ision### a
dream of a British Bombay#
14
)odern India under British rule, seems to ha$e begun with a man
called )ethwold and coincidentally an >nglishman, <illiam )ethwold, turns out to be Saleems
biological father# So whether they li'e it or not, the li$es of both India and Saleem ha$e been
drastically influenced by the British# Saleem therefore appears as a metaphor for India herself
and here, Rushdie has again demonstrated his capable use of the magic realism styleD he has
successfully mi-ed the concrete facts of Indias history alongside magical powers, as portrayed
by Saleems own character#
)agic realism in The Enchantress %f Florence
& storyteller is also present in The Enchantress of FlorenceD in this case it is Ciccolo
?espucci# "is role in the no$el is to relate the story of his mother, Jara KK*s life to >mperor
&'bar, to pro$e that they are related# Jara KK* is supposed to ha$e tra$elled from India to Italy,
causing a stir where$er she went, lin'ing people and the countries together with her magic# &s
in Midnights Children, the storyteller wasnt present at the time of the e$ents told, which ma'es
the character mysterious and creates an air of magic around a man who can retell e$ents so
$i$idly based on others accounts# &lso, we learn at the end of the no$el that his tale wasnt
entirely accurate, in the sense that unbe'nownst to Ciccolo, he wasnt the >nchantress Jara
KK*s son# (his is a twist at the end of the tale because all throughout, the >mperor, his people
and indeed the reader ha$e ta'en the storytellers word to be true# (he re$elation allows us to
appreciate the enchanted, magical sense of the story and the power that the >nchantress had
o$er people, including us# Rushdie achie$es belie$ability for the supposed powers and history of
the >nchantress because the storyteller himself belie$ed that they e-isted# Eue to this, readers
see no reason not to belie$e them, and along with the in%depth historical setting superimposed
o$er e$erything, he successfully displays the magic realism style#
12
Midnights Children p1A7
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Midnights Children p111
)irrors are recurrent motifs in The Enchantress of Florence and there are two that are
particularly important.
/(he )edici family possessed a magic mirror whose purpose was to re$eal to the
reigning Eu'e the image of the most desirable woman in the 'nown world
10
###
Eu'e 3uiliano at once recognised Jara KK* as the woman in the magic mirror
1A
and /she 9the >nchantress: played bac'gammon with her maidser$ant the
)irror
17
### the )irror sat beside her### I"e has goneH, she 9the >nchantress: told
the )irror# IOes, he has goneH, the other assented# I<e are at the enemys
mercy,H the >nchantress said# I)ercyH the )irror replied#
1+
(he two mirrors, Eu'e 3iuliano of 4lorences and the metaphorical mirror that is Jara KK*s
companion, are seen to ha$e the same purpose in the no$el, though on face $alue they appear
different# Eu'e 3iuliano has a mirror that shows him the most beautiful woman in the world, a
description gi$en to Jara KK*# /Mhysical perfection, a dar' beauty###the incarnation in human
form of that unsurpassable lo$eliness which the city itself possessed#
19
Jara KK*s companion
is also referred to as /the )irror throughout the no$el because she loo's, acts and dresses li'e
her friend, and so can fundamentally be seen to be portraying the most beautiful woman in the
world, as a li$ing imitation# (he motif of the mirror has been sub$erted from its usual portrayal %
as something that can gi$e an e-act and yet inanimate, contained representation of someone %
into something, indeed someone, that gi$es an e-act yet free and li$ing representation of
another# By doing this, Rushdie has successfully introduced an unusual aspect to the no$el
while ma'ing it belie$able to readers by blending the normal and accepted, with the abnormal,
something that the magic realism style see's to do#
Eu'e 3iulianos /magic mirror
12
is again a testament to the magic realism style in this
boo' due to its association with childrens fables# (he mirror, which shows the Eu'e the most
beautiful woman in the world, has una$oidable connotations with the fairytale of Snow <hite
and the Jueens /mirror on the wall# (he presence of this lin' secures a strong connection
between the no$el and fairytalesD e$en the title The Enchantress of Florence seems magical#
(his relationship thus distances the no$el from a true account of the world, yet to remedy this
and successfully utilise the magic realism style, Rushdie maintains a connection with real life,
through the li$ing, breathing /mirror of Jara KK*s companion#
In Jara KK*s homeland years later, in his court at 4atehpur Si'ri, the >mperor &'bar
has many wi$es# "owe$er, none of them seem to satisfy what he is wanting from a wife, so he
ma'es himself an imaginary one, Podha# "e can see her, tal' to her and e$en ma'e lo$e to her,
and yet we 'now that this to be impossible#
10
S# Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence, ?intage Boo's, 122+ p==A%7
1A
The Enchantress of Florence p=4A
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The Enchantress of Florence p=4A
/HOou 'now, that our 9&'bar: fa$ourite 7ueen has the misfortune not to e-ist#H
11
&fter this 9the painting of a portrait:### the whole court 'new Podha to be real
11
###Co
woman was e$er li'e that, so perfectly attenti$e, so undemanding, so endlessly
a$ailable# She was an impossibility, a fantasy of perfection#
1=
&lthough readers ha$e been told that Podha is not a real person, we are still inclined to belie$e
that she could e-ist as an imaginary wife# (his is because later in the boo', Rushdie de$elops
her character by gi$ing her thoughts, actions and feelingsD this causes readers to forget the fact
that she isnt real and treat her as a physical character in the no$el# 4urthermore we 'now that
>mperor &'bar did e-ist in history and so his character is seen as more belie$able than the rest#
(his ma'es us $iew his actions Fi#e# interacting with an imaginary womanG as much more
feasible, and so Podhas character becomes une-pectedly belie$able in the conte-t of the boo'#
&dditionally, the setting of the boo' is an important factor in how effecti$e the magic
realism style is portrayed# (his following e-cerpt describes >mperor &'bars city, 4atehpur Si'ri
in such a way as to show the influence that the literary style has on the setting.
/(he city###rose up effortlessly, year by year, as if by sorcery
14
###and here again
with bright sil's flying li'e banners from red palace windows was Si'ri,
shimmering in the heat li'e an opium $ision###Si'ri was a beautiful lie#
10
"ere we see the city described as a magical and mysterious place which suggests to the reader
that all that occurs within its walls will be under its spell# (his ma'es it easier for us to see the
magical e$ents as fitting to their surroundings in the no$el# "owe$er, due to the apparent lac' of
a normal bac'drop to mi- with the magical e$ents, it would be easy to say that in this respect,
the story has more of a fantasy style than a magic realism one# Ce$ertheless, Rushdie has
a$oided this by underta'ing a great deal of research for this boo'#
/ItQs 8ust this beautiful red sandstone city that &'bar built in the 1Ath century and
abandoned $ery soon after it was completed###and nobody 7uite 'nows why# (he
general theory is that for some reason its water supply failed# It stood on the
edge of a great la'e### But why the la'e disappeared, nobody really 'nows# &nd
so in my no$el IQ$e attempted to pro$ide a 'ind of answer#
1A
Eue to its real place in history, Si'ri pro$ides a belie$able, concrete aspect on which to base our
own perception of normal life in this boo'# (herefore, its magical portrayal sets a precedent by
which the supernatural occurrences can seem belie$able in the conte-t of this no$el#
4urthermore, the other setting in the no$el, Renaissance 4lorence, also pro$ides the
basis by which the magical e$ents can be belie$ed and, therefore, the magic realism style can
be used# Its $i$id portrayal in terms of the city buildings, the brothels, the people and energy at
11
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the time, gi$e the reader, as with 4atehpur Si'ri, a belie$able bac'drop for the magical e$ents to
occur in# &s so much of Renaissance 4lorence still e-ists today and its history is widely
documented, we can be e$en surer that the setting described is one of e$eryday life at the time#
(herefore, because this setting is so belie$able, readers $iew the setting in Si'ri as ha$ing e$en
more authenticity, thus ma'ing the magic realism style displayed in these two bac'drops
successful#
&lso, as Rushdie stated earlier that, /in my no$el IQ$e attempted to pro$ide a 'ind of
answer to why the la'e dried up, we are clearly shown one of his aims in the writing of this
boo'# <e can see that it was to utilise the fairly concrete facts of history and then 8u-tapose
them with other characters, ideas and ultimately, magic#
<e are clearly shown this by using Si'ri as a setting, but also by the de$elopment of
some of his characters# In particular, the famous renaissance political theorist, poet and
playwright, CiccolR )achia$elli Fil )achiaG features in the no$el, but not as the cle$er, wise man
he is famed to be# <e are introduced to him as a child growing up in 4lorence#
/<hen Cino &rgalia and his best friend CiccolR /il )achia , were boys together in
Sant&ndrea in Mercussina in the state of 4lorence they dreamed of ha$ing occult
power o$er women
17
###Il )achia###seemed to be the incarnation of the god
Mriapus, always ready for action, always chasing the ladies, both professionals
and amateurs, and he dragged &go to his damnation se$eral times a wee'#
(his is an unusual portrayal of such an important historical figure, and we see him in the sense
of an immature, se- obsessed adolescent, with none of the wisdom he would show later in life#
"e also is shown to belie$e in magic, with the tale of his childhood focusing on the search for a
mandra'e root which had supposed powers to ma'e the finder irresistible to women# (his
portrayal of )achia$elli is a complete contrast with later on when he is older, and had up until
recently been an important figure in 4lorentine politics#
/&t the age of forty%four CiccolR /il )achia###had ser$ed as a true republican, as
secretary of the Second !hancery, tra$elling diplomat and founder of the
4lorentine militia###after fourteen years of loyal ser$ice the people had shown that
they did not care about loyalty# (he people were fools for power###the people
deser$ed their cruel belo$ed princes#
So the character of )achia$elli can be seen to be an amalgamation of both a traditional and an
imagined side to the famous figure, 8u-taposing reality with fantasy# By doing this, Rushdie is
ma'ing the magic shown by /il )achia acceptable when $iewed with his real character, thus
portraying the essential characteristics of the magic realism style#
&nother ma8or aspect of the boo' is its portrayal of se-, and the eroticism that was so
important in Renaissance Italy in particular# (he power that women and se-ual desire can hold
o$er people is e$ident, it is seen to form a large part of peoples li$es and can control the
actions of many in the boo'D in a sense it enchants the city of 4lorence# (his is then echoed
when Jara KK* enters the city, for its citi*ens are transfi-ed by her beauty and appearance, in
fact so much so that the /(he Mope in Rome###wondered###whether the dar' princess, who
17
The Enchantress of Florence p1A0
claimed not be a !hristian, might actually be the churchs newest saint#
1+
4urthermore, her
beauty is seen to be the cause of many changes in the city of 4lorence#
/Jara KK* un$eiled , as /&ngelica , had come into the fullness of her womanly
powers and was e-erting the full force of those capacities upon the city, misting
the air with a bene$olent ha*e which filled the thoughts of 4lorentines with
images of parental, filial, carnal and di$ine lo$e###perfumes of reconciliation and
harmony filled the air, people wor'ed harder and more producti$ely, the 7uality of
family life impro$ed ### It was the bright time of the enchantress#
19
It is seen that the source of her powers is her feminine beauty and the fact that she is a foreign
princessD therefore, her powers are not witchcraft or spells# &s her powers in 4lorence are ne$er
directly stated to be magic, we as readers can belie$e that it is merely her beauty and allure that
caused the /miracles in 4lorence, and not ob$ious magic# Rushdie has made her magical,
enchanting 7ualities sub8ect to opinion, allowing us to decide whether Jara KK* used magic, or
if the 4lorentines were 8ust so infatuated with her that she ga$e them the inspiration to impro$e
their li$es# So it can be said that Rushdie has used se- and feminine beauty as the form of
magic that Jara KK* displays, because readers can understand the power that beauty and
se-ual desire can hold o$er people today, and so belie$e the magical 7ualities the >nchantress
is said to hold#
!onclusion
/In the <est people tended to read Midnights Children as a fantasy, while in India
people thought of it as pretty realistic, almost a history boo'#
=2
(o me, this statement from
Rushdie succinctly sums up his use of the magic realism style# In my opinion, he uses the
traditional aspects of magic realism, such as the effecti$e narrati$e stance of Saleem and the
detailed settings of India and Renaissance Italy, but has de$eloped the style into his own# In his
no$els, there is an increased importance placed on the historical conte-t and setting, and the
magic realism aspects are often $ery intricate and more unusual# &s seen in The Enchantress
of Florence, Rushdies use of the historical settings of 4atehpur Si'ri and Renaissance
4lorence, and the real characters of )achia$elli and >mperor &'bar, has shown us how he has
de$eloped the literary style to gi$e greater depth to both the style and his no$els# "e has
created an in%depth web of imagination and ideas 8u-taposed with concrete facts of the past, in
which readers themsel$es must decipher a personal understanding of the no$els#
(here is a fine line between fantasy % where readers e-pect not to belie$e the e$ents as
truth before reading the wor' % and magic realism, where readers will belie$e the magical e$ents
in a real setting, but only if the author has been successful in his use of the style# I thin' it can
be said that Salman Rushdie has used this style successfully, and as a result, has heightened
our appreciation of the no$els#
1+
The Enchantress of Florence p=02
19
The Enchantress of Florence p=01%=01
=2
S# Rushdie, Midnights Children, Introduction p# -$ii, ?intage Boo's, 122+
WORD COUNT: ! "ords
#i$liogra%hy
)# &# Bowers, Magic(al) ealism, Routledge 1224
S# Rushdie, The Enchantress of Florence, ?intage Boo's, 1229
S# Rushdie, Midnights Children, ?intage Boo's, 122+
http.LLwww#abc#net#auLrnLboo'showLstoriesL122+L1112990#htm 9accessed 1
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http.LLwww#contemporarywriters#comLauthorsL@pSauth+7 9accessed 1
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http.LLwww#prb#orgLpdf2ALA1#=IndiasMopulationRealityN>ng#pdf page 4
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