The White Jade Fox, Andre Norton (365 Books, Day 278)

[rushthatspeaks]

An odd fusion of classical Gothic novel with (fairly respectfully handled) Chinese-myth-flavored fantasy. In the mid-nineteenth century, the orphaned Saranna comes to Baltimore and the house of her half-brother, whom she has never met and who is old enough to be her father. He fairly shortly decamps to Brazil, leaving the household in control of his daughter Honora. Honora, a recent widow, is plotting to get hold of Tiensin, the mansion full of imported Chinese art that her father-in-law left to her husband's daughter from his first marriage. Tiensin is reputed to be both haunted and full of incredibly valuable objects; Honora is attempting to have its child owner diagnosed as insane, at which point the house will be at her disposal. Saranna, the child's only natural ally, faces a pitched battle: penniless orphan versus society matron, stranger versus settled incumbent, but also, of course, caring heart versus mercenary one.

If you think the family relationships are complicated, did I mention, Gothic? But Norton manages to communicate all the undercurrents and dangers very clearly and very quickly. It is astonishing how thoroughly about half of the plot follows the pattern of the Gothic as defined in Joanna Russ's 'Somebody is Trying to Kill Me and I Think It's My Husband', an essay about the Gothic novel as a simultaneous articulation and denial of women's real fears. Many of the elements Russ identifies there (the heroine must protect a young girl in danger, for instance) are present here. But the other half is full of fox spirits. It's interesting to me what this does to the Gothic structure-- for one thing, it means that the heroine doesn't have to rely entirely on the hero, because she has a powerful female mentor and associate in the fox Princess. The addition of fantasy means the book is both less claustrophobic and less melodramatic than many of its nominal genre.

Since this was written in 1975, the portrayal of race is not necessarily all that one might wish, especially in terms of accuracy about Chinese religious practices. I do not however think it is terrible; I think it was good for its day, especially because the Princess is not a Magical Minority figure. She has her own arc, her own goals, and her own reasons for doing what she does, even if they are more subsumed to the heroine's than might be desirable. I am also not sure about the book's treatment of slavery. The most one can say is that the author obviously had good intentions.

If you can get beyond that, this is one of Norton's most tightly plotted books, satisfyingly paced, with a large and well-developed cast, interesting relationships between women, and enjoyable detail. It's not a genre I've seen her do before and she does it well. It is on the lower rung of my top tier of Norton.

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