La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Admits Gold, Green, Red and White

Summary: La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse admits gold, green, red and white colors in this short-story sequel to the opera and the play Pelléas et Mélisande.

"God talks to human beings through many vectors: through each other, through organized religion, through the great books of those religions, through wise people, through art and music and literature and poetry, but nowhere with such detail and grace and color and joy as through creation. When we destroy a species, when we destroy a special place, we're diminishing our capacity to sense the divine, understand who God is and what our own potential is." Robert Francis Kennedy Jr., April 19, 2023, Boston Park Plaza Hotel, Back Bay, Boston, Massachusetts.

“And there’s many people out there who want us to move to the next planet already and I’m like, hang on, let’s not give up on this planet yet," William, Prince of Wales, July 31, 2023, Sorted Food food truck, London, England, United Kingdom.

The Gelée blanche (from French gelév blanche, "frost white") painting, achieved in 1893, by Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro (July 10, 1830-Nov. 13, 1903) acknowledges among its colors gold, green, red and white. Those four colors acquit themselves 135 years later in the short story, La Fille de Mélisande (from French la, “the”; fille, “daughter”; de, “of”; Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]), by Kate Mosse. That short-story sequel to the Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918) opera from the Maurice Maeterlinck (Aug. 29, 1862-May 6, 1949) play Pelléas et Mélisande (from Greek πηλός, “clay” via Πηλεύς; French et, "and"; French Mélisande, "Millicent" [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) actualizes white for grief and remembrance, green for history and passing time, red for dying and gold for duty and loyalty; image of Gelée blanche (Deutsch: Rauhreif English: White Frost), 1873 oil on canvas by Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, collection Musée d'Orsay, Rue de Lille, 7th arrondissement of Paris (le (VII arrondissement de Paris), Left Bank (rive gauche de la Seine): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse admits gold, green, red and white colors in this short-story sequel to the Achille-Claude Debussy opera Pelléas et Mélisande, from the same-named Maurice Maeterlinck play.

La Fille de Mélisande (from French la, “the”; fille, “daughter”; de, “of”; Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) begins with white. That short story considers white, perhaps firstly and foremostly, as “the colour of remembrance” (Mosse:247) in colorless assertions as ghosts, hoar frost, shrouds and winding sheets. It perhaps defers to that literal color-free colorlessness as doing double duty with the aforementioned apparitions in declaring olfactory, physical, visual, vocal absence of those departed.

The omniscient narrator equates colorless white with “the colour of grief” (Mosse:247) experienced perhaps most emotionally, empathically and enduringly on an overlapping maternal death-, infant birth-day.

The short-story sequel to the Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918) opera from the Maurice Maeterlinck (Aug. 29, 1862-May 6, 1949) play secondly features green.

Miette (from French miette, “crumb”) glimpses green graying twilight-blackened trees in green-shadowed forests even as black goes as stave notes or as words on white pages. The omniscient narrator hails green, not black-and-white documents and scores, not graying chapels and tombstones, as “the colour of history” (Mosse:248) and “of time passing” (Mosse:249). That green invokes human-inscribed history, inexorable-passed time in emerald weeds, lichen and sabling olive moss respectively invading pathways no longer itinerated, castle walls and headstone letters.

Kate Mosse joins colors such as gold, green, red and white for short-story journeys of La Fille de Mélisande from Pelléas et Mélisande opera and play.

The first, white color kindles in its keepsakes the second and the fourth colors even as the second, green color knows as keepsakes white and yellow.

Memorable, mourning white lodges among historical, temporal green in beggars white-haired 18 years after Miette’s Uncle Pelléas (from Greek πηλός, “clay” via Πηλεύς) lost his life. Yellow gold matches Mélisande, as Golaud’s (from Old Testament gilead, “heap of witnesses” via French Galaad, Galahad) wife and therefore Pelléas’ sister-in-law, missing her wedding ring. Flaming candles niche their “dancing yellow” (Mosse:249) along Allemonde (Latin Alemannī, from German allaz, “all”; mann-, “men, people”?; from German allaz, "all"; French monde, "world"?) walls.

La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse observes gold, green, red and white colors, the third of which offers itself as “the colour of dying” (Mosse:251).

One “single, red pearl of blood” (Mosse:250) from Miette’s knife-tip push against a thumb presages red perishing among fallen rose petals and as the setting sun.

That red questing, quickening and quitting no living quintessence quarters bloody fingers that perhaps forever quelled “the damaged beating heart” (Mosse:251) one, two, three times before. It perhaps reminds non-royal and royal residents of Allemonde Castle of raging recriminations and reprisals, of ravaging revenge every reunion of setting-sun rays rendering chambers crimson. Its souvenir nevertheless suggests yellow gold since that same gold fourthly serves as “the colour of loyalty” especially in its sustainability as a “duty fulfilled” (Mosse:254).

Kate Mosse transmits La Fille de Mélisande, short-story sequel to the Pelléas et Mélisande opera, as a tale told through gold, green, red and white colors.

Perhaps a yellow gold ring with green, red and white stones alike to this emerald, pearl, ruby gold armband adorned Mélisande's (from French Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) wedding finger in the Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918) opera from the Maurice Maeterlinck (Aug. 29, 1862-May 6, 1949) play Pelléas et Mélisande (from Greek πηλός, “clay” via Πηλεύς; French et, "and"; French Mélisande, "Millicent" [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]). Gold, green, red and white colors advanced 107 to 116 years after that 1893-composed play and that 1902-performed opera in the 2009-released short story, La Fille de Mélisande (from French la, "the"; fille, "daughter"; de, "of"; Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) by Kate Mosse. They advise the respective dutiful and loyal, historical and time-passing, dying and grieving memorial affirmations in that short-story sequel; Monday, April 25, 2016, 09:34, image of jeweled gold bracelet made to order for Wilhelmina von Hallwyl, per invoice dated July 2, 1897, by jewelry firm of Jacob Engelberth Torsk (Aug. 16, 1836-May 14, 1860), Stockholm, Sweden: Hallwyl Museum / Helena Bonnevier, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The Gelée blanche (from French gelév blanche, "frost white") painting, achieved in 1893, by Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro (July 10, 1830-Nov. 13, 1903) acknowledges among its colors gold, green, red and white. Those four colors acquit themselves 135 years later in the short story, La Fille de Mélisande (from French la, “the”; fille, “daughter”; de, “of”; Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]), by Kate Mosse. That short-story sequel to the Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918) opera from the Maurice Maeterlinck (Aug. 29, 1862-May 6, 1949) play Pelléas et Mélisande (from Greek πηλός, “clay” via Πηλεύς; French et, "and"; French Mélisande, "Millicent" [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) actualizes white for grief and remembrance, green for history and passing time, red for dying and gold for duty and loyalty; image of Gelée blanche (Deutsch: Rauhreif English: White Frost), 1873 oil on canvas by Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro, collection Musée d'Orsay, Rue de Lille, 7th arrondissement of Paris (le (VII arrondissement de Paris), Left Bank (rive gauche de la Seine): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camille_Pissarro,_Gelee_blanche_(Hoarfrost),_1873.jpg

Perhaps a yellow gold ring with green, red and white stones alike to this emerald, pearl, ruby gold armband adorned Mélisande's (from French Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) wedding finger in the Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918) opera from the Maurice Maeterlinck (Aug. 29, 1862-May 6, 1949) play Pelléas et Mélisande (from Greek πηλός, “clay” via Πηλεύς; French et, "and"; French Mélisande, "Millicent" [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]). Gold, green, red and white colors advanced 107 to 116 years after that 1893-composed play and that 1902-performed opera in the 2009-released short story, La Fille de Mélisande (from French la, "the"; fille, "daughter"; de, "of"; Mélisande, “Millicent” [Anglicized from German amalas, “brave”; swinba, “strong” via Amalaswinba]) by Kate Mosse. They advise the respective dutiful and loyal, historical and time-passing, dying and grieving memorial affirmations in that short-story sequel; Monday, April 25, 2016, 09:34, image of jeweled gold bracelet made to order for Wilhelmina von Hallwyl, per invoice dated July 2, 1897, by jewelry firm of Jacob Engelberth Torsk (Aug. 16, 1836-May 14, 1860), Stockholm, Sweden: Hallwyl Museum / Helena Bonnevier, CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armband_av_guld_med_ädelstenar_och_pärla,_1897_-_Hallwylska_museet_-_110128.tif

For further information:

Marriner, Derdriu. 3 November 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Airs Field, Forest, Marine Animals." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/11/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 27 October 2023. "Field and Forest Plants Abound in La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/field-and-forest-plants-abound-in-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 20 October 2023. "Kate Mosse Anchors in Allemonde her La Fille de Mélisande short story." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/kate-mosse-anchors-in-allemonde-her-la.html

Marriner, Derdriu. 13 October 2023. "La Fille de Mélisande by Kate Mosse Adds a Pelléas et Mélisande Sequel." Earth and Space News. Friday.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2023/10/la-fille-de-melisande-by-kate-mosse.html

Mosse, Kate. 1 January 2009. "La Fille de Mélisande." Pages 247-254. In: Jeanette Winterson (Ed.). Midsummer Nights. London UK: Quercus Publishing.

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet. The Project Gutenberg eBook of Romeo and Juliet. Release date Nov. 1, 1998 [eBook #1513]. Most recently updated June 27, 2023.
Available @ https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1513/pg1513-images.html

Sotheby’s International Realty. “Historic elegance at the Palais Maeterlinck on Cap de Nice.” Côte d'Azur > Sotheby’s > Luxury real estate.
Available @ https://www.cotedazur-sothebysrealty.com/en/luxury-real-estate/details/941/historic-elegance-palais-maeterlinck-cap-de-nice/