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Frederica begins the novel as a young mother in the "revolutionary" England of the 1960s, a prisoner in a tower of sorts, complete with moat. Towers abound in Byatt's book-they erupt throughout the narratives, adding layer upon layer to metaphor. The original tower, of course, is the biblical Tower of Babel. United by a common language after the Deluge, humankind presumes to construct a tower to reach the Divine. Their efforts are thwarted and punished, however, when God isolates each man by a separate language. Bereft of a universal tongue, humanity remains earthbound.
The story within the story is written by an acquaintance of Frederica. Entitled Babbletower, it is about a utopian community led by a visionary named Culvert. Their haven is a tower besieged from without, and eventually from within, after personal freedoms degenerate into "humiliation and slavery." The story is not a pleasant one. Its "depraved" language is accused of being pornographic and ordered to stand trial. The conflict in the courtroom dramatizes the babble of voices that respond to any work of literature.
Frederica's own divorce and child custody hearings give legalese two more opportunities to [mis]interpret the language of the human spirit. To label Babel Tower a mere courtroom drama, however, would be a gross misuse of language.
Babel Tower is a complex, erudite, and suspenseful narrative woven of many threads, ample proof of the powers and pleasures of language.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.
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