The Phoenix by Sylvia Townsend Warner [1940]

Story Summary
Lord Strawberry owns the phoenix. When he dies, the bird falls into the hands of the
crafty Polder who makes much money by exhibiting the bird to the public. But when
the initial fascination wears off, the crowds thin. Poldero now wants the public to see
the grand spectacle of the bird bursting into flames, a ritual that happens when the
bird becomes old. Poldero now mistreats the bird making it artificially age. He
advertises the self immolation of the phoenix. Crowds throng the venue along with
the media, the bird bursts into flames, there is a huge fire and all present, including
Poldero are burnt to death. [Vocab immolation: the act of sacrificing oneself by
burning to death.]

Characters
Lord Strawberry
He is a cultured nobleman whose aviary is his pride. He is eager to add a phoenix to it
and travels to Arabia in search of one. He finds a genuine one after which he spends
time with the bird to win its confidence. Back home, he provides the bird with all it
needs. Lord Strawberry stands for humans who never come into clash with nature as
they understand it well.

Poldero
Poldero represents the greed of humanity which puts its own needs and comforts
above those of nature. He is the proprietor of Polderos Wizard Wonderland where he
exhibits his collection of unusual creatures. Poldero bids for and buys Lord
Strawberrys phoenix when the nobleman dies. Poldero is in this business purely for
the money his collection brings him. He does not have any feelings for his creatures.
When he finds that the attraction for the phoenix falls among the public, he looks for
other ways to make money. This is when he finds out that when the phoenix is old
and weak, it bursts into flames and from that fire a new phoenix is born. The only
trouble was that his phoenix was in good health. So he sets about creating a hostile
environment for it. He cuts its food supply, keeps it with alley cats and birds that are
inimical to the phoenix. When he decides the time is right, he advertises the
spectacular end of the phoenix and the birth of the new bird. What Polder does not
bargain for was the consequences of his action. The bird sets off a fire in which the
spectators and Poldero perish. He is a symbol for those elements of humanity who are
greedy and tinker with nature in their pursuit for money.

The Phoenix
The phoenix is a mythical bird that is a symbol of immortality because from the fire
that consumes one bird, another is born. The bird in this story stands for nature and in
this story it is an intelligent but harmless and peaceful beast. Poldero treats the
Phoenix abysmally, but the bird never seems to resent its treatment or respond
aggressively towards its new master. The phoenix does seem to have a will of its own,
which implies intelligence as it only returns to England with Lord Strawberry once he
has won its confidence. Once settled in the aviary it is also found to have a
charming character. The bird chooses to die/be reborn at the end of the story, but it
do this as an act of revenge knowing Poldero and the spectators will all perish in the
fire? Poetic justice perhaps? [Vocab Poetic Justice: the triumph of good over evil.]
Main Themes
The main theme is the greed of man and his exploitation of nature for commercial
success. Man comes into conflict with nature and nature exacts a heavy price. The
phoenix stands for nature and Poldero stands for the human race which will do
anything for money. Poldero finds that people are not interested in the phoenix as it is
too quiet. So he puts the bird through an artificial aging process so that it will burn
itself. There is also the theme of the societys fascination for the sensational and the
grotesque. People queue in large numbers to witness the macabre self immolation by
the phoenix.

Metaphor & Symbolism

The story contains an extended metaphor of man's greed and his exploitation of nature
for profit. Mr Tancred Poldero's only desire is to make money and he does not care at
all for the phoenix's well-being. Tied into this metaphor is the irony that Mr Poldero's
insatiable greed is what eventually destroys him, and the one thing he abused for
profit survives through its rebirth. Further irony lies in the fact that the audience's
desperate desire to be entertained and fascinated is what leads to their fiery deaths - a
completely unexpected result.

Although it was written in 1940 before Global Warming became an issue, a modern
reader can see that the story is also a metaphor for the destruction of the planet though
our greedy desire to have all that we want rather than what the planet can safely give
us. The Gia theory would lead us to believe that though humankind may eventually
destroy itself and the planet, once humankind, or most of it has gone, the planet will
recover and be re-born. If that destruction is through the fires of a nuclear conflict,
then the re-birth will literally be phoenix-like. In this sense the story is prophetic as
well as being metaphorical.