collector then experiences perhaps an instant of exhilaration followed again by the almost immediate emptiness of completion, of having finished the game and finding him or herself with a pile of silly shells which mimic the now pointless wall chart.
The act of mounting the charts on the wall is also followed by an emptiness.
I, myself, have experienced this.
I intended to mount charts which I have bought but I do not seem to have got around to it. In my mindâs eye I see them as decorating my gun and tack room. Something in me holds back. They remain with the other items of my life which I intend one day to âframeâ, my birth certificate, my IKEA speed assembly certificate.
They would then become, perhaps, recognition aids for my hunting, or emblematic trophies, or may even be defensible as thematic and atmospheric decoration.
The capture of nature in wall charts is ultimately too removed and too effortless to be gratifying. âOne must read her books with oneâs feet,â etc.
Thatâs right, isnât it, Duc?
Duc?
It may be going too far, however I cannot help but think that there is an echo of medieval magic lurking in these charts.
We are getting a medieval thrill from having nature âexposedâ, revealed and placed within human purview.
In the medieval sense, these wall charts of nature are a mutiny in the face of the mystery of divinity rather than a celebration of it.
With these charts we are dabbling in necromancy and other dark arts.
If we can capture and display, as a trophy, all the categories of nature, we can also do the same with the divine and with other dark secrets of life.
They are charts of secrets and consequently they still have the dwindling remnants of the medieval. They are like pages from the Magia Naturalis (1551) or from De historia stirpium commentarii (1542).
I could see that the Ducâs credulity was being stretched here. The Duc had made a grimace or what I take to be a grimace.
It could be that he is smiling, and I will not press the point.
To conclude, I have heard people say that the beauty of these nature charts is that they celebrate the variety of nature, e.g., âGee, see how many different sorts of parrots there are!â
This may be something to be made aware of but to use it as a justification for a permanent display on our domestic walls is unconvincing.
Behind all this there is a propaganda purpose for these charts.
They are produced to create an âawarenessâ, especially among children, of the âbountiful wonder of natureâ and as such, serve the new religions of nature which lurk within the otherwise sound sections of the green movement.
The other propaganda purpose is to boast of the natural ârichesâ of Australia to attract tourists.
In France the charts tend to be propaganda to remind people of the abundance of, and to encourage the enjoyment of, foodsâcheeses, apples, mushrooms (and to warn of lethal kinds).
Maybe the Australian fishery charts have this in mind, also.
The nature charts are saying that we should admire these creatures and protect them on the bizarre grounds that they are varied and that they are colourful.
âProtectâ, in a simple-minded green sense, means that they shouldnât be hunted or eaten. Which the Duc and I believe is nonsense.
The message of these charts, as ever, is in the eye of the beholder.
Chef Bilson and I, for instance, would look at them as culinary guides for parrot pie.
The Duc, who was, as it turns out, not asleep, seemed to understand exactly what I meant and twitched with an agitated excitement and called for his chef and his head huntswoman.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Difficulty in EXPLAINING
how the Australian
household WORKS
T HE D UC was, as ever, curious about the way Australians live and especially the domestic relationship between the sexes. When I say curious I should elaborate.
The Duc expresses his âcuriosityâ by
The act of mounting the charts on the wall is also followed by an emptiness.
I, myself, have experienced this.
I intended to mount charts which I have bought but I do not seem to have got around to it. In my mindâs eye I see them as decorating my gun and tack room. Something in me holds back. They remain with the other items of my life which I intend one day to âframeâ, my birth certificate, my IKEA speed assembly certificate.
They would then become, perhaps, recognition aids for my hunting, or emblematic trophies, or may even be defensible as thematic and atmospheric decoration.
The capture of nature in wall charts is ultimately too removed and too effortless to be gratifying. âOne must read her books with oneâs feet,â etc.
Thatâs right, isnât it, Duc?
Duc?
It may be going too far, however I cannot help but think that there is an echo of medieval magic lurking in these charts.
We are getting a medieval thrill from having nature âexposedâ, revealed and placed within human purview.
In the medieval sense, these wall charts of nature are a mutiny in the face of the mystery of divinity rather than a celebration of it.
With these charts we are dabbling in necromancy and other dark arts.
If we can capture and display, as a trophy, all the categories of nature, we can also do the same with the divine and with other dark secrets of life.
They are charts of secrets and consequently they still have the dwindling remnants of the medieval. They are like pages from the Magia Naturalis (1551) or from De historia stirpium commentarii (1542).
I could see that the Ducâs credulity was being stretched here. The Duc had made a grimace or what I take to be a grimace.
It could be that he is smiling, and I will not press the point.
To conclude, I have heard people say that the beauty of these nature charts is that they celebrate the variety of nature, e.g., âGee, see how many different sorts of parrots there are!â
This may be something to be made aware of but to use it as a justification for a permanent display on our domestic walls is unconvincing.
Behind all this there is a propaganda purpose for these charts.
They are produced to create an âawarenessâ, especially among children, of the âbountiful wonder of natureâ and as such, serve the new religions of nature which lurk within the otherwise sound sections of the green movement.
The other propaganda purpose is to boast of the natural ârichesâ of Australia to attract tourists.
In France the charts tend to be propaganda to remind people of the abundance of, and to encourage the enjoyment of, foodsâcheeses, apples, mushrooms (and to warn of lethal kinds).
Maybe the Australian fishery charts have this in mind, also.
The nature charts are saying that we should admire these creatures and protect them on the bizarre grounds that they are varied and that they are colourful.
âProtectâ, in a simple-minded green sense, means that they shouldnât be hunted or eaten. Which the Duc and I believe is nonsense.
The message of these charts, as ever, is in the eye of the beholder.
Chef Bilson and I, for instance, would look at them as culinary guides for parrot pie.
The Duc, who was, as it turns out, not asleep, seemed to understand exactly what I meant and twitched with an agitated excitement and called for his chef and his head huntswoman.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Difficulty in EXPLAINING
how the Australian
household WORKS
T HE D UC was, as ever, curious about the way Australians live and especially the domestic relationship between the sexes. When I say curious I should elaborate.
The Duc expresses his âcuriosityâ by
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