Mantissa by John Fowles. Short summary

5 seconds

The dialogue between the writer (and the protagonist of his novel) and the muse Erato, who takes on the guise of the heroines of the novel. At the end it is unclear whether the writer is writing the work, or whether the characters are dictating plot twists to him.

1 minute

The novel’s title was a mathematical term, a floating-point number, with no indication of a positive or negative value. This mantissa makes for a confusing narrative. It is not entirely clear whether the main dialogue is taking place in the writer Michael Green’s head or in an isolated hospital room.

Green hatches a plan to create an erotic novel. He converses with Erato, the muse of love poetry. Greene himself identifies with the main character. The muse alternately, and sometimes simultaneously, takes on the hypostasis of the novel’s heroines.

The main character suffers from amnesia. His doctor, Miss Delphi (aka Erato), believes that sexual activity will help him cope with the disease. In the first part, the treatment progresses quite successfully.

But then Erato intervenes, demanding that the storyline be changed. The main character also gains a voice. It is unclear to the end whether the writer is writing the work, or whether the characters break through on paper with his hand.