Another passage in The Biographer's Tale that is interesting is when Nanson is in the the museum of the Linneaus society. In the previous passage I looked at, either Linneaus wrote about finding the plant he named Andromeda, or Destry-Scholes created the story. In the passage on pages 131 to 134, more attention is given to Andromeda and what Linneaus thought of it, as well as a mention of Ovid, a Roman poet who wrote about her. There is a poem written by Linnaeus, as well as the drawing that the poem is on. There is also a section of a text written by Linnaeus about the flower. Both of these show the blurring between fact and myth that happened with Linnaeus. While Linnaeus was write, that plants were related to one another and could be classified, his method was flawed and doesn't hold water today. This is not to say that Linnaeus wasn't important, but that he was a product of his time.

But more importantly to The Biographer's Tale, this emphasis on Andromeda and the myth behind it indicates that the myth of Andromeda is also important. It is interesting that Andromeda was originally promised to her uncle Phineus, but ends up with Perseus. I do not believe that Byatt also naming her protagonist was a mere coincidence. But at the same time, I do not have a clue what it means. Andromeda could relate to Fulla in the passage on page 67, with Phineas acting as Linnaeus. Or Medusa could be related to Fulla, as they both have eccentric hair, but I find this unlikely. It is clear to me that Fulla and Vera are supposed to be the parrallel of the women in Bole's tale, the passionate woman in Turkey, the reserved woman in England. And Phineas ends up with both women. And their is no lost romance with Phineas in the story. Wikipedia gives multiple meanings to the name Andromeda, one being "to think, to be mindful" and another being "she who leads". The former could easily be Vera, and the later could just as easily be Fulla. But again, it doesn't really fit. And in the end of the myth, Phineus is turned to stone with Medusa's head, and I don't really see a parrallel in the story.

Either I am reading too much into this, which I suspect is easy to do with Greek mythology, or I am missing something.

Another thing I found interesting was Fulla's initial description. Her hair is related to the sun and comets. I find that interesting as it reflects her personality, as she is fiery and passionate. But at the same time she is an ecologist, some one concerned with the organic, things built upon carbon framework. Yet she is compared to very inorganic things, stuff made of metals, hydrogen and helium. Probably not really important, but I found it interesting.