Institute History
Description
The screenplay of Memoirs of a Midget is a somewhat loose adaptation of the novel written in 1921 by Walter de la Mare, British novelist, essayist, critic, playwright, poet, editor and author of short stories and children's books.
It explores the early life of M., a perfectly formed midget born into a frigid and unloving yet privileged family in rural England at the turn of the century.
After the untimely deaths of her parents, both violent episodes for which she feels responsible, M., now eighteen, is sent with her beloved dog "Flag" to live in more homely surroundings in another village under the benevolent tutelage of the aging dowager, Mrs. Bowater.
There, she discovers the healing effects of kindness, marred by a brief but catastrophic relationship with Mrs. Botwater's seductively cruel twenty-year-old daughter, Fanny.
Answering the call of her own heart, M. discovers a magical parallel world in the woods and there, within the confines of the miraculous Floating World Circus, learns about renunciation, salvation, and love.
Investigating the themes of prejudice, transformation, and awakening, Memoirs of a Midget traverses the journey of M's healing through three distinct landscapes and levels of consciousness, the past, the present, and the conditional; the realm of Fantasy.