«The Flowering Of The Strange Orchid»: From Plant Science To Victorian Horror From a Multidisciplinary Approach

  1. Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez 1
  2. Jorge Poveda Arias 2
  1. 1 Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
    info

    Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

    Madrid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02msb5n36

  2. 2 Universidad de Valladolid
    info

    Universidad de Valladolid

    Valladolid, España

    ROR https://ror.org/01fvbaw18

Revista:
Brumal. Revista de Investigación sobre lo Fantástico / Brumal. Research Journal on the Fantastic

ISSN: 2014-7910

Año de publicación: 2023

Título del ejemplar: Lo vegetal y lo fantástico

Volumen: 11

Número: 1

Páginas: 21-43

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.5565/REV/BRUMAL.960 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDDD editor

Otras publicaciones en: Brumal. Revista de Investigación sobre lo Fantástico / Brumal. Research Journal on the Fantastic

Resumen

Las plantas son organismos cuya gran distancia biológica de los humanos ha despertado el interés cultural como criaturas poderosas y/o peligrosamente desconocidas, especialmente durante la época victoriana. «La Floración de la Extraña Orquídea» (1894), de Herbert George Wells, cuenta cómo un coleccionista de orquídeas es atacado hasta casi la muerte por su última adquisición. La planta ataca al hombre con sus «raíces aéreas tentaculares», como un vampiro que se alimenta de su sangre. Sin embargo, Winter-Wedderburn es salvado por su ama de llaves y la planta muere al instante. El relato se escribe en un momento histórico de gran fascinación por las orquídeas y las plantas carnívoras. Literariamente, la historia tiene numerosas comparaciones con grandes personajes, como Medusa y sus tentáculos, Drácula, Carmilla e incluso IT. Al mismo tiempo, es un relato con un fuerte contenido de ciencia vegetal, que trata aspectos como los mecanismos que utilizan las orquídeas para obtener nutrientes, su floración, la importancia de la «caza» para la supervivencia de las plantas carnívoras o la biología de las plantas parásitas. En conclusión, el relato de Wells realiza una importante crítica a la forma en que el hombre se relaciona con la naturaleza utilizando la ficción literaria y los conocimientos de vanguardia en ciencia vegetal de su época. 

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