Perhaps the strongest evidence between the use of bodies in connection with storytelling comes from the story of Patient Griselda, which Gillian shares at the conference she is asked to speak at. We know that Gillian does not like the story but that is the precise reason she chooses to tell it. When Gillian is speaking about Griselda, she sees before her what I believe is a manifestation of the way she feels about her body and life. It is described as “a huge, female form” with a “toothless, mirthless mouth”. The creature is also described as “flat-breasted” with a “windy hole that was its belly and womb” making the creature immediately gendered as a woman and drawing connections to Gillian herself. Once we are told of this creature, I believe that Byatt seeks to draw the connection between the creature, Gillian and the narrative of bodies by describing Gillian as being “in the body of the hall” of the conference center she is speaking at.  Byatt is linking the way Gillian perceives herself and the metaphorical body of her life and career. The body is the place that Gillian is building her body of work that will further her career. This elevates the idea that career is just as important to femaleness as it is to maleness. I think it’s so important to point out that Byatt frames the story of Patient Griselda in references to bodies. Before Gillian begins her story, we are introduced to “three scarved women,” and the focus is not on the women as beings but only on the trappings they wear on their bodies. Once the creature is gone, the narrative shifts to Gillian’s physical well-being, so we are focused on her body and not the body of the creature or the body of work Gillian is presenting. I assert that this framing is intentional by Byatt as a way of directing our attention before and after this vision to the connection of gendered bodies and storytelling.
After seeing the creature, Gillian remarks that this is a manifestation of what she is frightened of. I believe Byatt uses this creature as a way for Gillian to confront her own personal narrative and change it. Byatt gives us a female protagonist that is permitted to look the demon in the face and know what it is that she desires to change about her own body and her own life. I believe that Gillian draws the connection between herself and Griselda when she orally relates the story of Patient Griselda. Indeed, Byatt draws a connection between the oral traditions and the new narratives about women just by choosing the make Gillian a storyteller. Byatt intentionally interrupts the story of Patient Griselda with this account of a ghoul as a way to allow the reader to conclude that this creature connects Griselda and Gillian. Importantly, both Griselda and Gillian are devoted wives that have been wronged in some way by their spouse. Both women patiently await their spouses’ instructions on how they are to react and behave. I think we see early in the story that Gillian is the process of identifying and changing her own narrative. In this way, Gillian uses the story of Griselda as the catalyst for change in her life. Similarly, I believe that Byatt is using all this as a way of challenging the narrative about women that are so prevalent in recent culture. 
