Pages:
336
Original
date of publication: 1927
My
edition: 1988 (Virago Modern Classics)
Why
I decided to read: read for All Virago/All August
How
I acquired my copy: Ebay, January 2012
The
heroine of The Way Things Are is kind of a prototype for the Provincial Lady.
Laura Temple has been married to her husband Alfred for 7 years. The have two
small sons together and Laura spends her time looking after her family and
engaging in the local affairs of the village of Quinnerton. At heart, though,
Laura feels trapped—her husband is a good man but she feels that she’s missing
something—until she meets Duke (Marmaduke) Ayland, a friend of her younger
sister Christine.
On
the surface, the book is lighthearted, even funny in some places; but you
really experience the boredom and monotony that Laura feels. At the heart of
this book is the theme of entrapment—EMD believed that all married women were
trapped. EMD approaches the book with detachment; she tried to view the
characters impartially, so none of them experience an inner monologue, for
example (except possibly Laura). Her husband is an archetype (in a review, the
Times Literary Supplement called him “stolid as a leg of mutton”); her sister
is an archetype; her children are archetypes; even Laura herself is an
archetype of the typical country housewife, concerned with the petty details of
her everyday existence (complete with Servant Problems). But there’s humor in
the monotony of Laura’s everyday life.
It’s
interesting to witness the contrast and similarities between our heroine and
her unmarried, city-dwelling sister Christine. But I noticed a theme between
them; both only seem half-content with with the lifestyle they have (Laura
spends her time having an extramarital affair; Christine accidentally ends up
finding a husband). Given the title and knowing what we know about Laura, the
ending is predictable, but it’s interesting to watch her make her decision. In
all though, I prefer the Provincial Lady for wit and humor.
1 comment:
I've only ever read the PL novels but I have a copy of Humbug around here which I really should get round to reading. I'm still not sure what to make of EMD as an author...
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