Mesmerized by Reading Turgenev by William Trevor 10 out of 10

 Mesmerized by Reading Turgenev by William Trevor

10 out of 10

 

 

Reading Turgenev is yet another proof of the enchantment, bliss brought by, well…Reading Turgenev and in general, a splendid, glorious novel, shortlisted for the most important prize for literature written in English, The Booker Prize, in 1991 Reading Turgenev is the first part in the novel Two Lives and it is followed by the much more popular – adapted for the big screen – My House in Umbria http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/07/my-house-in-umbria-by-william-trevor.html

 

The main character of this superb novel is Mary Louise Dallon, a woman that lives in an institution for those with some mental issues and whose life we learn about, through a narration that alternates between the present in which Mary Louise is about to move out of this closing shelter and back into her own home and a past that is at the same time incredibly sad, sordid, punishing, torturing, humiliating and counterintuitively serene, blessed, uplifting, inspiring, once she establishes a brief, but continuing after the demise of one of the protagonists, intense, fervent romance with Robert, her cousin.

Mary Louise and Robert have been in the same school together and their affection for each other appears to have been simultaneous, albeit none knew at the time about the infatuation of the other – as the grown woman would say later, they were children anyway, therefore not much, if anything could have developed from that moment, even if the nascent attraction will have bloomed into a rather tumultuous, otherworldly affair, given especially the loyalty, dedication and worship status that the surviving cousin will feel for her then late love – an interest that for the girl would be followed by an attraction to James Stewart, the actor, who will replace the cousin in the dreams, especially since Robert stopped coming to school.

 

He has always been a weak boy, ill and forced to stop going to school, once his father died and left his wife and son in a financial difficulties, forcing the mother to work and spend so many hours trying to keep the boy fed and clothed that she could not find the time to take him to and back from school…they would try other means, contemplating the milk truck or other solutions, but nothing worked for the brilliant boy, who had been so successful…he would develop a love for reading, which he would transmit to his cousin, taking the texts of Turgenev and sharing with her blissful moments, in the field and in the cemetery which he liked and where she would later make efforts to have him moved…his remains that is, remarking on the peculiar name that we have for what we find in the coffins…remains

Mary Louise Dallon was raised on a farm by her parents, together with her elder sister, Letty, and her elder brother, James, but she had always wanted to move to the town, where she had one first option, hoping to work in one of the shops, but her second choice would have been the draper and when the owner of the latter started courting her, the girl was not overcome with joy, but still considered the prospect as probably the best outcome for her, considering the circumstances, even if the man was much older at 35, than the young woman who is only 21…there is also the issue of their shared faith…they are both Protestants…

 

Letty would later marry a Catholic and that would go ahead without protestation, but the difference in views is anyway visible – apart from the unvoiced uneasiness and reluctance – when among the gifts for the newly married couple, there is a symbol of Catholicism that annoys Letty’s mother…there is also the question of the children, that the Catholic priest will want to include in his parish, even if Letty would not join it…

The only one that warns Mary Louise of the mistake she is about to make is in fact Letty, for both parents are content that she would marry into a rather well off family – ‘their farmhouse has never been more than modest, and in 1955 even that modesty was eroded’ – they are concerned with the future of their farm, sure that it would not provide well for all five, but if Robert and Letty were to continue working there, taking care of the land and the animals, that could see them into the future…

 

Elmer Quarry proves to be the wrong choice – and he prompts self-introspection and admission of the same guilt on quite a few levels, this reader realizing that he is also a failure and has managed to disappoint and become the evil eye, the demon of the house for various reasons, some of which are visible in connection with the draper and his business – though he is not really abusive, the image that his wife had had of a life in the town that will eliminate boredom and deprivation, the result is maybe a bigger misery, since she will come to regret the farm and her isolation increases, the torment is serious…

They travel to the sea coast for their honeymoon and Elmer gets so drunk that he falls asleep dressed up and there is nothing else happening on the special night and he is either impotent, uninterested because he has other another sexual orientation or this increasing addiction to alcohol eliminates any sexual interest he might have had – there are passages in which we learn that he had been interested in stout, mature women and the manager of the hotel and bar where he becomes a regular customer

 

This inadequacy, lack of consummation of the marriage and the clear incompatibility is made even worse by the vile, abusive, arrogant, demanding, torturing, obsessive sisters, Matilda and Rose, that had warned their brother not to marry into what they see as an inferior family – what with the crazy brother James and all – and once this would happen, they attack their sister in law on every stupid count, from the cup that she uses to a silly cabbage ;leaf on the plate and then, when she starts again her relationship with Robert, they get crazy with their inventions and complaints, travelling to see her parents and pressing Elmer to take action against a spouse that they see as responsible for his alcoholism…

Mary Louise and Robert have a very brief moment in the sun, I should say Eden, for they share some blissful days Reading Turgenev and enjoying each other’s company…they were both meant for each other and at the same time, being cousins, it would have been impossible for them to consummate their adoration, so we could argue that tragic as the End of the Affair is, it could not have been any different…