Author: Elizabeth von Arnim
Love is the second book by Elizabeth von Arnim that I read. I previously read The Enchanted April, which I enjoyed enormously, so much that I recommended another book of hers for my US book club (the author was introduced to me by a member of my UK book club).
In Love, von Arnim tells a story of a couple with a large age difference; Catherine is 47, and Christopher is 25. They live in 1920s London, and their relationship is causing astonishment, albeit they have not been banished from social circles (surprisingly!). Catherine is a widow, and her husband was much older than she. Her daughter, Virginia, then later marries a man 30 years older than her, and who is older than Catherine. But that relationship, despite clearly being one of grooming and paedophilia (since Stephen has known Virginia as a child and has played with her growing up, waiting for her to be his bride), does not draw social astonishment or condemnation. What is more, it is Stephen who expresses outrage as Catherine’s relationship with Christopher, and Catherine has to remind him of the age difference between Stephen and Virginia. Despite Stephen grooming Virginia to be his wife from toddler age and to cater to all of his needs, which she faithfully does, Virginia astonishingly stands up for her mother, reminding him about their age difference, and eventually he breaks down and accepts it, not wanting to further newly cold marriage relations. This part was fascinating to read because it was clearly feminist, and von Arnim was very bluntly challenging social prejudices of age that disproportionately affected women. I thought it was fascinating to read this book that was clearly ahead of its time.
I also found it amazing how von Arnim describes love. There is so much detail and description that makes the reader think and really feel the character’s thoughts and pain. von Arnim masterfully describes different forms of love. We learn about Christopher’s love for Catherine, which is initially crazy and obsessive (today, we would also consider him a stalker), but then calms down after the initial few weeks of marriage, only to be reignited towards the end of the book. Basically, Christopher acts like a madman when worried that he will lose Catherine. Also, Catherine’s love, which was initially calm but then went into a storm after marriage, resulted in smothering Christopher. Her love is also marked by insecurity. She becomes obsessed with beauty treatments to make herself look younger because she is worried about the age difference. However, this results in Christopher’s astonishment when he sees her as she is recognising only her eyes and voice. This happens towards the end of the book, and love eventually beats it all, but the author left it open for readers to decide how it goes forward, despite the couple deciding that love is the way. The author leaves it at them being afraid but wanting to stay together. I am not sure how I would write a continuation of this story because I have so many mixed emotions about this book.
The book also has a large focus on manners, particularly behaviour and communication, which I enjoyed reading. Catherine is initially portrayed by Stephen as a very discreet, well-mannered, and mild woman that one could be proud to have as a mother-in-law, but this view changes as she engages in a relationship with Christopher. Catherine’s manners are also portrayed positively by Stephen regarding her selflessness; again, this is something von Arnim portrays as disproportionately affecting women. George, Catherine’s late husband, did not want Catherine to remarry; he only left her a flat and a very small allowance, which made her very poor. Poverty is portrayed through small portions of not very appealing food, but Catherine does have a maid who cooks for her, as is expected of ladies of that time. Catherine could have postponed Virginia’s marriage to Stephen and not given consent for her to marry so young, but she did not, which meant 3 years less of wealth and a life in the manor in the countryside. The wealth went to Virginia and then by extension to Stephen, who does not want Catherine around but happily has his mother intruding every day, which is also nicely portrayed in the book.
Overall, this is a par excellance book portraying different forms of love and social conventions of 1920s England. I am surprised that von Arnim’s books are not as well-known in feminist literature as, for example, Simone de Beauvoir. I suppose she is less open about her feminism than de Beauvoir, but she does have dialogues, which are very clearly feminist, and both of her female characters in this book stand up for themselves and their right to do as any man does, in this case, to marry someone of a different age. Having read this book, and also The Enchanted April, I would argue that whilst de Beauvoir is a novelist but also a philosopher who directly contributed to feminist theory as we know it today, von Arnim was a novelist and an activist who tried to contribute towards raising awareness about double standards that disproportionately affect women within upper classes who were the focus of her writing and her direct readership.
As The Enchanted April, Love is written from a character’s point of view and in a realist style, so for those not used to this style, it will take some time to get used to writing, but it would totally be worth it because this book has so much food for thought. It goes without saying that I will be reading further books from von Arnim, and it seems that she is climbing the list of my favourite authors one book at a time.
Thank you for reading!