Author: Elizabeth von Arnim
Mr. Skeffington is a novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, who is climbing the list of my favourite authors. I previously read The Enchanted April and Love. This book continues with the same literary style, and von Arnim wrote a compelling story. The story is very similar, in its historical context, to her other books. Published in 1940, the story follows Lady Frances (Fanny) Skeffington, a divorced woman from the upper-class society who was once a legendary beauty with a social circle consisting of men who admired and worshipped her. Now, in her fifties and recovering from a severe illness, she faces fading looks and thus struggles with her identity. Also, she tries to rekindle previous romances and friendships, only to figure out that when things are over, they cannot be rekindled after many decades. She finds herself in shock about the ageing of her former friends, but does not always realise, they are shocked to see her fading looks too.
Fanny has been long separated from her husband, Mr. Skeffington, who cheated on her, but then treated her well by giving her more in the divorce settlement than he was legally obliged to do; thus, she lived a life of luxury. Fanny, throughout the story, when trying to rekindle her past romances, begins to confront her superficiality and vanity, and the emotional emptiness of her life, which is superbly written. The novel culminates with the return of Mr. Skeffington, whose new condition and life circumstances force him to try to return and seek help from Fanny, who then considers a path of compassion and companionship rather than admiration. An interesting aspect is the one of Jewishness because Mr. Skeffington is Jewish, whilst Fanny’s circle is Christian, and she is referred to as an odd convert to Judaism, with some of her contacts not understanding why she did not convert back to Christianity after the divorce. However, Fanny is portrayed as not religious, an unusual statement of the author for the time this novel was written. A nice touch was the compassion members of British upper-class society showed to Mr. Skeffington after his return from Vienna, where he faced the rise of Nazism.
The major themes of this book capture beauty, ageing, and identity (the author challenges societal norms that tie a woman’s worth to her beauty), gendered social capital (women’s social and cultural capital during this time is tied to her beauty, charm, elegance, and desirability so what happens when that fades away?), memory and self-delusion (clinging to former lovers and being delusional on how they see her 20 years later), and marriage, loyalty and redemption (Mr. Skeffington is a different form of love, marked with forgiveness and compassion).
The book also tackles WWII and a social upheaval in the UK, which is not fully explored due to the book being published in 1940, but the setting on the eve of the war is portrayed well. The book is still relevant today due to the way it tackles ageism and beauty norms because we can indeed ask what happens when a beauty-centric identity loses cultural value, how women navigate ageing in a society obsessed with youthfulness, beauty, and appearance, and also, what form of love endures when beauty fades away.
Thank you for reading!