The Enchanted April discussion

On the fifth day of the third week Rose wrote to Frederick.

Amazing—Von Arnim made me love even Mrs. Fisher at the end! This passage brought tears to my eyes:

'So [Lotty] crossed over and bent down and kissed her and said cheerfully, "We've come in—" which indeed was evident.

'This time Mrs. Fisher actually put up her hand and held Mrs. Wilkins's cheek against her own—this living thing, full of affection, of warm, racing blood; and as she did this she felt safe with the strange creature ...'

San Salvatore did a work on each one of them, the men included.

That is a nice part isn't it? I follow the Louvre on instagram, and today they posted a picture of a Judas tree that made me immediately think of Lotty, Mrs. Fisher, Mrs. Arbuthnot and Scrap. It seemed fortuitous...I'd meant to google these trees to see what they are like, but voila! Thanks to the Louvre, I didn't need to.
https://instagram.com/p/1_BLP3OAR3/

Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing that, Jaima; I'd meant to Google these trees too. They look like the perfect tree to sit in, for people who don't like climbing. ;)

Great photo, Jaima! Ashley, I sniffled a little over that passage about Mrs. Fisher. Poor thing, she had spent so much of her life thinking and talking about dead poets that she's forgotten how to live.

This book just makes me happy. It may be unrealistic, but I love the idea of everyone being able to find their true selves in this place of light and beauty.

I know, I had the same reaction, Tadiana. Kim makes some good points about the men's reaction to their changed womenfolk in her review and she's not wrong, but the romantic in me just loved it ;)

I like that idea too, Tadiana (i.e. "everyone being able to find their true selves in this place of light and beauty"). Forest of Arden, perhaps? I have mixed feelings about some things. For instance, Mellersh grows to appreciate Lottie at San Salvatore, but remains a self-interested man, practically licking his chops at the misfortunes he thinks are in store for the others. I'm not sure whether I appreciate the realism (you don't become a new person over night, no matter how wonderful your Italian castle is) or whether I wish for the fairy-tale transformation into people who are good and blemish-free. I'm of two minds. Probably I mostly agree with the first, but I do sometimes wish I could like Mellersh just a little bit better. And (view spoiler)[ I really disliked the way things played out with Briggs and Lady Caroline. I preferred the movie so much more, where he begins by neglecting her instead of melting in a puddle at her feet like everyone else. I found that so annoying. And it was so much more easy to believe she would love him, when she had to chase him just a bit. I confess, in the book, I don't like her much. I had a hard time accepting that she suddenly falls in love with him after all as told in the book and it made me annoyed. It seemed to Shakespearean, with everyone paired so conveniently--though I suppose that is only to be expected, if you account for the effects of San Salvatore/ the Forest or Arden (hide spoiler)]

Interesting point in your spoiler about Briggs and Lady Caroline, Jaima. Now I'm going to have to watch the movie! I'm watching the BBC's Wives and Daughters now and loving it.

That's such a good one, isn't it? I love the last scene! It's been a long time (At least 15 years) since I saw Enchanted April, but it stuck with me, it was so wonderful. When you see it, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the differences between the book and the film. I found they were small but significant--like hinges.

Lottie's insights are quite something, aren't they? Perhaps she's always had that kind of ability--shy people are often very good at reading others since they tend to watch and listen more than they talk.

I'm perfectly prepared to believe that she'll be able to hold onto her self confidence, especially now that she's found a friend in Mrs. Fisher. And perhaps Mrs. Fisher really will become a client of Mellersh's and that will make him extra happy :D

I believe she'll hold onto it too. And now that she isn't so cowed by Mellersh I think she'll keep him nice. I could even see him mellowing more and more as the years go by. And even if his internal dialogue is odious, it's entertaining and honest and I appreciate that. Perhaps I just want him to be humbled a little. But I could see that happening over time, now that Lottie has come into her own. She would do it lovingly, I think, and gently. Really, the characters are so well done, to be able to extrapolate so much about them, and have it feel real!

Hana, you definitely need to watch this movie. In fact, I need to watch it again, too! I do think the movie made a very smart shift in the personalities of Mr. Briggs and Caroline.

I do have high hopes for the marriages of Rose and Lotty, even though they're both at the beginning of a long road toward a better relationship with their husbands. Mellersh is pretty self-absorbed and materialistic, but the new Lotty, I think, has a good chance of kindly reining him in if his behavior gets out of line. Rose's husband is just happy to be accepted and loved by her. I don't foresee a rough road for them.

Maybe they'll all need to meet back in Italy once a year for a spiritual renewal! :D

Well said! I think the bathroom blow-up did quite a bit of good, but even more the fact that Lottie is coming into her own. Mellersh is probably quite good at his work and if he can team his skills with Lottie's intuition I think they would make a formidable pair. And just think of all the high-end clients Mrs. Fisher and Lady Caroline will refer to Mellersh. My guess is they'll be well able to afford more than one holiday in Italy :)

I'm loving this discussion!

With Mellersh looking to Rose, Mrs Fisher and Lady Caroline as possible future clients, I had real difficulty accepting the genuineness of his new-found appreciation for Lottie. I'm not sure I ever really believed it, although I did try. I kept thinking that Lottie would realise that he was only using her to network and that she'd decide that she was better off without him! But I'm a bit of a cynic and not very romantic. I wish I were more romantic, because then I'd probably also be imaginative enough to think of the characters having a life outside the book!

Mellersh's "Well, I'm their man ..." seemed to increase in sympathy over time. At first he was just licking his chops, as Jaima said, but as the story progressed, I got the idea that he started to care a bit more genuinely about these women and to feel sorry about their (perceived) troubles.

It sounds like the movie handles Briggs in a much more satisfying way than the book does. (Can't wait to see it. It's been waiting patiently in our Netflix queue for months.)

Good point Ashley. His gradual softening is more realistic and (probably) will be more long-lasting. He's clever and probably quite wise, but Lottie will make a nice human of him.

The ones I'm not too sure about are Rose and Frederick. Wasn't it implied he'd had multiple affairs? And he hasn't come clean with her yet. That's a lot to unload on a spouse—the kind of thing it takes some couples years of marriage counseling to get over, if they ever get over it at all.

Ashley wrote: "The ones I'm not too sure about are Rose and Frederick. Wasn't it implied he'd had multiple affairs? And he hasn't come clean with her yet. That's a lot to unload on a spouse—the kind of thing it t..."

Good point--I don't recall anything like that being said, but reading between the lines, I think it's a safe assumption. But I'm not at all sure that Rose isn't aware of that. It sounds like they've been living very separate lives; probably not sleeping together. And this was in a much more "close your eyes to straying by husbands" era. If their relationship stays good (crossing fingers) and Freddy stays loyal from now on, I'm not sure that his prior affairs will create much of an issue for them, again, given the times.

You're right, Tadiana—there was certainly a different attitude toward husbands' "indiscretions" back then. And I probably did read between the lines a bit. This is the line that made me assume he'd been unfaithful:

"How many interests life had to offer him, how many friends, how much success, how many women only too willing to help him blot out the thought of the altered, petrified, pitiful little wife at home ..."

(Of course, that could refer to flirtations and not affairs.)

I think you're right, Ashley; that sounds like a 1920's way of hinting at multiple affairs. Interesting; I had overlooked that line. Hopefully for them both, that's all in the past now.

Ashley wrote: "The ones I'm not too sure about are Rose and Frederick. Wasn't it implied he'd had multiple affairs? And he hasn't come clean with her yet. That's a lot to unload on a spouse—the kind of thing it t..."

I was wondering what Rose's reaction would be when they got back to London and she found her letter unopened. (The fact that this crossed my mind at all, given that I'm not one to get into what-happens-after-the-book-is-over, is an indication of the problem I had with this aspect of the story-telling!).

Kim wrote: "I was wondering what Rose's reaction would be when they got back to London and she found her letter unopened..."

Good question, Kim! Do you think she would have sent the letter to their house or to his rooms near the British Museum? If it went to their house, I guess he'd better hustle to get to the mail first ...

Haha! I thought of that one, too. Let's hope it was buried in a pile of bills and junk mail ;)