51 pages • 1-hour read
The Enchanted April
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Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
It is a dreary afternoon in February. Mrs. Wilkins is sitting in an uncomfortable women’s club in London reading the paper. An advertisement piques her interest: Someone is leasing out a small castle in Italy, on the Mediterranean, for the month of April. She sets the paper down in a huff: She would very much appreciate a month on the Italian coast, but she is of modest means and knows that she could never afford it. Her husband, Mellersh, is a solicitor, but their income is small, and she has very little in savings. Mellersh encourages economy in their household (although not with his food) and has always advised Mrs. Wilkins to carefully safeguard her “nest egg.” She never knows when she might need it. She wonders if perhaps this castle is exactly what she “needs.”
She looks up from the paper to see Mrs. Arbuthnot, a woman she knows by sight, sitting at a nearby table. Mrs. Arbuthnot is active in their church’s many circles, particularly in those focused on mentoring young people. Mrs. Wilkins does not enjoy social occasions, church included, and she is too shy to have ever introduced herself to Mrs. Arbuthnot. Mellersh insists that they maintain an active social life so that he might gain new clientele, but Mrs. Wilkins always feels inarticulate and frumpily dressed when she is out in public. Still, something about Mrs. Arbuthnot has always struck her, and today she notices that Mrs. Arbuthnot is fixedly staring at the paper. She is sure that Mrs. Arbuthnot has also seen the advertisement and, on an impulse, she goes to sit down next to her.
She introduces herself and asks if Mrs. Arbuthnot is reading the advertisement for the Italian castle. She further explains that she has seen Mrs. Arbuthnot in church. Mrs. Arbuthnot, who is a calm and measured woman, is startled. She was, however, reading the advertisement and admits as much. Mrs. Wilkins continues, expressing keen interest in the idea of a vacation in Italy. Mrs. Arbuthnot assures her that no one truly needs a month-long vacation, that true happiness is found in serving God and serving others. Mrs. Wilkins brushes this sentiment aside and, shockingly to Mrs. Arbuthnot, proposes that they rent the castle together.
Mrs. Arbuthnot is again taken aback and does her best to assess Mrs. Wilkins’s character. She decides that the woman suffers from nerves and would benefit from spending more time at church and in the service of the poor. Mrs. Wilkins explains that she can see them there, together, in the castle. She assures Mrs. Arbuthnot that she has never approached a relative stranger in this manner before and cites that as a sign that they are destined to travel to Italy together. She voices the opinion that Mrs. Arbuthnot looks and seems unhappy. Mrs. Arbuthnot is not sure what to make of this comment and thinks to herself that Mrs. Wilkins is likely “unbalanced.” Still, there is something about this strange woman that she finds compelling, and she might actually enjoy a month in Italy.
Chapter 2 Summary
Mrs. Arbuthnot is disturbed by Mrs. Wilkins’s suggestion that she is unhappy, but she is even more disturbed by her own desire to rent the castle. She believes in work, service to others, and perseverance. She has never indulged in anything so frivolous in her life, but she suddenly finds herself suggesting that they inquire about the particulars of the rental. They answer the advertisement, asking for more details and for the exact rent. After they post the letter, Mrs. Arbuthnot tries to assure Mrs. Wilkins that she is, in fact, happy. Mrs. Wilkins again brushes her aside and explains that they are both unhappy, but she is sure that spending April together in Italy will solve their problems.
Mrs. Arbuthnot moves through the rest of her day in a state of distraction. She disapproves of Mrs. Wilkins’s entire attitude and thinks she needs spiritual guidance, yet she thinks that something in Mrs. Wilkins’s eyes reminds her of “a seer.” As vexing as it is to introduce the idea of fate into her life, if Mrs. Wilkins can see them both in Italy, perhaps it is a portent. She gives a church lecture which lacks her usual fervor because she spends the entirety of it thinking of Italy. Afterward, she wonders if this trip is truly how she is going to spend the money that she has tucked away.
Mrs. Arbuthnot does not lack money. Fredrick, her husband, makes a good living writing salacious “memoirs” of the mistresses of the world’s great kings. The distasteful nature of his work and the sinful origins of their income are a source of constant distress to her, and she donates every possible pound she can to the needy. She insists upon wearing inexpensive, modest clothing and will not allow Fredrick to furnish their home lavishly.
When she married Fredrick, he had worked with the British Museum, and she had loved him madly. After their child died, he began writing. At least, she consoles herself, she convinced him to write under a pseudonym. She now considers Fredrick a part of her life that she has “given” to God. She does her best to be a dutiful wife, but she feels a marked distance between them and prays often for his soul. The charity work she performs is a way to direct her attention outwards, but it is also a kind of penance for her husband’s literary sins. His books are read with great relish by readers who have also been led astray. She prays for them as well.
Chapter 3 Summary
Mr. Briggs, the castle’s owner, responds to their query. The rent is £60 for the month of April, the castle has eight beds, and he would like references from someone respectable, like a solicitor or clergymen. The women are shocked by the price and taken aback that he has asked for character references.
Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins are worried that their plan will seem frivolous and had not planned to alert anyone other than their husbands. Each woman had decided to tell her husband that she was staying with a friend in Italy. This would mean that Mrs. Wilkins would not have to admit she was using her savings for something Mellersh would disapprove of, and Mrs. Arbuthnot would not have to give her husband the satisfaction of knowing she was finally doing something with her money, of which he would approve very much.
The price seems out of reach, but Mrs. Arbuthnot is seized with the desire to go anyway and withdraws the entire sum from the bank. She brings it to Mr. Briggs, who is in London. Upon seeing the cash and her stately, respectable person, he waives the request for references. She and Mrs. Wilkins decide to further split the cost by advertising for two more women. They receive only two replies. Lady Caroline Dester wishes to get away from everyone she knows, not have to stay in a hotel, and relax in Italy in the company of strangers. She is 28 and quite beautiful. Mrs. Fisher is a widow, “quiet, educated, and elderly” (29). As a young woman she knew many of the great writers of the Victorian era, and she enjoys talking about them.
Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins interview each woman. Mrs. Fisher finds Mrs. Wilkins eccentric and initially asks for a character reference. Mrs. Wilkins, offended, cries out that references are not necessary among decent women and not something they want between them on a vacation. Mrs. Arbuthnot agrees, and Mrs. Fisher decides that Mrs. Arbuthnot, at least, is “balanced” and that perhaps between the two of them they can calm down Mrs. Wilkins.
Chapter 4 Summary
The month of March is stressful for both Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot. Mrs. Arbuthnot feels guilty about the vacation and cannot bring herself to give speeches asking for donations in church when she is wasting money on something frivolous. She asks Fredrick for a check for the church and is embarrassed when he writes one for £100. She promptly donates it to the vicar but feels guilty because she knows her husband earned it writing his indecent books. She decides not to tell him about the particulars of her travel. She writes him a note on the day of her departure, explaining that she is going away for the month of April and that the parlor maid will see to his needs.
Mrs. Wilkins feels no guilt, but she knows that telling Mellersh will be difficult. She spends the month carefully cooking his favorite foods for him. He notices her attention and, for the first time since their marriage, feels that he has married the right woman. One week before Mrs. Wilkins plans to tell him of her trip, he shocks her by inviting her to Italy. Stunned, she must refuse his offer and tell him of her own plans. When she explains about her trip, he is livid. He does not believe her and forces her to bring Mrs. Arbuthnot over.
Mrs. Arbuthnot finds this turn of events extremely uncomfortable, but she does explain to Mellersh that they will be staying with friends in Italy. He remains angry, but because Mrs. Wilkins will not agree to cancel the vacation, he has little recourse and agrees that she may go.
Chapter 5 Summary
Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins are thrilled to arrive in Italy even though it is raining. Their train is late and there are no cabs to be found, but one of Mr. Briggs’s servants arranged for his cousin Beppo to pick them up in a carriage. He is waiting for them at the station when they arrive. Beppo speaks only Italian and the women only English, and they are unsure about him at first.
They get into the carriage and ride through difficult terrain, worried about the outcome of this leg of their journey. They keep asking Beppo if he is taking them to San Salvatore, the castle’s location, and he responds with an eager “San Salvatore!” Just as they are about to calm down, he directs them out of the carriage, with no castle in sight. Again, they proceed with difficulty, this time on foot. Eventually they reach a long stone pathway and it occurs to each woman that perhaps the castle cannot be reached by carriage. They are correct, and after a few slips and a near-fall, they arrive at the castle. Domenico, the servant, greets them warmly. They are filled with happiness to have arrived.
Chapter 6 Summary
Mrs. Wilkins awakens alone in a stone room, thrilled to be in bed alone for the first time in five years. The room is beautiful and peaceful, and Mrs. Wilkins feels newly free and alive. She throws the shutters open and is confronted with blue skies, gorgeous scenery, and fresh air. She selects a white outfit in honor of the summer sun and quickly tidies her small room. She finds that she cannot even picture Mellersh, so far away does he seem. She feels as though a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders. She exits her room and is in the sitting area admiring a Judas tree’s blooms when Mrs. Arbuthnot comes out of her room. She, too, feels a newfound sense of freedom and is glad to be so far from her home and husband. They agree that Italy is marvelous and that they are happy to have come.
They catch sight of Lady Caroline, who looks young and beautiful in the morning light. Lady Caroline, in turn, finds Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins much less unattractive and dowdy than she did at their first meeting. She had only a blurry impression of them. She had been more concerned with the idea of escaping everyone she knows than with meeting new friends. She hoped for peace and solitude. For this reason, she chose to leave a few days early. She was keen to avoid traveling with Mrs. Fisher. Mrs. Fisher unfortunately had the same idea and the two were on the same boat to Calais and trains to Italy.
They are forced to converse. Mrs. Fisher knew many great people during the Victorian era and never tires of name-dropping her parents’ celebrity friends. Lady Caroline has very little interest in bygone eras but does her best to be polite. Now that they are all at the castle together, Lady Caroline reflects that she will have to maintain a certain amount of distance between herself and the other three women. She tells Mrs. Arbuthnot and Wilkins that she has already eaten breakfast and wishes them a nice meal.
Chapters 1-6 Analysis
The Demands of Marriage and Propriety is the novel’s first major focal point and emerges early as one of its key themes. The first chapter opens with an introduction to Mrs. Wilkins, and she is characterized initially almost entirely through the dissatisfaction she feels in her marriage and by the way that her marriage defines her as a person. The author notes: “Her clothes, infested by thrift, made her practically invisible; her face was non-arresting; her conversation was reluctant; she was shy” (5). This presentation is exactly as Mellersh pictures his wife, and it is the persona that she presents to the world.
Her relationship with Mellersh focuses primarily on the smooth operation of the household and their financial situation. The two are not shown to have any meaningful romantic (or even friendly) connection, and Mrs. Wilkins’s reaction to the castle’s advertisement illustrates how badly she wants an escape from the tedium of their marital routine. Although nothing in the novel’s early characterization of her suggests that she is anything other than a dutiful wife, her eagerness to use her meagre savings to rent a castle gestures toward an inner agency that would have been atypical for women of her era. Mrs. Wilkins’s character is emblematic of the author’s broader interest in inequality, women’s rights, and women’s liberation (to the extent that it was possible during the era) through non-traditional choices and paths.
Mrs. Arbuthnot is also characterized in large part through the role she plays in her marriage and her unhappiness with marital life. She differs from Mrs. Wilkins in her devotion to tradition. Although she disapproves of the racy books her husband writes and experiences marriage as both an emotional and spiritual burden as a result, she is sure that it is her responsibility to serve both her husband and God. As such, she does not allow herself, as Mrs. Wilkins does, to admit her unhappiness. Mrs. Arbuthnot is also characterized through her piety and her dedication to the church. Although her faith is sincere, it is evident that her charitable work and participation in church business is done, at least in part, to distract her from her own troubles. Rather than ruminating on her dissatisfaction, she turns her energy outwards.
The unlikely friendship that these women form is part of the novel’s interest in non-traditional solutions to unhappy marriage and The Transformative Power of Acceptance and Understanding. Although each woman does ultimately reconcile with her husband, they find the connection they had been missing first in each other. This was, at its time, quite a subversive message. During an era in which women’s sole (socially acceptable) goals in life were marriage and children, the idea that friendship could make a woman happier than either her husband or her offspring would have struck many individuals as unusual. Here, again, the author’s novel reflects her life: Elizabeth von Arnim married twice, unhappily, but found direction and meaning in the literary circles in which she moved, especially after the failure of both of her marriages.
The castle emerges as an early and important symbol during these chapters as the narrative begins to explore The Importance of Self-Discovery and Personal Freedom. At this stage it represents possibility, freedom, and self-determination. Both Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot lead lives largely determined by others: Mrs. Wilkins takes her household orders from her husband and Mrs. Arbuthnot chooses to follow church doctrine and the guidance of her vicar. Neither woman is accustomed to centering herself in her life or any kind of decision-making process, and the choice to take a month-long holiday is unusual for them both. That they choose to do so gestures toward an inner agency that belies their outward interactions with the people in their lives. At the castle, Mrs. Wilkins in particular is struck by how freeing it is to be alone. Sleeping alone, which she enjoys, also symbolizes her newfound freedom. For the first time in her life, she is able to make her own choices and dictate the course of her day.
These chapters also introduce Mrs. Fisher and Lady Caroline, complex figures whose characterization shifts as the novel progresses. Mrs. Fisher is domineering and controlling, and Lady Caroline wishes principally to be left alone. Each disapproves of the other. These two characters, however, are important not only to the narrative but also to the novel’s broader commentary on the societal shift that Europe underwent during the decades following the First World War. Lady Caroline, who is 28, still unmarried, and fond of stylish and often revealing fashions, represents the “modern” woman of the era. Mrs. Fisher, whose conversation is peppered with many mentions of the famous Victorian writers and thinkers in whose circles her family moved, represents the cultural values and societal strictures of the previous century. (Queen Victoria died in 1901, and that year is typically seen as the end of the Victorian era.) She values marriage, propriety, convention, and tradition. Caroline values none of those ideals.
Additionally, Caroline’s lack of direction and suspicion that life is without meaning reflects the experiences of the “lost generation,” made famous by early 20th-century writers who failed to find their footing in a society entirely demolished by the First World War. These two women thus represent opposing cultural forces and should be read not only as characters, but as emblems of differing sensibilities in an era of change.
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