The Enchanted April

“Nobody took much notice of Mrs. Wilkins. She is the kind of woman who is not noticed at parties.”

Mrs. Wilkins is shy and modest. She is not happy in her marriage and does not enjoy socializing. Nevertheless, she does embody agency and will. It is because of her suggestion and commitment that the trip to Italy happens. She urges Mrs. Arbuthnot on, and it is because of her energy and dedication to the idea of a vacation that the women find themselves “indulging” in the frivolity of a month-long stay in a castle on the Mediterranean, suggesting that she is worthy of notice after all.

“Of course Mrs. Arbuthnot was not miserable. How could she be when God was taking care of her?”

Mrs. Arbuthnot is a pious woman. Her piety derives in part from the unhappiness of her marriage. She disapproves of her husband’s writing career and has chosen to deal with her feelings by giving them over “wholly” to God. She devotes herself to God and to helping others to distract herself from Fredrick. She does not perceive herself as unhappy because she masks her sadness with piety, but significantly others do pick up on her unhappiness over The Demands of Marriage and Propriety.

“I don’t think references are nice things at all between ordinary decent women.”

The group is not without its minor personality conflicts. Here, Mrs. Fisher has just asked for a reference from Mrs. Wilkins upon finding her “unbalanced.” Mrs. Wilkins is an excitable, eccentric woman whom others sometimes find odd. She is, however, willing to stand up for herself. She believes herself to be a decent, upstanding person and takes offense at Mrs. Fisher’s request. Mrs. Fisher carefully weighs her options and, in part because Mrs. Arbuthnot is so calm and staid, retracts her request.

“Mrs. Arbuthnot’s conscience, made super-sensitive by years of pampering, could not reconcile what she was doing with its own high standard of what was right.”

Mrs. Arbuthnot is drawn to the idea of an Italian vacation because of how unhappy she is in her marriage. She cannot, however, admit her unhappiness to herself because she values piety, humility before God, propriety, and service toward others above all else. For her, taking an entire month off is so outlandish it almost qualifies as sin. She ultimately demonstrates a commitment to herself (that she wasn’t sure she possessed) in her decision to leave in spite of her conscience.

“Mrs. Wilkins had no doubts. She was quite certain that it was a most proper thing to have a holiday, and all together right and beautiful to spend one’s own hard-collected savings on being happy.”

Mrs. Wilkins, on the other hand, does not see the idea of their vacation as sinful. She is much more open with herself about her own wants and desires and about the state of her marriage than Mrs. Arbuthnot is. The two become friends in part because they each provide something the other is lacking: Mrs. Arbuthnot becomes a companion to the lonely Mrs. Wilkins, and Mrs. Wilkins becomes a supporting voice that urges Mrs. Arbuthnot to center herself rather than others.

“Then came a flight of ancient steps worn with centuries, and then another iron gate, and then they were inside.”

Arriving at the castle is an emotional moment for both Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot. It has already become a powerful symbol of the importance of self-discovery and personal freedom. For Mrs. Wilkins it represents freedom from her controlling husband, and for Mrs. Arbuthnot it represents freedom from the shame she feels about her own husband’s career and lack of faith in God.

“All the radiance of Italy in April lay gathered at her feet. The sun poured in on her. The sea lay asleep in it, hardly stirring. Across the bay the lovely mountains, exquisitely different in color, were asleep too in the light; and underneath her window, at the bottom of the flower-starred grass slope from which the wall of the castle rose up, was a great cypress, cutting through the delicate blues and violets and rose colors of the mountains.”

This novel is known for its rich descriptions of the Italian landscape and the Mediterranean coast. Passages like this enrich the novel’s narrative and immerse the reader in the beauty of a setting that also transfixes and transforms its characters.

“Mrs. Fisher could speak Italian, she explained, but only the Italian of Dante, which Matthew Arnold used to read to her.”

One of Mrs. Fisher’s key characteristics is her fondness for bringing up famous writers of the bygone Victorian era with whom her family was friends. She is proud of her position within the broader world of literary history and lets no opportunity pass to mention it. None of the women share her appreciation for figures like Matthew Arnold, and her boasts do not have the impact that she would like, but they reflect her commitment to the demands of marriage and propriety in the novel.

“We’ve got nothing to do here, either of us except just be happy.”

Mrs. Wilkins has the happiest disposition of all of the women and she is the first to completely give herself over to the beauty of the Italian landscape, advocating for The Transformative Power of Acceptance and Understanding. Her appreciation becomes infectious and each woman is ultimately able to relax and slow down their pace of living.

“They stood looking at this crowd of loveliness, this happy jumble, in silence. No, it did not matter what Mrs. Fisher did, not here, not in so much beauty. Mrs. Arbuthnot’s discomposure melted out of her. In the warmth and light of what she was looking at, of what to her was a manifestation, an entirely new side of God. How could one be discomposed?”

Both Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins find themselves better equipped to deal with their castle-mates’ personalities because their surroundings are so beautiful. The castle reflects the transformative power of acceptance and understanding, enabling the women to reshape their relationships along more accepting lines. Here, Mrs. Fisher’s intractability seems less important in light of how lovely the castle is and how happy Mrs. Arbuthnot is to be there.

“No one could be perfectly at ease if they were being watched and knew it. What she wanted, what she surely had a right to, was privacy. She had no wish to intrude on the others. Why then should they wish to intrude on her?”

Mrs. Fisher is characterized initially through her desire for solitude. Like Caroline, she does not value the presence of others and came on this trip with strangers in hopes for time alone. Although she does warm more to the women in the castle, she is an austere figure who chooses her friends wisely and does not mind spending time alone.

“The war finished Scrap. It killed the one man she felt safe with, the one man she might have married and finally it disgusted her with love. Since then she had been embittered.”

Lady Caroline is introduced through the framework of her beauty, her dislike for the other women, and her desire to be alone. She is, however, a complex character. She is not truly anti-social, but rather a grieving young woman who cannot recover her sense of direction once the love of her life dies. That fact gives additional depth and detail to Lady Catherine as a character, but also grounds the novel in the era in which it was written: The First World War was a cataclysmic shock to Europe that redrew national boundaries, altered the course of countless lives, and ended life as many knew it. Lady Caroline’s struggles in the post-war era reflect those of an entire generation and are a common feature of literature written at this time, including her struggles with the demands of marriage and propriety in the post-war world.

“I should say that what a young woman like you wants is a husband and children.”

Mrs. Fisher values tradition and has fixed views about the demands of marriage and propriety. Although the turn of the century and the First World War did much to modernize society and shape new beliefs and values for young people like Caroline, Mrs. Fisher remains devoted to the mores of the 19th century.

“There was so much beauty, so much more than enough for everyone, that it did appear to be a vain activity to try to make a corner in it. Yet Mrs. Fisher was trying to make a corner in it, and had railed off a portion of it for her exclusive use.”

Mrs. Fisher is the last of the four women to let go of the strictures of her life back home. She wants to spend time alone and, because of her age, wealth, and social position, feels entitled to monopolize the portions of the house that she likes best. It is not until the end of the book that, charmed by the castle itself and the kindness of the women around her, that she begins to prefer to spend her time with the others.

“I hate authors. I wouldn’t mind them so much if they didn’t write books!”

Lady Caroline is, during the first portion of the book, disagreeable to the other women. Here, she scoffs at writers, the people for whom Mrs. Fisher has the most respect. Caroline is, however, a complex character. She is still reeling from the loss of the love of her life in the Great War, and she struggles to find direction now that he is gone. She is acting out of grief rather than true malice.

“How beautiful it was, but what was the good of it with no one here, no one who loved being with one, who belonged to one, to whom one could say ‘look!’ and to whom one could say ‘look, dearest!’”

Mrs. Arbuthnot, like Mrs. Wilkins, finds that she misses her husband in Italy. Although neither women would characterize their marriage as happy, each woman does better appreciate her husband when she has the opportunity to get away from him. Mrs. Arbuthnot in particular has long wished for a better connection with Frederick, but her low opinion of his work stood in the way. She felt she could not both be a good Christian and approve of her husband. Now, she questions that assessment and wishes she could share the happiness of San Salvatore with him, reflecting the transformative power of acceptance and understanding.

“By the end of the week, she and Mrs. Wilkins had become Caroline and Lotty to each other, and were friends.”

The women overcome differences in class and personality while staying together at the castle, and in the case of Mrs. Wilkins and Caroline, actually develop genuine friendships. Each woman had been lonely in her own way although had not quite realized it. In each other, they find sympathy and enjoyable company.

“Mr. Wilkins’ presence and conversation at once raised the standard at the dinner table from one of a bear garden, yes, a bear garden, to that of a civilized social gathering.”

The women are surprised to find out that they enjoy Mellersh’s company, that he has an amiable nature, and that he aims to please. Rather than disturbing the group, he improves it. Mellersh’s arrival at the castle is part of this novel’s engagement with the transformative power of acceptance and understanding. Mellersh is kind to everyone, his wife included, and that attitude puts everyone at ease and makes them kinder to one another in turn.

“If Mr. Wilkins could be changed, thought Rose, then why not Frederick? How wonderful it would be, too wonderful, if the place worked on him too and were able to make them even a little understand each other, even a little to be friends. Rose, so far had loosening and disintegration gone on her character, now was beginning to think her obstinate straight-lacedness about his books and her austere absorption in good works had been foolish and perhaps even wrong.”

Mrs. Arbuthnot, too, is transformed by recalibrating the way that she understands herself and others. At San Salvatore she reflects on her relationships with the other women but also her marriage. She comes to the realization that she does love Frederick and that she could do more to meet him halfway, to accept his differences and allow piety and religion to play a smaller role in how she perceives him.

“I think it must be lonely to be Mrs. Fisher.”

Caroline speaks this line in a conversation with Mellersh. Although initially self-involved and unfriendly, Caroline is a complex character who possesses more emotional depth than she seems to have at first. She is often an astute observer of those around her, even if she does keep her observations to herself when the group arrives at the castle. Caroline’s emotional intelligence is at the core of her burgeoning friendship with Lottie, who is also an astute judge of character.

“Was it possible that Mrs. Wilkins liked her and had liked her all this time while she had been so much disliking her to herself?”

Mrs. Fisher’s transformation is one of the greatest, although it takes the longest. She is initially judgmental, austere, and reserved. She prefers solitude and actively dislikes the other women. Despite this, she finds herself “budding” in new ways and realizes that even as an elderly woman she can grow and change, reflecting the importance of self-discovery and freedom. Mrs. Wilkins’s kiss, given when she, too, notices Mrs. Fisher’s transformation, symbolizes the growth, openness, and warmth that comes to characterize Mrs. Fisher at the end of the novel.

“Her heart which had seemed to stop beating, was suffocating her now that it was racing along. Frederick did love her.”

Reconciliations play a key part in the end of this novel. Both Mrs. Arbuthnot and Mrs. Wilkins reconnect with their husbands, resolving the demands of marriage and propriety. Each woman finds that through forgiveness and understanding they can re-locate the qualities that drew them to their husbands in the first place. Although they came to the castle to escape their lives, they ended up finding the space and distance they needed to reflect on how to reshape those lives along more acceptable lines.

“Frederick was not the man to hurt anything if he could help it.”

Like Mellersh, Frederick is a more complex character than he appears initially. Much of the difficulty that he and his wife experience in their marriage is because of Mrs. Arbuthnot’s unwillingness to accept his career path. He is not, like Mellersh, innately unkind. Through both of these marriages, the author explores the transformative power of acceptance and understanding on relationships, suggesting that greater acceptance of differences leads to healthier bonds.