The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen

First published: 1938

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Psychological realism

Time of plot: After World War I

Locale: London and Seale, England

Principal characters

• Thomas Quayne, the owner of Quayne and Merrett, an advertising agency
• Anna Quayne, his wife
• Portia Quayne, his sixteen-year-old half sister
• St. Quentin Miller, an author and a friend of the Quaynes
• Eddie, an employee of Quayne and Merrett
• Major Brutt, a retired officer
• Mrs. Heccomb, Anna’s former governess

The Story:

Anna Quayne’s pique demands an outlet—she can no longer contain it all within herself; therefore, while St. Quentin Miller shivers with cold, she marches him around the frozen park, delivering herself of her discontent. The trouble, of course, started with Portia, for the Quayne household was not the same after the arrival of Tom’s sixteen-year-old half sister. Not that Portia is all to blame; the business began with a deathbed wish. Who could have expected dying old Mr. Quayne to ask Tom to take a half sister he hardly knew, keep her for at least a year, and give her a graceful start in life? As she explains to St. Quentin, Anna herself hardly knows how to cope with the arrangement, although she tries to accept it with outward tranquillity. Now she stumbled across the girl’s diary, glimpsed her own name, and was tempted to read. It is obvious that Portia is less than happy and that she is scanning the atmosphere of her brother’s house with an unflattering eye.

While Anna is thus unburdening herself, the subject of her discussion returns home quietly from Miss Paullie’s lessons. She is vaguely disturbed to learn from Matchett, the housekeeper, that Anna commented upon the clutter in Portia’s bedroom. Later, she shares tea with Anna and St. Quentin when they come in, tingling with cold; but the atmosphere seems a bit stiff, and Portia readily agrees with Anna’s suggestion that she join her brother in his study. Portia feels more at ease with Tom, even though he clearly finds conversation with her awkward.

By now, Portia knows that there is no one in whom she can readily confide. At 2 Windsor Terrace, Matchett offers a certain possessive friendship; at school, only the inquisitive Lilian takes notice of her. Major Brutt is better than either of these; in her presence, his eyes show a fatherly gleam, and she likes the picture puzzle he sent. Anna tolerates the Major—he is her only link with an old friend, Pidgeon—but Major Brutt seldom ventures to call, and Portia sees him mostly in the company of others.

Another of Anna’s friends whom Portia sometimes sees is Eddie. Eddie, however, is seemingly beyond the range of Portia’s clumsy probing for companionship. He is twenty-three years of age and brightly self-assured. Anna finds it amusing to have him around, although she often rebukes his conceit and presumption; she goes so far as to find him a job with Quayne and Merrett. One day, Portia hands Eddie his hat as he takes leave of Anna; the next day he writes to her. Before long, they are meeting regularly and secretly.

Having no wish to alienate Anna, Eddie cautions Portia not to mention him in her diary, but he revels in Portia’s uncritical adoration. They go to the zoo, to tea, and ultimately to his apartment. Matchett, who finds Eddie’s letter under Portia’s pillow, soon becomes coldly jealous of his influence. Even Anna and Tom become slightly restive as they realize the situation. Meanwhile, Portia is falling deeper and deeper in love. When Eddie lightly declares that it is a pity they are too young to marry, Portia innocently takes his remarks as a tentative proposal. Although he carefully refrains from real lovemaking, Portia feels sure he returns her love.

With the approach of spring, Anna and Tom reveal their intention to spend a few weeks in Capri. Since Matchett will houseclean while they are gone, they decide to send Portia to Mrs. Heccomb, Anna’s former governess, who lives in a seaside house at Seale. Portia, dismayed by the prospect of separation from Eddie, is only partially consoled by his promise to write.

Eddie does write promptly; so does Major Brutt, with thepromise of another picture puzzle; and Seale, happily, turns out better than Portia expected. Having none of Anna’s remoteness, Mrs. Heccomb deluges her guest with carefree chatter. Her two grown-up stepchildren react somewhat more cautiously, because they were prepared to find Portia a highbrow. When they realize she is only shy, they quickly relax; the radio blares while they vigorously shout over it about roller skating, hockey games, and Saturday-night parties. Portia gradually withdraws from her shell of loneliness. Within a few days, she feels enough at home to ask Daphne Heccomb if Eddie might spend a weekend at Seale. Daphne consents to relay the request to her mother, and Mrs. Heccomb affably approves.

Eddie’s visit is not a success. His efforts to be the life of the party soon have Mrs. Heccomb wondering about the wisdom of her invitation. At the cinema, his good fellowship extends to holding hands enthusiastically with Daphne. When a distressed Portia utters mild reproaches, he intimates that she is a naïve child. Walking together in the woods on their final afternoon, Portia learns that Eddie has no use for her love unless it can remain uncritical and undemanding. Her vision of an idyllic reunion shatters as she begins to see his instability. Two weeks later, her stay at Seale ends. Back in London, Matchett triumphantly informs her that Eddie left word that he will be out of town a few days.

Walking home from school not long afterward, Portia encounters St. Quentin, who inadvertently reveals Anna’s perusal of the diary. Upset, she seeks comfort from Eddie once more. No longer gratified by her devotion, he makes her feel even more unwanted; and the sight of a letter from Anna, lying on Eddie’s table, convinces Portia that they are allied against her. As she leaves his apartment, it seems unthinkable that she can ever return to Windsor Terrace; her only possible refuge now is Major Brutt. She goes, therefore, to the Karachi Hotel, surprising the worthy major as he finishes his dinner. Surprise changes to alarm as she pleads her case: Will he take her away, will he marry her? She could relieve his loneliness, she could care for him, she could polish his shoes. With as much serenity as he can muster, the major affirms that polishing shoes is a job with which women have little success; with a little time and patience, her position will soon appear less desperate. He wishes very much to call the Quaynes, for it is getting late and they will be worried. Portia believes that she is defeated, but she can still choose ground on which to make a final stand. Very well, she finally agrees, he might call them, but he is not to tell them she is coming. That will depend, she finishes enigmatically but firmly, on whether they choose to do the right thing.

The major is right; the Quaynes are worried. After the telephone rang, their momentary relief is succeeded by real confusion. What, after all, would Portia consider the right thing for them to do? It would have to be simple. With help from St. Quentin, they finally decide, and Matchett is sent in a taxi to fetch her.

Bibliography

Austin, Allan E. Elizabeth Bowen. Rev. ed. Boston: Twayne, 1989. A good introduction to Bowen. Discusses her style, syntax, use of narrator, and evocative settings. Analyzes careful blending of the two themes—the loss of innocence and the revival of a stagnant relationship. Praises her narrative voice for awareness, perception, humor, and compassion. Includes an annotated bibliography.

Blodgett, Harriet. Patterns of Reality: Elizabeth Bowen’s Novels. The Hague, the Netherlands: Mouton, 1975. Explores religious imagery in the novel, stressing the heroine’s status as a Christ-like victim. Includes a bibliography of works by and about Bowen.

Bloom, Harold, ed. Elizabeth Bowen. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Offers an introduction and previously published criticism. The article by poet and fiction writer Mona Van Duyn examines The Death of the Heart’s fictional techniques.

Coles, Robert. Irony in the Mind’s Life. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1974. Clear, insightful analysis of setting, theme, and character, especially the adolescent Portia’s innocent capacity for malevolence as she struggles with the seven deadly sins. Discusses the importance of Lilian and Eddie.

Corcoran, Neil. Elizabeth Bowen: The Enforced Return. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Corcoran analyzes several of Bowen’s novels, demonstrating how these and other works focus on three themes that are central to Bowen’s writing: Ireland, children, and war. Chapter 5, “Motherless Child: The Death of the Heart,” focuses on this novel.

Ellmann, Maud. Elizabeth Bowen: The Shadow Across the Page. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2003. Introduction to Bowen’s life and writings, using historical, psychoanalytical, and deconstructivist approaches to interpret her works. The Death of the Heart is discussed in chapter 5.

Glendinning, Victoria. Elizabeth Bowen: Portrait of a Writer. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1977. Presents Bowen as the last of the Anglo-Irish writers, discussing incidents and individuals in Bowen’s life that are reflected in The Death of the Heart. Evaluates innovative authorial voice over technique.

Heath, William. Elizabeth Bowen: An Introduction to Her Novels. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1961. Discusses the novel’s structure, including transitions between its three sections. Analyzes character and theme, finding Matchett the moral authority of the novel. Compares Bowen with Henry James, Jane Austen, and T. S. Eliot. Includes an extremely helpful introduction and annotated bibliography.

Kenney, Edwin, Jr. Elizabeth Bowen. Cranbury, N.J.: Bucknell University Press, 1975. Presents The Death of the Heart as a culmination of Bowen’s themes of youthful innocence confronting a world of unsympathetic fallen adults. Describes Bowen’s contrasting the child with the adult, innocence with experience, and the past with the present, including detailed analysis of the relationship between Portia and Anna.

Lassner, Phyllis. Elizabeth Bowen. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan, 1990. A timely, sophisticated evaluation with a feminist approach. The primary and secondary bibliographies include lists of pertinent readings in feminist theory, myth, and psychology.

Lee, Hermione. Elizabeth Bowen: An Estimation. London: Vision Press, 1981. Includes an excellent chapter emphasizing the moral viewpoint of The Death of the Heart and its depiction of social values.