Hotel du Lac: Analysis of Major Characters
"Hotel du Lac: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricacies of relationships and personal identity through a cast of diverse characters, each grappling with their own challenges and secrets. The narrative centers on Edith Hope, a successful romantic fiction writer whose friends compel her to a Swiss hotel for recuperation after a distressing episode in London. Edith's character is marked by her serious demeanor and a hidden romantic entanglement with a married man, which she contemplates as she interacts with other guests.
Monica, referred to as Lady X, embodies the frivolity of youth, preoccupied with indulgences rather than the expectations placed upon her by her husband. In contrast, the wealthy widow Iris Pusey and her daughter Jennifer represent a more glamorous, yet complicated, existence, with their own undisclosed struggles. The elderly Madame de Bonneuil experiences a forced exile, revealing themes of aging and isolation.
The men in the story, such as Geoffrey Long and Philip Neville, offer contrasting views on love and commitment, further complicating Edith's journey toward self-discovery. The dynamics among these characters highlight the broader themes of societal expectations, personal desires, and the search for genuine connection, making "Hotel du Lac" a poignant exploration of women's lives in a restrictive social environment.
Hotel du Lac: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Anita Brookner
First published: 1984, in Great Britain (first pb. 1985, in U.S.)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Primarily Lake Geneva, Switzerland
Plot: Psychological
Time: Late September in the early 1980's
Edith Hope, a successful writer of popular romantic fiction under a pseudonym. The book opens as Edith arrives at a hotel in a small town in Switzerland. Her friends coerced into taking this undesired holiday at the end of the season because they thought that she needed to get away to recover her normal good sense after an unfortunate incident in London, her home. A serious, hardworking woman in her late thirties, Edith makes no effort to enhance her natural attractiveness with stylish clothes or makeup. She keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself. No one knows about her secret life (her long-standing affair with a married man), nor does she reveal to anyone her decision about her wedding until the ceremony is about to take place. She does write long and wryly humorous letters to her lover, describing her fellow guests and the small events in their lives. She does not mail the letters.
Monica, also called Lady X, a young woman who also has been forced to spend some time at this dreary but highly reputable establishment, which serves as a kind of sanctuary for those needing such a place of temporary retirement. Monica's husband, a titled Englishman, has sent her here in the hope that she will recover her health and give him an heir, but Monica is interested only in chocolates and her badly behaved lapdog. Out of loneliness, she and Edith develop a casual friendship.
Iris Pusey, a wealthy widow who is staying beyond the season with her daughter under mysterious circumstances that are never revealed. Mme Pusey is expensively dressed and uses cosmetics and perfume lavishly. She and her daughter have an intensely loving relationship, conversing at length and with animation about clothes and about their extravagant and glamorous former life, when M. Pusey was still living.
Jennifer Pusey, Mme Pusey's daughter. Jennifer dresses and behaves like a young girl but is later revealed to be in her forties, at least. Mme Pusey's true age is disclosed when there is a celebration to honor her seventy-ninth birthday. The mother and daughter seem to be inseparable, spending most of their time shopping, with occasional sightseeing. Jennifer has a secret life that is revealed at the end of the novel.
Madame de Bonneuil (deh-bon-OY), an elderly countess whose stay at the hotel is also a kind of exile. She is forced by her son to live at the hotel until the season ends and then at a convent for the remainder of the year. The countess is lame and completely deaf. Edith pities the old lady, and a gentle act of courtesy is rewarded by the countess's dignified gratitude and momentary pleasure.
Geoffrey Long, a prosperous businessman who has been a devoted son until the recent death of his mother. He is a kind, proper, and mouselike man. Edith accepts his proposal of marriage, but, at the last moment, as the taxi is approaching the registry office where they are to be married, she sees him for what he is and tells the driver to take her home. It is for this incident that Edith's friends have temporarily banished her to the Hotel du Lac.
Philip Neville, the owner of an electronics factory, recently left by his wife and staying at the hotel for a few days. Philip is attentive to Edith, takes her on excursions, and proposes marriage. Edith accepts, knowing that love is not to be part of the arrangement. Edith realizes that her lover will never leave his wife and children and that this may be her last chance at marriage, a state that she does not particularly desire but that her friends are constantly enjoining her to enter. She sees clearly the role that she is to play in Philip's life as an attractive, accomplished hostess and congenial companion in return for a beautiful home, elegant clothes, and as much freedom as she wishes to conduct her private life, provided that she does so discreetly. Philip admits that he plans to stray outside their marriage. Early in the morning of the day they are to leave the hotel, Edith happens to see Philip going out of Jennifer Pusey's room and recalls that she has often heard a door closing near her own room at odd hours of the night. As she did with Geoffrey Long, Edith suddenly perceives the true nature of the man she has agreed to marry.
David Simmonds, an auctioneer at a prestigious London auction house. David has been Edith's lover for many years but has never been able to spend much time with her because of his business and family obligations. At the end of the novel, Edith writes a letter to him, telling him of her decision to marry Philip. Like her other letters to David, this one is not mailed. Shortly after writing it, she sees Philip outside Jennifer Pusey's room. Instead of mailing the letter, she sends David a telegram saying simply that she is returning.