The Ravishing of Lol Stein: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Ravishing of Lol Stein" is a novel that intricately explores the lives and emotional complexities of its major characters, particularly focusing on Lol Stein, a young woman whose life is profoundly affected by her experiences of love and loss. At the age of nineteen, Lol is jilted by her fiancé, Michael Richardson, during a ball, leading to a mental collapse and subsequent seclusion. This event triggers a deeper examination of her emotional detachment, which has been evident since childhood. Michael, a wealthy heir, becomes enamored with the older Anne-Marie Stretter, whose allure ultimately leads him to abandon Lol, sparking a chain of events that shape Lol's future relationships.
Lol later marries John Bedford, a musician who is content with her apparent emptiness and their family life, while Tatiana Karl, Lol's best friend, navigates her own affairs, complicating the dynamics between the characters. The narrative is further enriched by Jack Hold, a doctor and Tatiana’s lover, who becomes captivated by Lol's enigmatic nature and seeks to uncover her past. Through these interwoven relationships, the novel delves into themes of voyeurism, emotional isolation, and the complexities of love. Readers interested in character-driven stories that explore intimacy and psychological depth may find this analysis particularly engaging.
The Ravishing of Lol Stein: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Marguerite Duras
First published: Le Ravissement de Lol V. Stein, 1964 (English translation, 1966)
Genre: Novel
Locale: The resort towns of South Tahla and Town Beach
Plot: Antistory
Time: The 1950's and early 1960's
Lol Valerie Stein, a young woman who is jilted by her fiancé. At the age of nineteen, Lol, a beautiful blue-eyed blond, is engaged to Michael Richardson, who later, at a ball, abandons her for another woman, Anne-Marie Stretter. Lol, led home by her mother, suffers a mental collapse and is secluded. Lol's apparent madness stems not from the rejection but from her lack of emotional depth, which has been evident since childhood. Her distress at leaving the ball is caused not by the pain of losing a lover but by not being able to follow Michael and Anne-Marie to witness their intense passion, thus experiencing love vicariously. Later, after briefly meeting John Bedford, she marries him and moves away from South Tahla. After her return ten years later, she takes long walks; renews her acquaintance with Tatiana Karl, a friend from her school days; and acquires a lover, Jack Hold, one of Tatiana's conquests. Her greatest pleasure, however, is derived from watching for glimpses of Jack and Tatiana through a hotel window as she lies in a field of rye.
Michael Richardson, a young, wealthy heir with no vocation. Cultured and brilliant, Michael, at the age of twenty-five, is engaged to Lol Stein. At a ball, however, he becomes infatuated with a stranger, Anne-Marie Stretter, and leaves at dawn with her. Rumors circulate that they separate after a few months and that he liquidates his large landholdings in the vicinity of South Tahla so that he can follow her to Calcutta.
Anne-Marie Stretter, the wife of the French consul to India. Elegant but older than Michael Richardson, she enthralls him to the point where he rejects Lol Stein. After they have a short affair, she chooses not to leave her husband.
John Bedford, Lol's husband, a talented musician. After a single chance encounter with Lol during an evening walk, he proposes marriage, intrigued by her vacuity. During their marriage of more than ten years, he is content, pleased with Lol, with their three children, and with their home and garden, meticulously ordered and arranged by Lol and patterned after displays and examples she discovers in stores and magazines. He never questions her lack of interest in common social activities but prefers her blankness.
Tatiana Karl, Lol's best friend, sensuous, with long black hair. Tatiana, although married to Peter Breugner, chooses to amuse herself with a series of lovers. She is as close as anyone can be to Lol, having known her as a schoolgirl, having comforted her the night of the ball, and, most recently, constituting part of Lol's plan to be, surreptitiously, with a pair of lovers.
Peter Breugner, a successful doctor who is married to Tatiana. Unknown to his wife, he is aware of and tolerates her many affairs.
Jack Hold, the narrator of the novel, a thirty-six-year-old doctor who is a friend of Peter Breugner and a lover of Tatiana Karl. Jack is enchanted with Lol, mystified by the enigma that she is. After falling in love with her, he pieces together the story of her teenage years, her madness, and her life with her husband. At first unknown to him, he is part of Lol's voyeuristic interests, but later he knowingly complies with her wishes.