A Village Affair by Joanna Trollope illustrates how the central character, Alice, faces up to the problems in her marriage. On the surface, her marriage is very successful. Her husband, Martin has a good job and they have three young children. They are also buying a house in Pitcombe. Alice had always wanted to live in Pitcombe so she can't understand why she suddenly feels tearful as she surveys her new home.
There is Something Missing
Alice is a talented artist but, even though she gets involved in community life, she feels that there is something missing. For some reason she feels unable to do any painting, even in Pitcombe. When Alice married Martin she was escaping from her childhood home, where her parents were very unhappily married. Now she realizes that her own marriage lacks the vitality that she craves. Trollope reveals how Alice was seduced by Martin's lifestyle and by the charms of his home and his mother. Now she is facing the reality of spending the rest of her life with a rather dull man.
A Fresh Perspective
Joanna Trollope shows us how both Martin and Alice change after they meet Clodagh Unwin. Clodagh is the rich, spoiled daughter of Lord and Lady Unwin. They discover that Clodagh has just returned from America, after problems in a love affair. Both Martin and Alice are drawn to her as she is attractive, outspoken and refreshing. Clodagh starts to visit Alice and Martin and she becomes increasingly involved in their family life. She helps them to prepare meals and she takes the children out on picnics. She even encourages Alice to start painting again.
Things Start to Change
Trollope shows how Martin is secretly attracted to Clodagh and he tries to flirt with her when they are alone. Clodagh, however, refuses to return his advances because she is fond of Alice. This incident humiliates Martin and makes him feel rather uneasy around Clodagh. Meanwhile, Alice becomes increasingly friendly with Clodagh and they seem to have a lot of fun, laughing and joking together.
The Truth is Revealed
Alice seems to be happy with Clodagh's friendship but Clodagh wants more. She admits that she is in love with Alice and that her American lover was a woman. For a while they conduct an affair, in secret, but eventually it is revealed by Anthony, Martin's brother, who was always jealous of Martin's attractive young wife. Trollope appears to be suggesting that the truth can't remain hidden even for ever, especially not in a quiet, village community.
The Village is Shocked
The entire village is shocked and scandalised by the affair. Through local attitudes Trollope shows how the behaviour of individuals can have a dramatic impact in such a close knit rural community. She also explores this theme in another novel, The Rector's Wife. Alice and Clodagh have broken expectations and many of the village people find their actions impossible to forgive. This makes Trollope's title, A Village Affair, very apt since, once an affair enters the public domain it becomes far more complex.
Martin becomes a broken man and Alice realizes that she has caused him a great deal of pain. Clodagh wants to take Alice away to start a new life and Martin's mother also tries to intervene. Even Alice's father, Sam, hopes that he may be able to live with Alice and her children but Alice discovers that she wants to break away from all of them. She needs to rediscover herself before she can live with anybody else. Trollope shows us that sometimes people need to deal with their inner lives before their outer lives can be improved.
Source.
- Joanna Trollope, A Village Affair, Black Swan Books, Transworld Publishing, 1989
Susannah White - Susannah White lives in Gloucestershire, England where she works in education. She has an M.A degree in Writing For ...
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