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TheReviewofEnglishStudies,NewSeries,1–18
doi:
UnlivedLives,ImaginaryWidowhoodand
ElizabethBowen’sAWorldofLove
ByRachelBryan
ABSTRACT
ThisarticlereadsElizabethBowen’s1955novelAWorldofLoveasexploringtheleg-
acyofcertainhighlyimaginativecopingmechanismsthatwereadoptedbywomenin
’smid-centuryworksexhibita
curiousreturntothelotofthosewhocameofageamidstthedemographicimbalances
thatfollowedtheGreatWar,itsuggeststhatAWorldofLoveinterrogatesthepsycho-
logicaldrawof‘imaginarywidowhood’:aformofcounterfactualself-fashioningthat
sawmanysinglewomenofBowen’sgenerationelecttoviewthemselvesnotasspin-
sters,
parallelsbetweenthenovel’sdepictionofagirlwhosesexualityisawakenedbythelet-
tersofalong-deadsoldierfromtheGreatWarandthevariousformsofappropriation
thatwereencouragedaroundthebodyoftheUnknownWarrior—includingthe1918
literaryhoaxTheLoveofanUnknownSoldier:LoveLettersFoundinaTrench—theart-
icleoffersanewaccountofAWorldofLoveasatextwhichregisterstheambivalent
andcreativelyrichqualitiesofapsychologicalclimatethatwasatworkthroughoutthe
’snovel,itargues,ispropelledbyaprofoundinterestinthe
forceswhichinducedsuccessivegenerationsofBritishwomentoforgeintimatecoun-
terfactualrelationshipswiththoselivesrenderedunliveable,andthelovesthatwere
deniedthem,onaccountofworldwar.
ElizabethBowen’sAWorldofLoveopensatdaybreakonahotJunemorningin
-lessskyholdsaslowlysmoulderingsun,andastheknottysyn-
taxunfurls,‘asortofcopperyburnish’tingesarurallandscape‘stillpalewiththeheat
ofthedaybefore’.Atthecentreofthiscopper-huedtableauliesaprospectlikelyfa-
miliartoreadersofBowen’searlierworks:an‘impoverished’BigHouse,Montefort,
whosedecliningaspectissavedfromderelictiononlybythefaint‘ghostofstyle’still
carriedbyitsfac¸
agirlwhoalsoemitsaspectral,uncannyquality.‘WearingatrailingEdwardianmus-
lindress’,thetwenty-year-oldJaneDanbyappearsto‘belongtosomeothertime’.1
YetlikethedilapidatedBigHousefromwhoseshadowydepthssheemerges,Janeis
1ElizabethBowen,AWorldofLove(London,1999),9–
text.
VCTheAuthor(s);allrightsreserved
1:.
2RachelBryan
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notmerelyastylishghostbutaghostofauthorialstyle:aglancebackwardstothe
earlytwentiethcenturyandtomanyofBowen’spreviousinge´nues,particularlyher
firstAnglo-Irishheroine,LoisFarquarofTheLastSeptember(1929).Deckedoutin
attireincongruouswiththesharpmoderncutofher‘goldenhair’,herappearance
certainlyfeelsaffectated,asthoughcompiledfromanone-too-judiciousrummaging
aboutinthedressingupboxofhercreator’,herbeautifulfaceis
one‘perfectlyreadytobeawoman’s,butnotyetso’,residingatthelimitsofthat
childishinnocencefromwhoseshacklessomanyofBowen’semotionallystiltedcrea-
,however,mayyetbeafoot,forthekeytoJane’sliber-
ationappearstobealreadyuponher:claspedwithinherdelicatehandisanoldand
well-thumbedletter,withwhichshehasfallenpassionatelyinlove(10).
Writingin1950,BowenhaddescribedtheSecondWorldWar—‘withitsexcoria-
tions,grindingimpersonality[and]obliterationofsomanytracksandlandmarks’—
ashavingleftsuchvital,rejuvenatingqualitiesas‘heartandimagination’lackingin
Love,wherethepallorassociatedwith‘theheatofthedaybefore’offersaplayfulallu-
siontoherpreviousnovel,thewartimenoirTheHeatoftheDay(1949),aswellas
totheseriousmatterofhowsustainedperiodsoftotalwarworktodryuphuman
life,leavingonce-,therefore,to
seesomethingratherhopeful—romantic,even—abouttheflushofcolourthatslowly
suffusestheparchedlandscapearoundMontefort,bringingadormantbutsoonto
,whenconsideringwhatsheunderstoodtobe
thedutiesofcontemporarynovelistsintheessay‘TheBendBack’(1950),Bowen
haddeclaredthattheyshouldfeelcompelledto‘re-instatetheideaoflifeasliveable,
loveable’:tousearttohelpfashionaworldoflovefromthescorchedearthleftby
-upinagarmentdatingfrombeforetheGreatWar,
andcaressingthepagesofayellowedmissive,AWorldofLove’sheroinemightatfirst
-twentieth-centurytrappings,Jane,
likethenovelinwhichsheappears,isadecidedlymid-centurycreation,implicated
inthatparticularpost-1945periodofreckoningandresuscitationduringwhich
Bowenhadturnedhermindbacktotheaftermathofanearlierworldwar,andto
thoseimaginativecopingmechanismsthroughwhichthe1914generationhad
soughttoassuretheirexistentialsurvival.
AWorldofLoveissetinCountyCork,andfollowsthefortunesoftheDanbyfam-
ilyinthedaysfollowingJane’sdiscoveryofabundleofoldlovelettersin
Montefort’,theselettersarewritten
inthehandofGuyDanby,theformerfiance´ofJane’smotherLilia,whohadbeen
,impressionable,anddesperateforherfirst
tasteofromance,Janetakespossessionofthemissives,writingherselfintotheam-
biguousidentityofGuy’
foroverthirtyyears,buttheirre-emergenceinasocietyeerilydevoidofyoungmen
2ThiscomparisonbetweenMontefort’scavernousatticsandBowen’simaginationhasalsobeennotedby
:TheShadowAcrossthePage(Edinburgh,2003),178.
3Bowen,‘TheBendBack’,inTheMulberryTree:WritingsofElizabethBowen,(London,
1999),55.
4Bowen,‘TheBendBack’,:.
BowenandImaginaryWidowhood3
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succeedsinunleashingfloodsoflong-,and
apparentlyevenmorefaithlessindeath,theinsightthatGuy’slong-lostwords
mightprovideintohisfickleheartcomestoarousethehopesandexpectationsof
,amongstthesearethethreewomencurrently
residinginhisoldfamilialhome:Jane,Lilia,andAntonia,Guy’sglamorousand
’returnareJane’s
thereinvigoratedcultofGuyhasprecipitatedintheirfather,Maudresolvesto
stealbacktheletters,instigatingtheirfinaljourneytowardsMontefort’shearth.
Jane,bereftofhersacredscripts,islefttoconsidertheconsequencesofhaving
‘feltentitledtoraid,despoil,rifle,balkorcheat’thepastbyclaimingoneofits
fallenheroesasherown(35):‘Anybody’sgame,shehadthought...anybody’s
game!Thoughwhichofthem,deadmanandlivinggirl,hadbeentheplayer,and
whichtheplayed-with?’(119).
Stillimbuedwiththeimpatienceofyouth,Janedoesnotdwelllongontheimpli-
,sheends
thenovelhavingansweredtheadoringgazeofanewflesh-and-bloodlover,an
,however,Imeantopaylessatten-
tiontothisprocessofengagementwith,thenrelinquishmentof,anemotionallyrich
past,thantothosepervasive—andhistoricallyspecific—psychologicalclimates,dis-
positionsandcopingmechanismsthatAWorldofLove’soverwroughtatmospheres
,Iwishtoproposeareadingofthis
mid-centuryworkasanexplorationbyBowenofcertaincounterfactualidentities
thatwereentertainedbywomeninparticularinresponsetothedesolationofthe
GreatWar,andofwhatlong-termeffectsthesesupposedly‘“I”-saving’patternsof
thatdespitethewealthofcriticalattentiongiventothisnovelasaself-consciousex-
plorationbyBowenofherownartisticdevelopment,6AWorldofLoveisinfactpro-
pelledbyamuchbroaderinterestintheintimaterelationshipthatmembersofher
owngenerationhadbeenencouragedtoformwithcounterfactualexperiences:espe-
’sliteraryout-
putis,ofcourse,partofthatwiderstoryofhergeneration’sdevelopingcreative
thenovelasaparodicreckoning,andinsteadtopositionthismostrevelrousanddy-
namicofBowen’sworksrelativetotheethicallyfraughtlegaciesoftwohighlyim-
aginativeformsofcounterfactualthinkingthatwereatworkthroughouttheinterwar
periodandintothelatterpartofthetwentiethcentury:theappropriationofthelife
oftheUnknownWarrior,andarelatedpsychologicalphenomenonthatKatherine
Holdenhastermed‘imaginarywidowhood’.
Examiningthechangingcharacterizationofsinglewomenacrossarangeofdis-
coursesinthetwentiethcentury,Holdenhasidentifiedtheadvent,intheaftermath
oftheGreatWar,ofanewformofsociallyratifiedfemaleidentity:theWarSpinster.
Fromnewspaperheadlinestoschoolassemblies,girls,populardebutants,and
5Bowen,‘PostscripttoTheDemonLover’,inTheMulberryTree,98.
6See,forexample,HermioneLee,ElizabethBowen,(London,1999),184;Ellmann,Shadow,178;
NeilCorcoran,ElizabethBowen:TheEnforcedReturn(Oxford,2004),77–:.
4RachelBryan
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middle-agedwomenalikewerebeingencouragedtoseethemselvesnotashaving
beenleftontheshelf,butasthosewhowouldhavebeenmarriedwereitnotforthe
-
ancethatfollowedtheconflictnevertofindhusbands,manygirlscomingofagein
the1910sand1920swouldcometoseetheirpassageintoemotionalandsexualma-
turityashavingbeensacrificedalongsidethethreequartersofamillionBritishserv-
,thesewomenhad
beenpersuadedtoconceiveoftheirunmarriedstatusasaformofwar-inducedbe-
reavement,andinsodoing,totakeontheemotionalandpsychologicaltrappingsof
,withhisuntappedandmiscarriedromanticpo-
tential,held,asweshallsee,aparticularappealforwomenwhofoundthemselvesin
thispredicament:anonymous,heroic,andimaginativelyavailable,hecouldbeeasily
-
lentandunknowingfallenseemstohaveallowedmanywomentoentertaininself-
sustainingfantasytheunionthatthecircumstancesofglobalwarfarehadappearedto
’sheroineisachildofthe1930sandawomanof
the1950s;andyetImeantoarguethatthroughitsportraitsofbothJaneandher
mother,Bowen’snovelevidencesandexploresatwhatcostcertainwomeninthe
interwarperiodadoptedthesehighlyromanticbutethicallyfraughtmeansofenter-
ingtheworldofheterosexuallove.
Bowen’soeuvrecontainsmanyiterationsofherbeliefinthenecessary‘overlap-
pingandhauntingoflife’byfictionalized,
upontheimportanceofliteraturetoherchildhoodintheessay‘OutofaBook’
(1946),Bowenbeginswiththestrikingadmissionthat‘IknowthatIhaveinmy
make-uplayersofsyntheticexperience,andthatthemostpowerfulofmymemories
areonlyhalftrue....Reducedtotheminimum,tothewhatdidhappen,mylife
wouldbeunrecognizabletome.’8Elizabeth’smotherFlorencemighthaveprevented
herfromlearningtoreaduntilshewassevenyearsold,butonceinitiated,theyoung
Bowenbecameavoraciousreader,devouringbooks‘ravenously,unthinkingly,sensu-
ously’.9Thoseworldsthatopenedupbeforethisshelteredonlychildinthepagesof
herbelovedtextswerebothacutelyvividanddeeplyaffecting;such‘synthetic’expe-
riencesaswerehadwithintheirboundsremained,Bowendeclared,‘indistinguish-
able’fromthefabricofher‘real’lifeinthoseyearsbecausetheyconstitutedthe
moreevocative,‘greaterpart’ofherpersonal