Armadale by Wilkie Collins
Feb. 28th, 2023 06:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
regshoeI have liked Armadale (1866) very much ever since I first read it a few years ago. It's an amazing sensation novel, with a complicated and exciting plot and a fascinating villain, and also it contains one of the cutest slash pairings in nineteenth-century literature. Recently I was encouraged to re-read it, and this has been an excellent decision.
The book opens with the very memorable scene of a spa town in the Black Forest in the 1830s. A man suffering from implied-syphilis has come here with his wife and baby son in the vain hope of a cure; on his deathbed he writes a letter to his son making a shocking confession... So, at this point I should explain the Allans Armadale. Allan Armadale (1) is the English owner of a big estate in Barbados in the early nineteenth century, pre-abolition; his son Allan Armadale (2) is too much of a wastrel to inherit the estate, and so he leaves it instead to his cousin Allan Wrentmore (named after him), on condition that he change his name to Armadale and thus become Allan Armadale (3). Allan Armadale (2) is not happy about this and embarks on a scheme to get revenge on Allan Armadale (3); he succeeds, marrying the woman Allan Armadale (3) was in love with, but then Allan Armadale (3) murders him. Allan Armadale (2)'s widow has a son, whom she names Allan Armadale (4); meanwhile Allan Armadale (3) runs off back to the Caribbean, marries a Creole woman and also has a son, the baby of the opening—you'll never guess what he's named. In his letter, Allan Armadale (3) confesses the murder to his son Allan Armadale (5), and warns him to stay away from Allan Armadale (4) at all costs... for the shadow of the terrible past will haunt him and his namesake, and bring DOOM and grief upon them if they ever meet......
Eighteen years later Allan Armadale (4), who has been brought up by his mother in England, quiet retirement and happy ignorance of all this backstory, meets a mysterious stranger: a dark, foreign-looking man of about his own age who's taken ill and, not having any friends or relations in evidence, is cared for at the local inn. He says his name is Ozias Midwinter, and he is surrounded by an air of romantically tragic woobie backstory. He and Allan fall head-over-heels in love with each other at first sight. Allan is drawn to a person so different from everyone else he's ever known, and insists on comforting Midwinter at his sickbed, spending hours talking about sailing with him and eventually inviting him to become his BFF and stay with him forever, against the wise advice of his mother and his tutor; Midwinter, after his tragic woobie backstory, is amazed by Allan's easy kindness to him and wants nothing more than to stay with him. You'll never guess who Ozias Midwinter really is! And neither did he, until he gets that letter.....
MEANWHILE, Allan Armadale (2)'s wife, Allan Armadale (4)'s mother, had the help of her young maidservant in the dastardly scheme by which Allan Armadale (3) was thwarted, but abandoned the girl afterwards. She, who has not had a very happy time of it since then, is now back and wants revenge on Allan Armadale (4)—and is prepared to go to any lengths to get it. Her name is Lydia Gwilt, and she is easily half the reason this book is so great.
From there the plot twists and turns in amazingly complicated fashion—so much so that it does get slightly 'Really? Another sensation novel twist?? It just keeps going...' at times, but for the most part it is good fun. The best things about it are the three main characters—Allan Armadale (4), Allan Armadale (5) alias Ozias Midwinter and Lydia Gwilt—all of whom I really appreciated this time through. Ozias has really had a pretty rough backstory, and it's consistently, interestingly and sympathetically reflected in who he is now: terribly anxious (in social situations, about his father's warning of the DOOM to come from associating with Allan), rather gloomy and restless, passionate, careful and scrupulous in doing the right thing, loyal; his absurd gratitude to Allan for his kindness develops into a warm friendship. I love him. Allan seems to be harder to like: he's irresponsible, thoughtless, oblivious and not exactly the brightest lightbulb in the box, but I like him very much for all that: he's instinctively kind and generous, as well as being bluntly straightforward in a way that is both funny and really admirable. They complement each other perfectly, and they really do adore each other:
Another point about Ozias: as you may have noticed, it is a pretty unusual thing for a Victorian novel to have a mixed-race main character. There are moments of dodgy description, but in general Ozias is an individual and not a stereotype, just as much of a fully-realised, complex human character as anyone else, and I think the ways in which race is relevant to the book, while not hugely prominent features, are pretty interesting.
As for Lydia Gwilt, what to say about her? Well, she's another instance of dramatic and tragic backstory being reflected in complex and interesting ways in character. She's determined, immoral, angry, willing to go to any lengths to achieve her goals, rather hilariously spiteful, given to moments of grief and regret, and far too strange and complicated in the genuine emotion she sometimes feels about her life and what she has become for the conventional Victorians and their ideas about fallen women and moral redemption. I gather she was a bit controversial when the novel was first published! The structure of the book is semi-epistolary, with sections of omniscient narration, interludes of letters between various characters and long excerpts from Lydia's diary, and she is certainly never a dull narrator.
Right, have I said enough yet about how Allan and Ozias are the absolute cutest ever together? I do find it frustrating, especially concentrating on their relationship as I was on this re-read, how little Allan ever learns about the dramatic DOOM backstory about which Ozias is so worried for most of the book; but that just presents more opportunities for fic in which things go differently...
ETA: I post about this book on Dreamwidth, and the very next day![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
chiropteracupola has started reading it and drawn fanart! I am delighted—look at them all cute there :D
The book opens with the very memorable scene of a spa town in the Black Forest in the 1830s. A man suffering from implied-syphilis has come here with his wife and baby son in the vain hope of a cure; on his deathbed he writes a letter to his son making a shocking confession... So, at this point I should explain the Allans Armadale. Allan Armadale (1) is the English owner of a big estate in Barbados in the early nineteenth century, pre-abolition; his son Allan Armadale (2) is too much of a wastrel to inherit the estate, and so he leaves it instead to his cousin Allan Wrentmore (named after him), on condition that he change his name to Armadale and thus become Allan Armadale (3). Allan Armadale (2) is not happy about this and embarks on a scheme to get revenge on Allan Armadale (3); he succeeds, marrying the woman Allan Armadale (3) was in love with, but then Allan Armadale (3) murders him. Allan Armadale (2)'s widow has a son, whom she names Allan Armadale (4); meanwhile Allan Armadale (3) runs off back to the Caribbean, marries a Creole woman and also has a son, the baby of the opening—you'll never guess what he's named. In his letter, Allan Armadale (3) confesses the murder to his son Allan Armadale (5), and warns him to stay away from Allan Armadale (4) at all costs... for the shadow of the terrible past will haunt him and his namesake, and bring DOOM and grief upon them if they ever meet......
Eighteen years later Allan Armadale (4), who has been brought up by his mother in England, quiet retirement and happy ignorance of all this backstory, meets a mysterious stranger: a dark, foreign-looking man of about his own age who's taken ill and, not having any friends or relations in evidence, is cared for at the local inn. He says his name is Ozias Midwinter, and he is surrounded by an air of romantically tragic woobie backstory. He and Allan fall head-over-heels in love with each other at first sight. Allan is drawn to a person so different from everyone else he's ever known, and insists on comforting Midwinter at his sickbed, spending hours talking about sailing with him and eventually inviting him to become his BFF and stay with him forever, against the wise advice of his mother and his tutor; Midwinter, after his tragic woobie backstory, is amazed by Allan's easy kindness to him and wants nothing more than to stay with him. You'll never guess who Ozias Midwinter really is! And neither did he, until he gets that letter.....
MEANWHILE, Allan Armadale (2)'s wife, Allan Armadale (4)'s mother, had the help of her young maidservant in the dastardly scheme by which Allan Armadale (3) was thwarted, but abandoned the girl afterwards. She, who has not had a very happy time of it since then, is now back and wants revenge on Allan Armadale (4)—and is prepared to go to any lengths to get it. Her name is Lydia Gwilt, and she is easily half the reason this book is so great.
From there the plot twists and turns in amazingly complicated fashion—so much so that it does get slightly 'Really? Another sensation novel twist?? It just keeps going...' at times, but for the most part it is good fun. The best things about it are the three main characters—Allan Armadale (4), Allan Armadale (5) alias Ozias Midwinter and Lydia Gwilt—all of whom I really appreciated this time through. Ozias has really had a pretty rough backstory, and it's consistently, interestingly and sympathetically reflected in who he is now: terribly anxious (in social situations, about his father's warning of the DOOM to come from associating with Allan), rather gloomy and restless, passionate, careful and scrupulous in doing the right thing, loyal; his absurd gratitude to Allan for his kindness develops into a warm friendship. I love him. Allan seems to be harder to like: he's irresponsible, thoughtless, oblivious and not exactly the brightest lightbulb in the box, but I like him very much for all that: he's instinctively kind and generous, as well as being bluntly straightforward in a way that is both funny and really admirable. They complement each other perfectly, and they really do adore each other:
He had taken a violent fancy to the castaway usher and had invited Ozias Midwinter to reside permanently in the neighborhood in the new and interesting character of his bosom friend. [...] “I like the poor fellow, and I won’t give him up,” concluded Allan, bringing his clinched fist down with a thump on the rectory table.
“...I do love him! It will come out of me; I can’t keep it back. I love the very ground he treads on! I would give my life—yes, the life that is precious to me now, because his kindness has made it a happy one—I tell you I would give my life—”
Another point about Ozias: as you may have noticed, it is a pretty unusual thing for a Victorian novel to have a mixed-race main character. There are moments of dodgy description, but in general Ozias is an individual and not a stereotype, just as much of a fully-realised, complex human character as anyone else, and I think the ways in which race is relevant to the book, while not hugely prominent features, are pretty interesting.
As for Lydia Gwilt, what to say about her? Well, she's another instance of dramatic and tragic backstory being reflected in complex and interesting ways in character. She's determined, immoral, angry, willing to go to any lengths to achieve her goals, rather hilariously spiteful, given to moments of grief and regret, and far too strange and complicated in the genuine emotion she sometimes feels about her life and what she has become for the conventional Victorians and their ideas about fallen women and moral redemption. I gather she was a bit controversial when the novel was first published! The structure of the book is semi-epistolary, with sections of omniscient narration, interludes of letters between various characters and long excerpts from Lydia's diary, and she is certainly never a dull narrator.
Right, have I said enough yet about how Allan and Ozias are the absolute cutest ever together? I do find it frustrating, especially concentrating on their relationship as I was on this re-read, how little Allan ever learns about the dramatic DOOM backstory about which Ozias is so worried for most of the book; but that just presents more opportunities for fic in which things go differently...
ETA: I post about this book on Dreamwidth, and the very next day
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Date: Mar. 1st, 2023 03:50 pm (UTC)I do like Allan Armadale (4), but it really helps that Lydia Gwilt despises him so much - she gives voice to all my reservations about him. He is an irresponsible idiot! (The part where he forgets to tie up his boat and he and Midwinter end up adrift, my God.) It would be unbearable to be married to him, even for gobs and gobs of money AND vengeance! You are so right, Lydia Gwilt. And the fact that she expresses so vividly all his aggravating qualities made it easier for me to also appreciate the good qualities he does show: his kindness and generosity.
Also Lydia's spiteful rants about how horrible he is are SO funny.
I also wanted Allan to learn about the dramatic DOOM backstory while totally understanding why Ozias never told him: doesn't want to worry his friend (like Allan Armadale is capable of worrying, sir), and also who knows who Allan might take it into his head to tell?
But I could perhaps see Ozias telling Allan after the ending, once the DOOM backstory is no longer relevant. Although he's so adamant about not wanting to smudge Allan's memory of his mother in any way... maybe if Allan found out something about his mother that made it necessary to share? Perhaps for some reason he came to believe he was illegitimate, or something like that, and Ozias Midwinter tells him the DOOM backstory to clear up that worse stain on Allan's mother's honor... "How long has this weighed on your soul, Ozias?" Allan asks tenderly, once he has heard the story.
It's also really interesting how the redemption power of love plays out in this novel - so many moving parts come together to make the ending work out the way it does.
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Date: Mar. 1st, 2023 04:56 pm (UTC)But I could perhaps see Ozias telling Allan after the ending, once the DOOM backstory is no longer relevant.
Yes, possibly! I have some vague post-canon fic ideas percolating in my brain at the moment, involving Ozias telling Allan a bit more at some point in the future... Possibly Ozias could reveal only some of what he knows, perhaps telling him about the murder while concealing the part played by Allan's mother in the scheme? But I also like your idea about Allan learning something about his mother independently and that giving Ozias a reason to tell him the truth!
"How long has this weighed on your soul, Ozias?" Allan asks tenderly, once he has heard the story.
<3
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Date: Mar. 12th, 2023 05:57 pm (UTC)I have seen you mention Armadale several times, but completely missed that it's by Wilkie Collins, some of whose other books I've loved (The Woman in White, The Moonstone). I must definitely read it!
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Date: Mar. 12th, 2023 07:06 pm (UTC)