Questions About The Constant Nymph

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Answered Questions (3)

Is there a sequel to this book? I realize that Tessa is out of the picture by the end, but I'd like to see what happens to the other principle characters. Lewis, for one, has a lot of "'splainin'" to do to Florence!

A The Fool of The Family is the sequel, but it is about the brother Caryl.
I have not read it, but not sure if it's a sequel as much as a companion story…moreThe Fool of The Family is the sequel, but it is about the brother Caryl.
I have not read it, but not sure if it's a sequel as much as a companion story of the family.
The novel was made into a successful play called Escape me Never. They also made a movie version with Errol Flynn and Ida Lupino which is terrible despite such charismatic stars. The Korngold film score is much more famous than the movie itself. There is a 1935 British movie of the play which you can find online in grainy public domain version.

As for "'splainin'" to Florence, I imagined he might return to the comfortable home she provided, but in order to hang on to him, she stops trying to shoe horn him into her fantasy of a famous husband, and leaves him alone so he can continue to be a self absorbed musical genius.
Lewis isn't a very admirable person, but he never pretended anything either. A character knows where they stand with him, but his wife wanted so much more than was in him. She would still be infatuated & posessive enough, and still wishing to be the wife of a famous man. She would take him back. (less)

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Which was worse, the pedophilia or the raging virulent anti-semitism? Or the relentless snobbery that looks down on so many human types it becomes the purest form of misanthropy? And all in the guise of titillating bourgeois women! A feminist classic, no wonder Virago published a reprint.

Richard1955 Ah, but they're artists you see. Respectable civilized human behavior can't be expected - artists will find one another - at whatever age - and no mat…moreAh, but they're artists you see. Respectable civilized human behavior can't be expected - artists will find one another - at whatever age - and no matter what level of boorish cruelty - and none can do anything about it. At least that's my sense of the author's attitude.

And I (not a bourgeois woman) find it fascinating!(less)

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A Since the teenage girls are sexually mature, it is not pedophilia. A reader might be troubled by the age difference (about 12 years) but it's not pedo…moreSince the teenage girls are sexually mature, it is not pedophilia. A reader might be troubled by the age difference (about 12 years) but it's not pedophilia.
Also, a major plot point is the man's obliviousness to Tessa's deep love for him, which she reveals to him in the last part of the book.
I don't see anti-semitism in the character portrayals, more like stereo-typing. The jewish characters might be figures of fun, but they are not portrayed as bad people. (Read Jules Verne for nasty anti-semitism.)
The snobbery displayed in the story is usually illustrating a characters weakness.(less)

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