Discussion for The Tortoise and the Hare

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Start discussion here for The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins.

[Diane , Armchair Tour Guide]

Summary (Goodreads)

In affairs of the heart the race is not necessarily won by the swift or the fair.

Imogen, the beautiful and much younger wife of distinguished barrister Evelyn Gresham, is facing the greatest challenge of her married life. Their neighbour Blanche Silcox, competent, middle-aged and ungainly - the very opposite of Imogen - seems to be vying for Evelyn's attention. And to Imogen's increasing disbelief, she may be succeeding.

'A subtle and beautiful book ... Very few authors combine her acute psychological insight with her grace and style. There is plenty of life in the modern novel, plenty of authors who will shock and amaze you - but who will put on the page a beautiful sentence, a sentence you will want to read twice?' Hilary Mantel, Sunday Times.

[Holly]

I am getting the book this weekend certainly interested to read authors whose books I am not familiar with.

[Laurie]

I finished this yesterday, and I will agree with Hilary Mantel that the writing is quite good. I was so frustrated with Imogen and her imagined powerlessness. She was so blind at first to her husband's increasing attentions to Blanche. I know that people can take a while to realize and admit that their spouse appears to be having an affair. Denial is probably the norm. But Imogen did nothing even when she could no longer deny the affair. She stuck her head in the sand and hoped this bad thing would just go away.

I could see that Imogen had the wrong idea about what her husband wanted in a woman. He started out presumably wanting what she was: beautiful but not confident, reserved and submissive with him and their son. But ultimately Evelyn wanted a wife who was helpful and strong. He wanted a wife who shared his interests and who would help him meet the demands of his busy life. It is easy to be angry with Imogen because she did nothing when she realized that Evelyn was having an affair. But Evelyn married a woman who did not possess the qualities that he wanted in a wife. Imogen isn't forceful or resourceful or confident. Blanche is all of those things but she isn't beautiful. Finally Evelyn must have realized that beautiful only goes so far in a spouse and he looked elsewhere for someone who embodied the other attributes that he needs. He is despicable because he doesn't want what he has. And Imogen is annoying for letting Evelyn and Blanche walk all over her.

I see parallels between the characters of Evelyn and Emma Bovary and between Imogen and Charles Bovary. Evelyn and Emma become dissatisfied in their marriages and they look elsewhere for some happiness. And Imogen and Charles are doing the best they can, but they are essentially weak people who aren't the one their spouse should have married. In the end, however, the stories of the Greshams and the Bovarys are very different. Evelyn may go on and live a happy life with his new-found love. And Imogen may find it in herself to grow in confidence and self-worth.