Madame Merle, one of the characters involved in my mini-rant
about manners last week, has become a character I absolutely despise. She
befriends Isabel and gets her married to Osmond all the while lying about her
own relationship with Osmond. On top of that, she has abandoned her daughter,
leaving Pansy with the belief that her mother died in childbirth. The lack of
remorse Madame Merle shows throughout the novel is appalling.
However, she is a very realistic character. There are many
people out there who only care for themselves. These kinds of people do not
think twice about doing something as horrible as plotting to steal someone’s
inheritance by marrying her to someone who is already in love with someone
else. They do not think about the repercussions of their actions. The
consequences and collateral damage are nothing to them.
It is for the above reason and the above reason only, that I
understand exactly why James created Madame Merle. She is the epitome of a
self-absorbed woman. I hesitate to use the word villain here, though I do think
that she is a villain, because this is a realist novel and not a romance
wherein the lines between good and evil are quite distinct. She is the
antagonistic presence in Isabel’s life, even though for a long time she seemed to
be the friend that Isabel needed.
Even though I realize that Madame Merle is definitely there
to be the antagonist and the realistic picture of a self-absorbed person, I
still despise her with every fiber of my being. I see no redeemable qualities
in her. The very fact that she abandoned her daughter is detestable to me.
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