The Enchanted April and the transformative power of holidays

**Spoiler Alert!**

 

The Enchanted April is a charming reminder of the transformative power of holidays, and the effect others can have on bringing out the best sides of ourselves. Set in an Italian castle, called San Salvatore, it follows four women spending a month away from their normal lives.

 

The advert for San Salvatore reaches our main character, Mrs. Wilkins, on an ordinary day in February. Worn out by the English weather, thinking of her crowded bus journey home in the pouring rain, and the fish she will cook her husband for dinner, Mrs. Wilkins begins to daydream about wisteria and April sun in Italy.

 

It reads:

 

“To Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine. Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be Let Furnished for the month of April. Necessary servants remain. Z, Box 1000, The Times.”

 

The stark contrast to her current life in dreary Hampstead, conveyed in these few lines, stirs Mrs. Wilkins. It’s as though the magic of the castle has reached through the advert to cast a spell on her.

 

Moved by this advert, she has the courage to speak to Mrs. Arbuthnot, a lady she recognises from church but has never spoken to.

 

Mrs. Wilkins is convinced Mrs. Arbuthnot is looking at the same advert in the paper, transfixed by it as she was. She feels a pull towards this woman who she hopes shares her longing for this alluring castle. She is correct.

 

Both women are quietly lonely, and longing for something more. The vagueness of the advert corresponds to an unvoiced desire in both of them: to do something for themselves for once, rather than for other people. Mrs. Wilkins is used to being overshadowed by her husband, and feeling invisible. Mrs. Arbuthnot dedicates herself to the poor, erasing herself and her own desires in the process.

 

Emboldened by thoughts of escape from the mundanity of her life, and the miserable English weather, Mrs. Wilkins inspires Mrs. Arbuthnot to help her find two other women to join them to stay in San Salvatore, so they can split the costs.

 

By creating an advert of their own, they find two more women to form a group of unlikely holiday companions.

 

They are joined by Mrs. Fisher, a widow who clings to her Victorian past, thinking of the late greats she admires so much: Ruskin, Browning and Tennyson. She has a disdain for modern frivolities and longs to be alone, so she can remember.

 

The second woman to join is the beautiful socialite Lady Caroline Dester, who is hounded by admirers but has never married. She wishes to be in Italy with strangers, to escape from her busy London social life where people will not leave her alone.

 

Von Arnim’s story is reminiscent of holidays we may have been on where we were not sure of people at first, but by the end come to feel specially bonded with them. It speaks to the quiet power of holidays to allow us to come away knowing a little more about ourselves.

 

The holiday, for these four different women, is an escape, and the book itself is a kind of spell.

The magic and beauty of San Salvatore reaches through the pages of this beautiful classic. Who wouldn’t dream of spending a month in an Italian castle, soaked by sun, and blanketed with flowers and blossoms?

 

Mrs. Wilkins is the first to be transformed by the beauty and peacefulness of her surroundings. A sense of calm pervades her as she is able to enjoy her independence, and forget the sameness of her life in Hampstead. Her joy, combined with the beauty of the castle, works to slowly infect the other women and yes, enchant them.

 

As the month progresses, new flowers bloom and so do the women.

 

The much admired Lady Caroline Dester, alone for the first time in her life, finds herself given to a strange desire to think.

 

The earnest Mrs. Arbuthnot, away from her responsibilities, realises her self-effacement and her dutiful worship of God has not been fulfilling her.

 

Amazingly, the staunchly conservative Mrs. Fisher, who believes everyone should stay in their proper place, begins to feel herself coming to life again. She is able to admit to herself that clinging to the past is making her lonely. She realises the great men she admires are no longer here, and she allows herself to enjoy the company of these women.

 

The customs and duties these women have to follow at home are allowed to relax a little, and each woman’s personality slowly comes out as a result. While it was written in 1922, when women had fewer freedoms, it still holds true that holidays are a chance for us to shake off our everyday responsibilities, which is a freeing, and joyful experience.

 

Away from their usual lives, the four women all undergo quiet transformations where they are able to realise what their true desires are.

 

Packed within this charming novel’s short page count is beautiful writing, a delicious hint of scandal, and character development which feels as natural as the blossoming of the flowers which von Arnim describes.

 

The Enchanted April is based on von Arnim’s own month-long holiday at Castello Brown in the Italian Riviera. She is credited with making Portofino a fashionable holiday destination. As such, it is a love letter to the possibility of holidays, and new environments, and makes me want to pack my bags immediately to spend some time in Italy.

Written By Olivia Rix