A Simple Story (1791)

A novel of two parts. The first concerns Miss Milner (we never know her first name) who, upon the death of her father, is placed in the care of a guardian, Mr Dorriforth. She loves him, but he is a Catholic priest. Her desire for him is less shocking than it might be because she is not a Catholic. However, when he inherits the title Lord Elmwood he is conveniently released from his vows, so that he might marry and have a son to inherit the title, thus keeping the title within a Catholic family.

Miss Milner is an odd, endearing character. She is kind and generous, but also a flirt, even a pricktease. She is vain, thoughtless, but also good-hearted and loving. On the other hand, the virtuous Dorriforth - despite being described as good and generous - comes across as cruelly repressive. He has coldly rejected his nephew Henry Rushbrook because the child's mother (Dorriforth's sister) married for love, against Dorriforth's wishes. Dorriforth's spiritual adviser and companion, the Jesuit Sandford, is simply unpleasant. Though he claims that he merely 'pretends' to hate Miss Milner so that she will see the error of her ways, his pretence is awfully credible and at times his spitefulness seems brutal to the point of sadism. "It is male behaviour, not female, which appears fascinating, wayward, and contradictory in this novel."*

It is bad judgement that encourages Miss Milner to rouse Dorriforth's jealousy and defy his wishes. She thinks that his love for her will be proved. She believes that his love for her is so strong that it will survive her doing something 'that any prudent man ought not to forgive'*. It is a foolish strategy. Dorriforth, as she knows herself from his treatment of Henry Rushbrook, will not have his wishes thwarted. He expects submission from women. Miss Milner is adamant that she is happy to obey Dorriforth as his ward, as his wife, but not as his lover. "Miss Milner, as a coquette, wants to prolong the courtship period because it is the one time in a woman's life when she is allowed power over a man."* Miss Milner desires Dorriforth (in itself shocking, especially as he is both her guardian and a priest) and she also struggles against his control over her, thus exemplifying "the disruptive potential of female desire"*.

In the second part of the book, Sandford does a remarkable volte face. His regard for Dorriforth's daughter (whom Dorriforth refuses to see, because the child reminds him of her mother, who lived apart from Dorriforth in the years before she died, having been unfaithful to him) is loving and tender. Indeed, it is Sandford who, finally, encouraged Dorriforth to marry Miss Milner, in spite of his apparent dislike and distrust of Miss Milner.

The second part of the book is Gothic in tone. Matilda, the daughter of Dorriforth and Miss Milner, is allowed to live in one of her father's houses, but only on condition that she never crosses her father's path. She is effectively imprisoned there. Later she is taken to yet another prison, when she is abducted by Lord Margrave (the point at which Matilda's father finally steps in to rescue his daughter). Another common Gothic motif, incest, is also introduced - this is suggested in the first part of the novel, when Miss Milner marries her guardian/father-substitute Dorriforth. In the second part of the novel, this motif is further suggested when Dorriforth holds his swooning daughter in his arms and "Her name did not however come to his recollection - nor any name but this - Miss Milner - Dear Miss Milner"*. Finally, Matilda marries an actual relative (her cousin Rushbrook). To Miss Milner Dorriforth is a father figure. To Matilda he is an actual father. "The novel's denouement suggests the infantile fantasy of union with a powerful father...[however] Where Inchbald does depart from the regressive romantic pattern...is in the first two volumes. In Miss Milner we have the expression...of active sexuality..."*

The novel is concerned with a woman's 'proper education' (the final two words in the book). However, "Neither Miss Milner's education nor her daughter's is much elaborated on...The significant difference between Miss Milner's education and her daughter's is that Miss Milner's failed to subdue the sexual desire and the will to power which make her such a disruptive figure...'*; thus "education in this novel functions negatively, not adding wisdom but imposing taboos."*

Lady Matilda might, unlike her mother, get the happy ending, but at what price? "Lady Matilda, unlike her mother, is a passive maiden waiting to be rescued; she does not challenge authority or assert her desires..."* Her mother was a threat to the masculine rule and thus could not be allowed to triumph. Her daughter, meek and mild, fits the model of the romantic heroine and is thus allowed a happy ending - the reunion with her father and her engagement to Henry Rushbrook; although towards the latter she seems to feel no sexual love - "She loved him as her friend, her cousin, her softer brother, but not as a lover."

* [from the Oxford University Press introduction, by Jane Spencer] [Jan 2005] ( )

I am a fan of books written WAY back in the day, especially if they are still easy to understand and shed light on the differences between modern and olden sensibilities. First published in 1791, this is a bit older than my usual 19th century favorites. But it is still a wonderful portal into the past.

The spelling, at least in the edition I read, at that time had yet to be standardized, and they used many words that no longer exist in the English language. But yu can still understand things perfectly, (except perhaps for the use of the word lovelace as an insult), and it's extreme sentimentality, the way that people are in danger of death from unrequited love, the fact that the priests take snuff (cocaine) and other such era related shockers were enough to keep me riotously entertained. To the people of this time, this was nothing surprising. Even the fact that incest (real and figurative- Miss Milner wishes to marry her father figure, while later her daughter marries her cousin) is a prominent theme would probably not have raised any eyebrows. Now though, the sentiments expressed, the injustices upheld, and the fact that everyone adheres to an archaic mode of thought make this book positively startling.

I for one, gained a lot of insight, and a great appreciation for living in a post feminism world. Plus, it made me laugh a LOT, though that was never the author's intention. ( )