The Address

Class and gender conflict continue to create tension between characters, darkening the narrative’s mood. Daisy dreams of ascending the social ladder by marrying a rich man, and Sara admires the girl’s optimism rather than her prospects. Sara tells herself that she’s content to do her job well, reminding herself that she should not become carried away romantically. She thinks about her mother, who she believes the earl used and left powerless because she was a woman, poor and unmarried. However, Sara thinks Theo believes all people, regardless of their economic position, deserve a chance. Despite the evidence—including Sara’s disillusionment with girlish dreams and her mother’s exploitation by a man of elevated rank—she allows herself to believe that Theo sees her as a woman rather than a servant. This disparity between expectations and reality highlights the novel’s continued thematic exploration of The Fragile Nature of Trust and Betrayal.

The irony of their situation is not lost on either of them: Sara has noble blood, but because she was an earl’s illegitimate child, she has no social standing. Theo, on the other hand, is common but married the legitimate daughter of a baron, so he rises in the ranks. Theo refers to them as “misfits” for this reason, but he enjoys more power than his birth would suggest rather than less, as Sara does, a fact neither voices. Further, he benefits from his gender, something she recognizes while he remains oblivious. While on their picnic, he lacks awareness of inequalities that prevent women from moving up in the world like he did. Likewise, Daisy’s social aspirations, only available to her through an advantageous marriage, are fragile, demonstrated by how quickly she could have lost social value when the intruder entered her room.

Men threaten women’s bodily autonomy in the text, as shown by the man’s forcing himself into Daisy’s room, the earl’s trickery and “seduction” of Sara’s mother, and Mr. Ainsworth’s behavior toward Sara and the other apprentices. Part of the reason Theo appears so attractive to Sara is that all her experiences with men have been so traumatizing: her absent father, the violent Mr. Ainsworth, and the vicious Mr. Birmingham. To her, Theo seems different. His failure to recognize the privilege he enjoys, however, does not mean it doesn’t exist, and the bar for good male behavior in Sara’s life is very low. She also takes pride in her ability to detect “the cur among gentlemen” (73), a facility she believes she has developed as a mature woman of 30. However, in his apartment, when Theo moves nearer, Sara is reminded of Mr. Ainsworth, foreshadowing Theo’s danger, however unwilling Sara is to acknowledge it at this point in the narrative. This illustrates the ongoing role past trauma plays in Sara’s life and the difficulties of navigating her present environment.

Whether or not he recognizes his many forms of privilege, they still influence Theo’s behavior. He says the right things, asking Sara to call him “Theo” and treating her as his social equal, but he endangers her—not himself—when he seduces her. As the woman, it is she who has something to lose, not he. He makes Sara feel they are breaking society’s rules together, risking equally. Then he tells her, in a passionate moment, “I don’t want to do the proper thing anymore” (135), a seductive statement to a woman who has always felt out of place everywhere. Theo’s claims make her dream that they are, or could be, the same. However, It’s a fantasy like the story of Cinderella, the fairytale to which Theo alludes, where a woman reduced to servant status is elevated, through love, to a princess. When Theo says Sara reminds him of Cinderella at the Rutherfords’ ball, he says it is because she is “anonymous and beautiful” like the character. He doesn’t mention that she is also a working-class woman in a pretty dress whose father abandoned her, a circumstance that initiated her social decline. Nor does he mention that if Sara is Cinderella, then he is Prince Charming: the wealthy, privileged, empowered lover whose reputation and safety are never threatened by his relationship. Theo’s behavior continues to highlight The Inescapability of the Past, as Sara’s experiences and status, which mirror that of her mother, influence her interactions with and perception of Theodore.

Similar red flags surround Melinda, who often says the right things to Bailey but whose behavior threatens Bailey’s well-being. Like Sara, Bailey is alone, relying on someone who socially outranks her for assistance and even protection, even though this person has nothing to lose. Unlike Melissa, Tristan threatens Bailey and claims he will have her blackballed. He would never speak to Melinda like this, though she is the one who fired his firm and chastised him for his treatment of Bailey. Melinda’s status insulates her from harm, a privilege Bailey does not enjoy. The threats Bailey faces from Melinda and Tristan both highlight unequal power dynamics and the challenges she faces in interpersonal interactions.

Now sober, Bailey reflects on the “world of pleasure and fun” Melinda showed her after she was “abandoned in her teens without any guidance at all” (81), glad of her new clarity and committed to keeping it. When Melinda asks her to the very same club where they used to use drugs together, Bailey hesitates. Melinda punches her playfully and says, “I don’t mean to push you. I just want to get you back in my life. I’ve missed you” (119). However, Melinda could hang out with Bailey somewhere without alcohol and drugs, but she doesn’t want to change her lifestyle; she insists that Bailey accommodate her. When Melinda insists that Bailey come, Bailey is “touched” without realizing that her “cousin” is acting selfishly. Bailey wants to feel a sense of belonging, like Sara, that someone cares about her, and this leads her to overlook Melinda’s leading her astray. Bailey’s interactions with Melinda highlight The Resilience of Women, as Bailey’s desire for connection and support exposes her to manipulative dynamics that she must work against.