The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

Iris Lockhart is a fiercely independent woman who lives in modern-day Edinburgh, Scotland. Her father, Robert, died when she was young and her mother now lives in Australia, so Iris lives a mostly solitary existence in the company of her beloved dog and the well-dressed mannequins of her vintage clothing store. Iris is a caretaker for her grandmother Kathleen (Kitty) who lives in a nearby nursing home, but since Kathleen developed Alzheimer’s disease, their relationship hasn’t been the same friendship she enjoyed as a child. Besides her weekly visits to her grandmother, Iris’s only other connections are her former stepbrother Alex and her lover Luke. Iris’s relationship with her stepbrother is complex, as he was her first sexual experience and they both had feelings for each other as teenagers. Alex married a woman named Fran, whom Iris doesn’t respect, but he makes it clear that he still desires Iris. At the same time, Iris entertains a relationship with Luke, who is also married. Luke says he will leave his wife if Iris commits to him, but Iris waivers. Iris’s life in the modern era makes her penchant for taboo relationships more acceptable, but her romantic entanglements become less of a way to exert her independence and instead become increasingly burdensome. When a telephone call from Cauldstone alerts Iris that she has a long-lost relative in need of her help, it shakes her from her selfish brooding and changes her life.

The iris of an eye enables clear vision, and after six decades of silence, Iris becomes the lens through which Esme and the reader learn the truth about the Lennox family. In the brief time Iris and Esme spend together, they sense an instant connection that transcends their age gap. Both are headstrong nonconformists, and though they speak few words to each other, their silences are full of knowing and possibility. Iris’s time with Esme opens her eyes to the privilege of being a woman in the modern era. As the Lennox family’s story unfolds, the pettiness of Iris’s romances fades, and she focuses all her attention on Esme. Though the novel ends before Iris learns that Esme is her true grandmother, the final image is that of Iris clinging to Esme’s hand, a sign that she is committed to staying by her side. This relationship is just beginning, but O’Farrell leaves room for hope as the women cling to each other in a sea of uncertainty. Whether or not Esme is locked away again, Iris has been forever changed by her encounter with her and the stories of all the lost women of a bygone era.

Kitty is Esme’s older sister and the darling of the Lennox family. Calm, conventionally beautiful, and agreeable to her parents’ every demand, Kitty sails through life with the knowledge that her present and future are secure. Her only responsibilities are to look presentable and learn to sew, and she is content doing both. When the Lennox sisters are fitted for fancy new dresses, Kitty savors the experience: “I loved it. Esme hated it of course” (84).

As young girls, Kitty finds her sister Esme a source of entertainment. She doesn’t understand Esme’s temperament, but becomes her best friend nonetheless. As the sisters come of age and the family endures the loss of their youngest child, Hugo, Kitty begins to pull away from her sister, as their personalities send them on different paths.

Esme attends school and longs to travel the world, while Kitty is groomed for her societal debut and marriage. As O’Farrell presents each sister’s perspective, the reader sees how each viewed the other, and the tragic dissolution of their relationship. When Jamie enters the sisters’ lives, what Esme sees as a confusing turn of events, Kitty sees as betrayal. After Esme is assaulted and her emotions spiral from post-traumatic stress, Kitty sees an opportunity. Thinking her sister would only be gone for a season, long enough for her to pursue Jamie or another boy, Kitty forsakes her loyalty to her sister in favor of her own happiness. This plan backfires, however, and Kitty’s fate ultimately mirrors her sister’s. Though her parents don’t send her away, they do push her into a loveless marriage, chained to a man and a lifestyle from which she can’t escape.

Though Kitty’s abandonment of her sister is unforgivable, her actions are understandable, as both she and Esme had few choices as young women. Through Kitty’s scattered memories, the reader becomes privy to her own suffering. When the Cauldstone doctor offers her Esme’s baby, she sees a way out of her plight, a ray of hope in an otherwise dismal existence. Kitty fails as a sister again when she sees Esme in solitary confinement and refuses to believe the woman is her sister. Carrying on the family tradition of denial, she leaves the unrecognizable Esme to die alone in her cell. When the sisters are reunited 60 years later, Esme is now in a position of power and exacts revenge on Kitty. It is a woeful ending to a sisterhood that began so idyllically, but due to Kitty’s lack of agency and compassion, comes to a tragic end.

Alex is Iris’s former stepbrother and though he is married to Fran, he is attracted to his former stepsister and admits he doesn’t love his wife. He and Iris met when they were children (as their respective single parents entered a relationship) and bonded through their shared experience of fractured home life—but eventually, their attraction became physical. After Alex’s father cheated on Iris’s mother and the two separated, Alex became a rebellious runaway, yet always finds himself back on Iris’s doorstep. In the present, he maintains an unhealthy, codependent relationship with Iris: “Iris had been seeing Luke for a week or so when Alex turned up unannounced at her flat. He has a habit of doing this whenever Iris has a new man” (24). He is critical of Iris’s relationship with Luke in a way that is controlling and possessive. He says nothing about leaving Fran and essentially asks Iris to become his mistress. Despite her and Alex’s history, Iris doesn’t seem comfortable with pursuing their attraction any further.

Though it isn’t illegal to marry a non-blood-related stepsibling in the United States, it is illegal in the United Kingdom. Legality aside, sexual relationships between stepsiblings carry a social stigma and are seen by most societies as taboo. As teenagers, Alex and Iris may have been unaware of the forbidden nature of their attraction, but as adults, they know what they’re up against, and Iris doesn’t seem committed to crossing this line again. Alex, like Luke, represents a part of Iris’s life that she knows she needs to change. In every other way, she is a liberated woman, but must release herself from the chains of jealous men. Alex’s character is one-dimensional, as his existence serves to highlight the strong women (Esme and Iris) who frame the story.