The Ante-Room – Kate O’Brien (1934)

I had been wanting for a while to read Kate O’Brien and Read Ireland month is of course the perfect opportunity. I had three O’Brien to choose from and of the three it was The Ante-Room which appealed the most.

Set in a large country home; Roseholm in rural Ireland in 1880 – it is an intense family drama of repressed emotions.

“Roseholm, the white house where the Mulqueens lived, stood amid trees and lawns on the west side of the river. Viewed from the town in fine weather, it could often seem to blaze like a small sun, but it lay this morning as blurred as its surroundings. It neither received nor wanted noise or light, for its preoccupation now was to keep these two subdued. And this morning that was easy; there was no wind about to rattle doors or tear through dying leaves, but only an air that moved elegiacally and carried a shroud of mist.”

In some respects, it is a rather bleak novel – there is no real joy in this story or in any of the characters, the house is one expecting death to come to it at any moment – and indeed death is a recurring theme. The novel is set over three days of the Catholic calendar: The Eve of All Saints, The Feast of All Saints and The Feast of All Souls. However, O’Brien makes her story and these characters very readable – and while not a happy novel – the ending is rather shocking, it is beautifully written and perfectly balanced – it never descends into misery.

The Mulqueens are respectable, wealthy Catholic merchants, a conventional nineteenth century provincial family. Teresa Mulqueen lies dying from cancer – she is keen to try anything to live a little longer – believing herself to be needed by members of her family. Her husband Danny Mulqueen is devoted to her but bewildered and helpless by Teresa’s condition. At night Teresa is nursed by the Blue Nun, a quiet calm restful presence through the dark hours of the night. During the day nursing duties are undertaken by Nurse Cunningham, an attractive, efficient woman whose life hasn’t always been easy, and who very much appreciates living in this gracious home, where she is treated with respect, often invited into the drawing room in the evenings.

Agnes is the unmarried daughter of the household, an intelligent, religiously devout young woman, who is being seen more and more as the mistress of the house. Dr William Curran who comes to the house daily to see Teresa, has started to fall in love with Agnes, and would like to marry her. Another member of the household is Reggie – the second eldest son of the Mulqueens (his elder brother is a priest, so Reggie stands as heir in his stead). Reggie is a recovering syphilitic, and so barred from marrying under normal circumstances. He is his mother’s favourite; she worries about who will care for Reggie when she is gone. Reggie is a former playboy, idle and cowardly – Nurse Cunningham’s attractiveness has not gone unnoticed by Reggie – and Agnes wonders whether the nurse has guessed about the nature of Reggie’s previous illness.

As the novel opens Agnes is awaiting the arrival of her married sister Marie-Rose and brother-in-law Vincent. Teresa’s imminent death is the real reason for the couple’s arrival from Dublin, though there is to be a family dinner to mark the Eve of All Saints to which Dr Curran will also be invited. Agnes is only a couple of years younger than Marie-Rose, and the two have always been close, but Agnes is suffering terrible emotional turmoil over her sister’s arrival. For, Agnes secretly but passionately loves Vincent – she knows the marriage is in some trouble too. The situation would be difficult and emotional enough, but for a woman who adores her sister and who holds the strong religious convictions that she does it is even worse. She believes she is risking the death of her soul. Agnes is made aware that Willian Curran loves her, marriage to him would be conventional and provide her with children and things to do – but Vincent has her heart – and we soon see he feels just the same. Agnes is ridden with guilt, and her emotional turmoil is palpable.

“She was grateful for the activity because in its pauses she realised that in spite of confession, in spite of communion, she was intensely worried and unhappy. And looking at Marie-Rose, who followed her about like a tamed and sad gazelle and sought in vain for occupation, looking at Vincent, looming proudly, silently in and out of the garden, his face a sulky mask, she felt that her advantage over them, in being in her own house amounted to an insult. At last, to her relief, Marie-Rose, making herself look delicious in sables, got into the carriage and drove away to make a round of calls on aunts and uncles.”

Meanwhile Nurse Cunningham is taking a more pragmatic approach to potential marriage. Having begun to draw closer to Reggie Mulqueen their flirting not gone unnoticed by his concerned sister – Nurse Cunningham sees a way to secure her future. Reggie needs someone to care for him, and though not able to enter into a conventional marriage – a marriage of convenience and companionship would ensure he has the care that Teresa so fears he will lack with her passing.

There is a lot that goes unspoken in this novel, a lot of emotion that exists beneath the surface of this conventional family. Agnes faces a terrible battle between her heart and her soul. This family drama is compelling and beautifully told, a perfect read for Read Ireland month.