Hotel du Lac is a novel written by Anita Brookner who has won many prizes with her books, Hotel du Lac is one of these books, which won the Booker Prize back in 1984. The book was adapted into a film for television by Christopher Hampton and produced by the BBC 1986. The novel is about Edith who reaches Hotel du Lac in a state of confusion at the turn of events in her life. After an affair with a married man and an aborted marriage, she is banished by her friends. They told her to go and change and to find her meaning of life, which she finds out in the time while staying in Hotel du Lac. In this essay, the mainlines will be about the following thesis statement;
‘How does the main character develop through the storyline of the novel?’
The book is all about Edith, she is a writer, and she arrives at the Hotel du Lac because of the urge of friends after a failed marriage. The first people that meets in the hotel are Iris and Jennifer, mother and daughter who are only staying to shop for designer clothes in the towns nearby. Edith is impressed by the confidence of the Iris and Jennifer, especially Iris, who possesses the most confidence. Edith is also jealous of the relationship the mother and daughter share together because Edith herself never experienced this. Jennifer is at the apporimately same age as Edith but they are not going well together because he wants full attention of her own mother.
Edith also gets along with Monica, a tall woman who is at the hotel to recover from an eating disorder but it seems that the does not want to put any energy into this.
During her stay, she writes many letters to David, the man with whom she is having an affair. She cares for him and refers to him lovingly in her letters. During their relationship, Edith had accepted a proposal from Geoffrey, a nice man to whom she was introduced by her close friend and neighbor, Peneloope.
On her wedding, Edith dresses and gets into the car; but instead of going to the marriage desk, asked to circle around the park first to clear her head. When the time for the ceremony arrives, Edith tells the driver to keep going. Her friends are shocked at Edith’s behavior and Geoffrey refuses to speak to her. Because of this, Edith’s friends urged her to get away which evenetually led to Hotel du Lac.
Edith comes to the hotel swearing not to change. However, the charms of the hotel and the guests force Edith to ask herself questions about her identity, At the hotel, she observes people from different walks of life, like Mr Neville he helpes Edith to go and outline some things that she has to change. Together they the two enjoy a boat tour and eventually a plot twist happens which is that Mr. Neville asks Edith to marry him. Although he says that he does not love Edith and Edith does not love him, Neville said that their lives would fit together perfectly. Since they are both uma, it simply makes sense for them to wed. Edith is surprised by his proposal and takes some time to consider it.
That evening, Edith decides to accept. That night she goes up to her room to write a letter to David to inform him that she will be marrying Mr Neville she met at the hotel and will no longer be seeing him. The next morning, Edith woke up early to mail the letter; as she exits her room, she sees Mr. Neville quietly slipping out of the room of Jennifer. Edith realizes that they have been having an affair and is not surprised. Instead of mailing the letter, Edith goes back to her room, tears it up and throws it away. She then goes downstairs and packs her things and leaves back to England and her David.
