Elizabeth Thomas

"Bridget Bluemantle." The Prison-House; or, The World We Live In; a Novel. 4 vols.

London: A. K. Newman and Co., 1814

 

Synopsis of the Prison-House

The Prison-House is an engrossing, four volume novel which follows the life of Miss Fanny Danvers and the various challenges she faces as she learns the true state of the world. Filled with lessons on morality and religion, the novel faithfully upholds the Christian principles of the day, while also tackling the issues of love and marriage.

Miss Fanny Danvers lives with her attentive and pious mother. Although her mother takes great pains to instruct Fanny in regards to religion and education, she is nevertheless a stranger to the behavior of the general society. After her mother's death, Fanny goes to live with her cousin, Mrs. Modish, and is subsequently pulled into a world of temptation, vice and sin. Mr. Modish is unfaithful to his wife, who knows of his actions but does not care. Mrs. Modish spends her time gambling at cards and attending parties. As Fanny observes the behavior of the aristocracy at these parties, she concludes that the world is suffering from a rather serious disease. She manages to maintain her piety, however, despite being surrounding by drinking, gluttony, selfishness and indecent proposals from married men.

Fanny accompanies Mrs. Modish to a ball one evening and meets Mr.Templeton. Fanny senses he is a good and moral man, while Templeton begins to develop romantic feelings for her. While he is courting her, however, Mr. Modish declares he loves Fanny and wishes to develop an attachment with her. He threatens to ruin her reputation if she refuses him. Luckily, Templeton arrives in time to defuse the situation and take Fanny from the Modish home. He places her in the care of his sister, Mrs. Conway. During the carriage ride to his sister's, he declares his love for her. However, Fanny feels she cannot accept because she is too far beneath him in class and wealth. Templeton struggles to change her mind, but she refuses.

Eventually, Fanny obtains employment with Lady Raymond, a wealthy woman with two older children. Although the children are kind and caring, Lady Raymond proves to be extremely selfish and tyrannical. She torments her children by holding her authority over them and demanding complete and utter obedience. She forbids her daughter from marrying the man she loves, Mr. Goodwin, and rarely allows Fanny to take leave to visit her friend, Mrs. Conway. Volume one concludes with Fanny resolving to endure her present situation, relying on her faith in God and her desire to fulfill her duties in life.

The second volume of the novel begins with a focus on Lady Raymond's son, Sir Charles Raymond. A respectable and kind man, Sir Charles informs Fanny that he will only marry for love and proceeds to declare his with to marry her. Fanny cannot imagine ever forming any kind of attachment with Sir Charles and she successfully avoids him for the time being. However, he writes her letters which are intercepted by his mother. Outraged, Lady Raymond decides to throw Fanny out of her home at 3:00 in the morning.

Fanny travels to an inn in town and the next morning she is lucky enough to meet Mrs. Hayman, a good friend of Mrs. Conway. Mrs. Hayman wishes to hire Fanny as a governess for her four children. Fanny gladly accepts, however she begins to doubt her choice when she sees the behavior of Mr. Hayman. Mr. Hayman was once a well-respected and responsible attorney. Although his business still thrives in the hands of a trusted partner, Mr. Hayman now spends his days drinking. His faithful servant, John, has become accustomed to following his master everywhere and ensuring that he doesn't embarrass himself or his family. Although Mrs. Hayman struggles greatly with her husband's behavior, she is still completely supportive of him and is always ready to do anything to please him. This seems to only anger Mr. Hayman, who resents the guilt he feels due to her goodness. He eventually takes an apartment and begins living with another woman of low class, rarely coming home to see his wife or children.

Volume three continues with the story of Mr. and Mrs. Hayman's troubles. Eventually, Mr. Hayman dies of a burst blood vessel, made worse due to his life-long drinking habit. Even after Mrs. Hayman realizes he had been living with another woman and has fathered this woman's child, she refuses to speak negatively about him. Fanny is amazed at her steadfast conduct and patience and feels she should look to Mrs. Hayman as a role model.

Soon after Mr. Hayman's funeral, Mr. Templeton arrives to visit Fanny. However, his behavior is rather cold and Fanny cannot determine why he is acting so strangely around her. She falls ill and, after recovering, the servants tell her that Mr. Templeton visited and asked about her every day. Mrs. Conway sends Fanny some letters, informing her that Mr. Templeton has come into possession of a large fortune, however his father has designed the situation so that he may only receive the fortune if he marries a woman of wealth. Fanny decides to detach herself from Templeton and, as Mrs. Hayman no longer needs her, she goes to work for the Homer family.

Mrs. Homer is a colorful and entertaining character who is thoroughly obsessed with ancient Greek civilization. Her home is decorated with pictures of Greek gods and characters, and she regularly puts on exhibitions and presentations of various Greek myths for audiences. On a weekend when such an exhibition is scheduled, Mr. Homer's sister and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. Shrapnell, come to stay with the Homers. Fanny soon realizes that Mrs. Shrapnell is an extremely eccentric woman, who perhaps takes her religious duties too far. Mr. Shrapnell informs her that she spends all of her time preaching to large numbers of vagrants that she invites into their home. She has completely neglected her duties of wife and mother, thus the children have grown up quite wild. Mr. Shrapnell decides his wife is definitely insane; Fanny sees that one can become too engrossed in religion and vows to remain a good Christian.

The novel continues with volume four, where Fanny goes to visit Mrs. Conway and discovers why Templeton had been acting so strangely toward her the last time they had met. He had heard of a supposed attachment between Fanny and Sir Charles Raymond and had believed it to be true. Fanny tells Mrs. Conway the truth and reveals that she does love Mr. Templeton. Not long after, Mr. Templeton visits Fanny and renews his wishes to marry her; this time, she is easily convinced. However, Mr. Templeton's health is failing and he may not live much longer. They get married anyway and, although Mr. Templeton is an invalid, they spend two very happy years together. During Mr. Templeton's last days, he asks Fanny to promise to marry again after he dies and to remain active in society. At the time, Fanny cannot imagine doing so, yet she promises her dying husband that she will do so in order to make him happy.

After Mr. Templeton's death, Fanny moves into a small cottage with a single servant. She spends months in a deep depression, mourning her husband and remaining almost completely alone. After a long period of solitude and despair, she realizes that her husband would have wanted her to remain an active and dutiful woman. Thus, she begins tending a garden and instructing the children of a poor family who live near her cottage. Her mood vastly improves as she throws herself into these everyday activities.

One day, Fanny gets an unexpected visit from Sir Charles Raymond. He tells her that his feelings for her have never changed and that he still wishes to marry her. Fanny assures him that she could not return his love, as she is still in mourning. She also notes that Sir Charles's mother would never allow the match. He informs her that his mother has changed her mind and actually had a hand in sending him to see her. Fanny does not believe Sir Charles and tells him to leave. Although she does not see him again for quite some time, he does occasionally send her letters. Knowing she should refuse to accept them, Fanny decides to receive them so that she does not further hurt Sir Charles's feelings. As time passes, Fanny begins to realize that she may have more affection for Sir Charles than she previously thought. At times, she is tempted to form an engagement with Sir Charles, yet she then remembers his mother's behavior and her love for Mr. Templeton. Mrs. Homer stops to visit Fanny and Fanny asks her for advice. Mrs. Homer claims she can easily see that Fanny is in love with Sir Charles and she should pursue the match, yet Fanny still hesitates.

Not long after, Fanny sees a notice in the newspaper, announcing the marriage of Sir Charles Raymond and Miss Armstrong. Fanny is heartbroken. By her violent reaction to the news, she realizes that she has been in love with Sir Charles and that she was hoping to become his wife. Hopeless and desperate, Fanny decides to close up her cottage and advertise for employment. She soon finds work with the Dobson family, who live far from any of Fanny's current acquaintances. Mr. Dobson is a farmer who recently came into a great deal of money. He and his wife hire Fanny to educate their four girls and transform them into ladies. Fanny is shocked to find, however, that the family behaves like savages. Mr. Dobson continuously brags about his money, Mrs. Dobson lies to her husband and the daughters, who are completely uneducated and rude, disrespect their father and sneak out at night to attend parties. One evening, one of the daughters is almost caught sneaking out of a window, yet the mother lies to Mr. Dobson, covering up her daughter's guilt. Fanny decides that she must tell Mr. Dobson that his wife and children are lying to him, however they deny it and tell him that it is Fanny who has been sneaking out. He throws Fanny out into the streets and she manages to find a family to stay with until she can arrange transportation back to her cottage.

Fanny resolves that she will never again seek employment, as her experience with the Dobson family thoroughly upset her. She is content to live alone in her cottage and care for herself. She is soon visited by Sir Charles Raymond, who has once again come to declare his love for her. He informs her that he has never been married; Mrs. Homer put the marriage announcement in the newspaper in order to make Fanny realize how she really felt about Sir Charles. This time, Fanny is quick to accept Sir Charles's proposal and they happily marry. They travel to his home and Fanny is delighted to find that Lady Raymond's behavior has indeed changed. It seems she had fallen ill and, due to the careful and attentive care of her children, she recovered and realized that she needed to change her conduct. Sir Charles and Fanny move to Elmington and have four children, living out the remainder of their lives in happiness.

The novel concludes with a note from the author, stating that the story was intended to present a number of forms of self-deception and vice that are common in human nature. Mrs. Modish's gambling, Mr. Hayman's excessive drinking and Mrs. Shrapnell's religious pride all serve as serious lessons to society and examples of the worst kinds of behavior.

-Prepared by Sommer Jindra, University of Nebraska, December 2002.