It’s funny how just a change of scenery can (for lack of a better word) cleanse us. We can leave home completely caught up in the drudgery of daily living, but the moment we realize we are free from the physical chains of home, we can then free our minds. It can be like a heavy weight has been lifted, and we can see life with a completely new outlook. We can even be happy when we weren’t before. This is the transformation that the characters in this book have.
The
main idea/theme that I took away from this book is that love can be
transformative. All four of the women left home unhappy. They were all unhappy
for different reasons, but the influence of San Salvatore helped them all to
love again. “Beauty made you love, and love made you beautiful.”
Lotty
Wilkins is a bit of the catalyst in this book. She was the instigator in going
to San Salvatore, and then was the first to be transformed by the beauty of the
place upon arriving. When she left the drudgery of her home life, she was able
to blossom and become interesting (as her husband called it) and full of life
and love. It was under her influence that all the other characters were able to
change as well. I particularly like the new relationship between her and her
husband. Their love fed off of one
another. I believe that it was even
described as a cycle, one would show affection; that would cause the other to
show even more, and so on and so on. That cycle is what I believe creates a
truly great relationship.
The circumstances
for the unhappiness of the Arbuthnots are different from the Wilkins, but the
final results of San Salvatore are the same. This couple had thought that the
newly wed love between them was gone, but because Rose started loving Fredrick
again despite what his writing career was, he could love her fully again. Love
creates love.
Lady
Caroline (Scrap) I thought was very interesting. She came to San Salvatore
because she was tired of love; she had been over loved. One of the messages of
the book is that people need a partner in order to have true love. Scrap
arrived having been part of only one-sided love. Because of this she hadn’t
felt true love and that was why she was so unhappy. She had
never had any problems getting people to love her, but she had to learn to love
others. This revelation didn’t happen until the very end of the book, but
realizing she had to love too made all the difference for her. Love could make
her happy now.
Every single character flourished under the influence of love.
These characters started becoming more and more happy and beautiful (inside and
out) because that is how the others saw them. It all comes back to the cycle
that was mentioned before. If you believe a person has worth and treat them accordingly,
then they truly become someone of worth because of how they are treated. I
liked how this book was a good reminder of that.
Over all, I did enjoy this book.
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