A review by maises
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

“If she is to survive this marriage, or perhaps even to thrive within it, she must preserve this part of herself and keep it away from him, separate, sacred. She will surround it with a thorn-thicket or a high fence, like a castle in a folktale; she will station bare-toothed, long-clawed beasts at its doors. He will never know it, never see it, never reach it. He shall not penetrate it.”

Beautifully written with a palpable tension that was stretched thin over the entire story. I’m satisfied with how it ended, in comparison to the truth of what really happed in history. I found Lucrezia charming and strong-willed and felt sympathy for her powerlessness throughout. She found strength in her own autonomy, even if it was only ever internal. I’d like to think
she and sweet artist lover Jocasta lived together in happiness after meeting in that forest
, even if it seems so dreamlike, unreal. She deserves that peace! 

Alfonso and his right hand Leonello were appropriately frightening villains. The cruelty of men at this time - even from her own male family members who weren’t even actively antagonists - makes all women victim to their misogyny, which is a societal event. It’s what makes
Lucrezia’s ending escape so special, even at the cost of Emilia the maid’s subsequent murder
.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings