Sweet Dove Died by Barbara

¶ … Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym

The Sweet Dove Died is a novel by English author Barbara Pym. It is the story of Lenore Eyre, a middle-aged single woman and her life. It focuses on her relationships with various men, with a love triangle between her, a man her age, and his younger nephew central to the story. While it may seem like a love story, it is not a love story in the romantic sense. Instead, it is a story exploring the lives of middle class women and showing how empty their lives are.

In the novel, Lenore meets Humphrey Boyce and his nephew James. Humphrey seems like a suitable partner for Lenore. He is around the same age as her and they enjoy similar activities. Yet while Lenore and Humphrey spend time together, it is James that Lenore is attracted to. James does not seem like a suitable partner, especially considering that he is half her age, but they do have a relationship.

This sets up the love triangle explored in the novel. As noted, this story is not a love story. Instead, it seems to be more interested in exploring why Lenora chooses the relationships she does. In Humphrey, she has the kind of partner she can enjoy spending time with. In James, she has someone unsuitable, and yet she prefers him. It seems that there is a gap between what is right for Lenora and what she wants, and this stops her from having a good relationship. It also seems that Lenora is not ready to accept herself as an aging woman and that this is a part of her attraction to James. She is attracted to him because he allows her to escape from the reality of her own situation and ignore the fact that she is no longer a young woman.

As well as focusing on Lenore's relationships, the novel also looks at what life is like for women like Lenore. In this way, it is a novel about the life of woman of that time and place. Lenore is focused on manners and appearances and seems to spend her life playing the role of woman. She does not appear to know what she wants, instead just amusing herself constantly. For Lenore, her relationships are what she does to pass the time. While Lenore has an interest in Humphrey and James, neither of them are likely to result in happy relationships. It seems that this is part of the reason she is interested in them, despite neither relationship having a future. For Lenore, happiness is not something she is really seeking. If she achieved happiness, she would have nothing to occupy her life with. For this reason, she pursues relationships as a kind of entertainment to add interest to her dull and meaningless life.

The style also has a writing style that shows Pym's view of Lenore and women like her. It is a comic novel, not in a way where it is obviously funny, but in a way where Pym is quietly poking fun at the characters. There is a wit and an irony present in the novel that creates a comic effect. Lenore also comes across as a pathetic character and her actions and interests seem comical. In this way, the novel is showing the empty lives of Lenore and women like her. The writing style also does not take itself too seriously. It is easy to read about Lenore and see her empty life, but as a reader, her life comes across as amusing, rather than sad. This makes it an entertaining novel to read.