The Shell Seekers

“For this was an old house that they lived in, an old Georgian vicarage in a small and picturesque Cotswold village. The Old Vicarage, Bamworth. It was a good address, and she took pleasure from giving it to people in shops. Just put it down to my account—Mrs. George Chamberlain, The Old Vicarage, Bamworth, Gloucestershire. She had it embossed, at Harrods, at the head of her expensive blue writing paper. Little things like writing paper mattered to Nancy. They made a good impression.”

Nancy’s priorities are summed up nicely in this quote. Nancy is very concerned about appearances, and her shallow priorities are most evident in this materialistic description of her home. Although the large house is expensive to heat and maintain, she refuses to entertain the idea of living anywhere else because the address is important to her perception of her reputation. It is this drive to appear respectable that causes much of the tension between Nancy and her family throughout the novel.

“Nancy’s mother, Penelope Keeling, had practically lived in the old kitchen in the basement of the big house in Oakley Street, cooking and serving enormous meals at the great scrubbed table; writing letters, bringing up her children, mending clothes, and even entertaining her endless guests. And Nancy, who had both resented and was slightly ashamed of her mother, had been reacting against this warm and informal way of life ever since. When I get married, she had sworn as a child, I shall have a drawing room and a dining room, just like other people do, and I shall go into the kitchen as seldom as I can.”

In this quote, the narration outlines the differences between Nancy and her mother by describing how Penelope raised her children in the basement of her big house rather than utilizing the entire house. A lot of children grow up determined to live differently than their parents, and Nancy is no different. However, Nancy’s disdain for her mother’s style of living not only reflects a need to separate herself from her upbringing but also reveals the pettiness of Nancy’s personality, for she holds on to childhood slights and uses them as an excuse not to take personal responsibility for her own choices. This disdain for her mother’s way of living foreshadows the conflicts that will arise between Nancy and Penelope later in the novel.

“Wallowing, enveloped in bubbles and steam, she allowed herself to dissolve into an orgy of self-pity. Being a wife and mother, she told herself, was a thankless task. One devoted oneself to husband and children, was considerate to one’s staff, cared for one’s animals, kept the house, bought the food, washed the clothes, and what thanks did one get? What appreciation?

None.”

Nancy feels sorry for herself because her husband and children do not treat her as she would like to be treated, and she also believes that her housekeeper is unkind. This attitude again shows how self-centered Nancy is, for she is only concerned with her own emotions. This bit of self-pity is also ironic because there will be a point later in the novel when Nancy will accuse her mother of never giving her anything. Nancy cannot understand her mother’s sacrifices even as she herself bemoans how difficult it is to be a wife and mother, and this proves to be yet another symptom of Nancy’s self-centeredness, as well as a primary element in the tension that arises between Nancy and her family members.

“Ancient history, she told herself. Nothing to get sentimental about. But extraordinary that any person, nowadays, should want to buy his work. The Water Carriers. She shook her head, uncomprehending, and then abandoned the conundrum and turned happily to the comforting unrealities of the Social Diary.”

Nancy’s dismissal of Lawrence’s legacy starkly contrasts with Penelope’s love and respect for her father’s artwork. Penelope’s attachment to the artwork is not just about the work; it also shows her respect for her father and his memory. To Penelope, The Shell Seekers is a source of comfort and a reminder of her happy childhood. The fact that Nancy has no appreciation for Lawrence’s work and doesn’t understand why anyone else would be interested in it is ironic when she becomes obsessed with the idea that her mother should sell the works she still owns. Again, this shows Nancy’s selfishness and complete disregard for her mother’s feelings.

“The classic example of an ambitious and clever woman, Olivia had apparently been absorbed by her career, which had steadily advanced until she was finally made Features Editor of Venus, the intelligent, up-market magazine for women, on which she had worked for seven years.”

In Nancy’s description of Olivia, she focuses on Olivia’s career, which appears to be the central focus of Olivia’s life. As the novel is set in 1984, Olivia is part of the yuppie movement that involved young professionals who placed their ambition and their careers above everything else, forgoing marriage and children. Olivia is a perfect example of a 1980s-era independent woman, and she is the total opposite of Nancy, a fact that causes friction between the two sisters. However, as the novel develops, it becomes clear that Olivia is not just a yuppie. In essence, she shares many of her mother’s values and is capable of appreciating the carefree nature of a bohemian lifestyle and a meaningful romantic relationship. Of all three children, she is the one who has the healthiest relationship with Penelope.

“‘Five-hundred-thousand.’ The words made scarcely any sound. Nancy leaned back in her chair seat, utterly stunned. Half a million. She could see the sum written out, with a pound sign and lots of lovely noughts.”

Nancy and Olivia speculate how much The Shell Seekers might be worth, and Nancy’s greed is immediately apparent, touching on the theme of Greed and Anticipated Inheritance. Once again, it is clear that Nancy cares for no one but herself. She begins spending the money in her head before she even considers whether her mother would be willing to sell the painting or even share the proceeds of a hypothetical sale with her children. This mindset again shows the shallow, grasping nature of Nancy’s character.

“She had no fears for The Shell Seekers. Lawrence Stern had given the painting to his daughter as a wedding present and it was more precious to her than all the money in the world. She would never sell it. Nancy—and for that matter Noel—would simply have to bide their time until nature took its course and Penelope turned up her toes and died. Which, Olivia devoutly hoped, would not be for years.”

Olivia’s character is in stark contrast to that of her sister. Olivia has a clear understanding of the sentimentality with which Penelope regards the paintings her father gave to her. Unlike Nancy, Olivia would never dream of pressuring her mother to sell the painting. Olivia’s thoughts about her mother’s death and the inheritance she and her siblings will receive foreshadows the time at the end of the novel when the siblings attend the will reading and are shocked to learn its contents. Also clear here is Olivia’s concern for her mother, a concern that Nancy never really expresses in all her talk about Penelope’s health and her future. It is clear that Olivia is the one child of the three who has Penelope’s best interests at heart, and this attitude foreshadows Olivia’s role in making sure that Penelope’s wishes are fulfilled at the end of the novel.

“His name was Cosmo Hamilton. He lived on the island, had lived here for twenty-five years. No, he was not a writer. To begin with he had run a yacht charter business and then had a job as agent for a firm in London which ran package holidays, but now he was a gentleman of leisure.”

Olivia’s first meeting with Cosmo Hamilton is both profound and lackluster. Cosmo is the opposite of Olivia; he is a man of leisure who has no responsibilities and no worries, while Olivia is a hardworking executive who has fought for everything she has done and owns. The attraction between Olivia and Cosmo is based on these differences, allowing Olivia to experience a version of life that she has never allowed herself to indulge in.

“‘I’m not a domesticated creature. I’m thirty-three, the Features Editor of a magazine called Venus. It’s taken me a long time to get there. I’ve worked for my living and my independence ever since I left Oxford, but I’m not telling you this because I want you to be sorry for me. I’ve never wanted anything else. Never wanted to be married or have children. Not that sort of permanence.’

‘So?”

‘It’s just that…this is the sort of place where I think I could stay. I wouldn’t feel trapped or rooted here. I don’t know why.’”

Olivia describes her life clearly to Cosmo, while also expressing a desire to remain with him in Ibiza. This moment marks a departure from Olivia’s normal character, and it also expresses her need for a break from the difficult life she has lived in London. This comment illustrates the theme of Experiences of Great Love and Great Loss because Olivia’s instant trust in Cosmo and his way of living is the beginning of the great love of her life. While the decision to remain with Cosmo seems spontaneous and lacking in logic, it is Olivia’s one and only foray into a committed relationship, and it helps to shape the woman she is during the central timeline of the novel. This relationship with Cosmo also allows Olivia to understand her mother better when she finally learns about Penelope’s relationship with Richard.

“When all was accomplished, she thought she would feel elated and free, but instead found herself trembling with panic and sick with fatigue. She was sick. She kept this fact from Cosmo, but when later he found her prone on the sofa weeping tears of exhaustion that she could not stop, all was revealed.”

Olivia’s description of her reaction to leaving her high-pressure life behind in London reveals the ambition that drives her character, and it also emphasizes just how deeply exhausted she has allowed herself to become in pursuit of her professional goals. Olivia has always defined herself as a career woman, and it is not until she leaves it all behind that she realizes just how close to physical collapse her workaholic lifestyle has brought her. Her days of endless sleep upon her arrival in Ibiza reveal just how badly she needed a change of pace, and just how profoundly healing her time with Cosmo will be.

“But it was a good address. To Noel, that mattered more than anything else. Part of his image, like the showy car, the Harvey and Hudson shirts, the Gucci shoes. All these details were intensely important, because in his youth, due to family circumstances and financial pressures, he had not been sent to a public school, but educated at a day school in London, and so had been deprived of the easy friendships and useful connections of attending Eton or Harrow or Wellington. This was a resentment that continued, even at the age of almost thirty, to rankle.”

Noel’s introduction reveals a young man who is much like Nancy: a person consumed with appearances. The fact that Noel blames his family situation for his lack of advancement in society shows that he has little empathy for the things his parents did for him when he was a child. Noel’s demeanor smacks of inauthenticity, and this manipulative attitude fuels the tension that will infuse every interaction he has with the other characters in the novel.

“Curled in the corner of the sofa, she wrapped her arms around herself, staring at her neat and shining sitting room where nothing had changed, nothing had moved, and yet everything was different. For Cosmo had gone. Cosmo was dead. For the rest of her life Olivia would have to live in a world in which there was no Cosmo.”

Olivia’s response to Cosmo’s death is an emotional one that she wouldn’t normally allow herself to feel. She is a woman who likes to be in control of everything, including her emotions. Learning of Cosmo’s death allows her to show the affection she still feels for him and the profound way in which he touched her life, causing her a sense of loss even after being apart for more than four years. This moment explores the theme of Experiences of Great Love and Great Loss as Olivia faces the reality that she and Cosmo will never see each other again.

“Podmore’s Thatch. Olivia thought it a ridiculous name, and she felt embarrassed every time she had to say it; she had even suggested that Penelope think up some other name for the old place. But Penelope knew that you couldn’t change the name of a house any more than you could change the name of a person. Besides, she had found out from the vicar that William Podmore had been the village thatcher more than two hundred years ago, and the cottage was named for him. Which settled the matter then and there.”

Penelope’s thoughts about Podmore’s Thatch show not only her affection for the house she has made into her home but also how sentimental she can be and how respectful she is of history in general. This mindset foreshadows Penelope’s decision to preserve her father’s legacy as an artist by giving The Shell Seekers to the gallery in Porthkerris. This little cottage also illustrates the disconnect between Penelope and her children, even Olivia, for they view the little cottage in a much more dismissive fashion, indicating that they do not fully understand—or, in Nancy and Noel’s case, even consider—Penelope’s sentimental connection to her father’s artwork.

“‘I haven’t been for forty years. But, oddly enough, just this morning, I was thinking that I really must go and see it all again.’ She looked at Olivia. ‘Why don’t you come with me? Just for a week. We could stay with Doris.’

‘Oh…’ Taken unawares, Olivia hesitated. ‘I…I don’t know…’”

Penelope asks each of her children to travel with her to Porthkerris so that she can visit her former home again and share stories of her childhood. Olivia is the first. Olivia hesitates and then refuses, claiming to be too busy at work. Combined with the refusals of Nancy and Noel, this foreshadows Penelope’s eventual decision to go to Porthkerris with Danus and Antonia, and the anger with which Nancy reacts when she hears about the trip. Penelope’s desire to take her children to Porthkerris illustrates the theme of Strains and Benefits of the Parent-Child Relationship.

“Lawrence Stern had not worked for more than ten years, but the tools of his trade were all about, as though, at any moment, he might take them up and start to paint again. The easels and canvases, the half-used tubes of colour, the palettes encrusted with dried paint. The model’s chair stood on the draped dais, and a rickety table held the plaster cast of a man’s head and a pile of back numbers of The Studio. The smell was deeply nostalgic, of oil paint and turpentine mingled up with the salty wind that poured in through the open window.”

Penelope describes her father’s studio in a way that gives the reader a perfect understanding of who Lawrence is as a person and an artist. The room is characteristic of a working artist, and even though Lawrence hasn’t worked in a decade, he still spends time there but has never cleaned up. This reveals his devotion to his craft and how that craft defines him as a person. Penelope’s description is filled with sentimentality that is more than likely connected to her feelings regarding his paintings—particularly The Shell Seekers, since it was painted in that very studio.

“She hesitated and then, ‘Would you come with me?’ she asked her son.

 ‘Come with you?’ He was so taken aback by her suggestion that he made no attempt to conceal his astonishment.”

As she did with Olivia, Penelope asks Noel to go with her to Porthkerris. Like Olivia, Noel is shocked by the question and then quickly finds an excuse not to go. This touches on the theme of the Strains and Benefits of the Parent-Child Relationship, showing the lack of sentimentality shared between Penelope and her children. The fact that they are all so surprised when she asks them to travel with her and so quick to turn her down shows that they do not have the kind of relationship in which they are willing to drop everything and be there for their mother when she asks for a favor. In Noel’s case, he likely would not spend time with his mother at all if not for the possibility of finding sketches worth thousands of pounds.

“Wordlessly, he followed her, his expression of polite interest giving no hint of his racing mind, which was working busily as an adding machine, calculating assets. For, despite the well-worn shabbiness and unconventional arrangement of this old London house, he found himself deeply impressed by its size and grandeur, and decided that it was infinitely preferable to his mother’s perfectly appointed flat.”

Ambrose’s reaction to the house on Oakley Street is familiar and brings to mind Noel and Nancy. He is clearly interested in the wealth that is implied by the appearance of the house, and this innate greed increases his selfish interest in Penelope. This is not an inspiring beginning to a great romance, but it does explain a few things about Penelope’s children and her subsequent need to sell Carn Cottage to pay for their education.

“But I am not good. I am selfish. I think about nobody but myself. This terrible war has started and things are going to get very bad before it is all over. Sons will be killed, and daughters too, and fathers and brothers, and all I can feel is thankful because you are coming home. I’ve missed you so much. But now we can be together again. How ever bad things get, at least we’ll be together.”

In this quote that outlines Sophie’s words to Penelope, it is clear that the two have a close, loving relationship that both nurtures Penelope into the woman she becomes and shelters her from the world’s realities, making her vulnerable to a man like Ambrose Keeling. This mother-daughter relationship reveals a different aspect to the theme of strains and benefits of the parent-child relationship. At the same time, Sophie’s words foreshadow the darkness that lies ahead for Penelope, including the deaths of several people she loves dearly.

“‘[A]nd when we reached the end of the street, it was cordoned off; nobody was allowed there, and the firemen were still working. But we could see. The house had disappeared. Nothing there but a great crater. And there was a policeman and I spoke to him. And he was very kind, but he said there is no hope. No hope, Lawrence.’ She began to weep. ‘All of them. Dead. I am so sorry. I am so sorry to tell you.’”

The first devastating loss in Penelope’s life is the death of her mother. Sophie was made an orphan during World War I, and she dies in the London bombings of World War II while visiting with friends. This moment not only foreshadows other deaths that are still to come but also begins the cycle of change taking place in Penelope’s life that is brought on by the war and by the choices she has made.

“A silence fell between them, which Nancy found uncomfortable, loaded with unspoken reproach. But why should she feel guilty? She couldn’t possibly take off, with so little notice, so little time to set things in order, to Cornwall.”

When both Olivia and Noel refuse Penelope’s invitation to go to Cornwall, Penelope asks Nancy to go, and the fact that Nancy is the very last of the siblings to receive this offer implies that her relationship with Penelope is the unhealthiest of all the siblings. Accordingly, Nancy balks just like Olivia and Noel did, making trivial excuses about why she cannot go. This refusal shows her selfishness even as it exposes her lack of concern for Penelope despite her earlier show of concern for her mother’s health. None of Penelope’s children seem to understand their mother’s desire to return to this place that played such a big role in her childhood, and they lack the compassion to want to spend time helping their mother. There is a disconnect between Penelope and her children that is never acknowledged openly by anyone involved.

“Unsupported, the flap of wallpaper sagged, curled, and finally collapsed, to reveal the object that had been hidden behind it for the past twenty-five years. A battered cardboard folder, tied with string and secured to the mahogany panels by straps of sticky tape.”

When Penelope pulls Lawrence’s sketches from the back of her wardrobe, she reveals that she has known all along what Noel was up to. Penelope hid these sketches from Ambrose years ago, afraid that he would sell them to pay off his gambling debts, and now she has to hide them from her son for similar reasons. This shows that Penelope has always understood that the sketches would be worth money someday. It also shows that she understands the selfish nature of her children, yet she loves them enough that she allows them to come and poke around her house just the same.

“[B]ecause you never had any time for me…never gave me anything…”

Nancy accuses her mother of not caring about her after learning that Penelope donated The Shell Seekers to the gallery in Porthkerris. This dispute goes back to the beginning of the book, when Nancy tells herself that motherhood is a thankless job. While Nancy wants sympathy for the work she puts in caring for her own children, she is incapable of appreciating the sacrifices her own mother made for her and her siblings, including selling Carn Cottage to pay for their education. Once again, Nancy shows her selfishness, and in doing so, she makes unfounded accusations to her mother during their final conversation with one another.

“‘You talk like Nancy. Nancy told me that I never gave her anything. What is wrong with you both? You and Nancy and Olivia were my life. For years you were everything I lived for. And yet now, hearing you say such things, I am filled with despair. I feel that somewhere and somehow I have totally and utterly failed you.’

‘I think,’ said Noel slowly, ‘that you have.’”

Just like Nancy, Noel attacks Penelope over the donation of The Shell Seekers. It is greed that motivates these arguments, greed on the part of Nancy and Noel, watching the fortune they believe was theirs going away with the donation of the painting. Their words to their mother, however, are out of line and cruel. Noel purposely misunderstands his mother’s words, choosing to believe a different definition of the world “failed” than the one Penelope means when she speaks to him.