Affinity is a historical fiction novel set in Victorian England but written in 1999 by Sarah Waters. It is a Victorian crime and sensation novel, as well as a ghost story, that has been adapted for a more contemporary audience with the use of a Lesbian love story. It follows the story of Margaret Prior and her visits to Millbank Prison. She develops a close bond with one particular prisoner, Selina Dawes and later becomes romantically involved with her.
Victorian sensation writing was created through a combination of popular writing forms such as melodrama, domestic realism, Newgate novels and gothic tales. In these, the enthralling plots involved scandalous events such as adultery, bigamy, murder and sexual deviance that was in a seemingly familiar setting for the readers – for example, in Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley is accused of bigamy as she has killed 1 of her husbands and has supposedly died herself before getting remarried. Stories like this were highly popular due to the scandal involved. They mirrored stories that were printed in broadsheet newspapers and sensationalised for dramatic effect.
Throughout the entire novel you are deceived by Waters. The ending is a slap in the face and leaves you feeling utterly confused as to how you have been manipulated so easily. The character of Selina causes Margaret to fall under her spell and convinces her that she is innocent of the crimes she was convicted of. But is Selina a con-artist or quixotic? This ambiguity hooks us from the moment we meet her and leaves us reeling after the ending.
The ending of the novel is a confusing and ambiguous one. Selina escapes from Millbank Prison by using 2 of her closest allies – Margaret and a client called Mrs Jelf who is the one kind guard at the prison. She tells Margaret she wants to run away with her and needs her help in escaping. Due to the fact she is besotted with Selina, Margaret obliges and withdraws £1300, buys her new dresses and books a boat for them to travel to Italy. She is left waiting until after dawn for her and of course, Selina does not show. Mrs Jelf had a smaller role in the escape but still important non the less. For months Selina was allowing her to “see” her dead baby and be close with him and we learn of the harrowing life Mrs Jelf has had – she married a horrible man, had a baby out-of-wedlock with a lover and it unfortunately died. The trust she had in Selina however, was all Selina needed. Selina was able to convince her that she could take her to see her dead child. This was obviously impossible. It is revealed that Vigers, one of Margaret’s maids, was the go-between.
She was previously Selina’s maid and was always present in the seances. Vigers is Peter Quick, she is Selina’s accomplice and is very much real. She is also Selina’s lover and whom she is planning to run away with. The magical stuff that happened (like the flowers) was all down to Vigers to trick Margaret and manipulate her into trusting Selina. The quote below is one of Margaret’s last lines.
“Your twisting is done–you have the last thread of my heart. I wonder: when the thread grows slack, will you feel it?”
― Sarah Waters, Affinity
This novel is such a powerful Victorian sensation novel. It draws upon ideas of adultery, murder and sexual desire, as well as combining themes of the gothic novel, Newgate novel and melodrama. Waters has got the perfect combination of all aspects as well as including themes of homosexuality and forbidden relationships.
References
Ciocia, S. (2007). ‘Queer and Verdant’: The Textual Politics of Sarah Waters’s Neo-Victorian Novels. The Literary London Journal, [online] 5(2). Available at: http://literarylondon.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Stefania-Ciocia-‘Queer-and-Verdant’-The-Textual-Politics-of-Sarah-Waters’s-Neo-Victorian-Novels.pdf [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
Goodreads.com. (2017). Affinity Quotes by Sarah Waters. [online] Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1413038-affinity [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
ITV (2008). Margaret Prior visits Selina Dawes. [image] Available at: https://ellenandjim.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/sarah-waterss-affinity/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
Rubery, M. (2011). Sensation Fiction – Victorian Literature – Oxford Bibliographies – obo. [online] Oxfordbibliographies.com. Available at: http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199799558/obo-9780199799558-0062.xml [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
Waters, S. (2017). Sarah Waters. [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25334.Sarah_Waters [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
Waters, S. (1999). Affinity. 1st ed. London: Hachette Digital.
Prison Voices 