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AN INTERVIEW WITH ELIZABETH BUCHAN
1. What was the inspiration for The Good Wife ?
It grew out of the subject of my previous Revenge of the Middle- Aged Woman where a marriage is destroyed. I thought it would be interesting to take the opposite stance and examine a marriage which endures - on the premise that marriage is both an institution and a mental state which can be fruitful, devastating, a refuge, stagnant, successful, a source of consolation and deepest frustration, subject to vast change: sometimes all at the same time.
2. What is a 'good wife' ?
Two generations ago, to be a 'wife' was virtually a woman's existence. Now, the role of the wife is slotted between other roles and I have been lucky enough to be one of those women who have enjoyed being a wife and a mother, but also found infinite satisfaction in pursuing a career. Yet, if women have been liberated, that does not necessarily mean they wish to abandon entirely their traditional roles - being a partner and a mother is one of the great adventures in life, but we have to find new ways of working it.
3. Why did you choose the first person to narrate the novel ?
I was initially reluctant to work with the first person as I suspected that it might restrict the novel. To my surprise, I found quite the opposite. Using the 'I' voice, it is possible to drive deep into the psyche and achieve an intimacy which is what I wanted for the subject. Although, The Good Wife is written from a feminine perspective, the crisis that Fanny has reached - where am I going? what am I doing? do I want to change? - is also one that affects both sexes.
4. Your novels celebrate the middle-aged woman. What do you find particularly interesting about forty-something characters?
Because it is a hugely interesting stage in one's life - which offers time to reflect and for inner growth. Not easy, of course! It is partly about reappraising elements from the past - the choices and the experiences, both good and bad - but is also about being more powerful, knowing better what we want and, after the frantic years of parenting and working, having time to appreciate the texture of life, and its pleasures which can be very simple - like enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee or going to the cinema on the spur of the moment.
5. When creating Fanny, did you call on specific politicians' wives as models for her?
Not directly, but I did talk to some politician wives in order to get the flavour of their lives.
6. Fanny is feeling overstretched and undervalued, and is asking 'Will be there be time for me?' How did you navigate Fanny out of this impasse? What did you see as reasonable options for her?
Early on, Fanny took a decision to stay put. Now, she wants to reflect and to re-negotiate the terms and conditions, if you like, of her marriage. First of all, she has to discover what she needs and wants. I took as a metaphor the notion that a life - and the spirit - has many rooms and wanted to show Fanny as she moves from one 'room' into the next.
7. The Italian theme is very important in the book. Why ?
As a sun-lit paradise, Italy offers the chance to escape from normal life. At the same time, Fanny has been indoctrinated by her father that Italy is her 'real' home where he feels the right values of family and constancy are to be found. Yet, what Fanny does discover there teaches her that nostalgia and memory are not a basis for the truth - about her life, at any rate. The Italy that she 'knows' no longer exists, however seductive. At the same time, its beauty, magic and heat provides an escape at the time she needs it most.
8. How did you arrive at your characters ?
They grew with the ideas that underpin the novel. But Fanny was there, right from the beginning, more or less complete. Will and Meg took a bit more time and evolved over the drafts. I cannot say that I 'researched' them as such. Just ran them through my head over and over again and worked on their depth and complexity. For example, it could be argued that Meg represents the dark, anarchic, self destructive side of Fanny and she has to battle with it for most of her married life - until the Italian interlude when it is finally conquered.
9. You tackle serious issues - alcoholism, adolescence, infidelity, sloppy parenting, illness - in your books. Why did you feel these were important subjects to address?
I did not feel I had to tackle these per se, but they grew out of the character's predicaments. Sadly, they are everyday occurrences with which we have to contend and it is because they affect us so closely they are legitimate subjects for a novelist to think about and to dramatize.
10. Although you address serious issues relevant to modern women everywhere, critics unanimously praise your wit, warmth and wisdom. Have these traits helped you deal with difficult situations in your own life?
Thank for the compliments. The greatest writers have shown us with wit, humour and wisdom how to tackle the great questions about our existence and our behaviour. This seems to be an admirable ambition for any writer - for to laugh at ourselves and our foibles is both healing and illuminating - and, if in the smallest way, I could be said to be doing this in my novels then I could not be more pleased.
11. You've recently written in an article: 'I realize just how happy I am to have reached this stage in my life.' Why is that
I found the struggle to be a mother and to work at the same time pretty exhausting. Now, my children are adults, I feel I have been granted a new lease of life - and I am both relishing my renewed energies and plan to trade on them as much as possible.
12. Are you a 'good wife'?
I am useless at warming the slippers and the fridge is frequently empty. and I am still working on the requisite humour, flexibility, compassion, tenderness - plus an effective prayer to the Sock God who could tell me which sock belongs to whom and where the missing ones are hiding.
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