The Wish: A Novel — Story, Setting & Ideas

The Narrator's Shifting Role

The narrator's position evolves from a child excluded from serious discussions to the de facto head of the household. She describes taking "the burden of housekeeping upon my shoulders" and, within a fortnight, making "the entire household dance to my pipe." This assertion of authority is met with smiles and remonstrance, but she persists, even as Martha declares she will never suffer the younger sister to usurp her place. The power struggle is subtle: Martha eventually feels grateful but dismisses the narrator's influence by saying "one must give way to children." The narrator's self-awareness is evident in her reflection that she "learnt for the first that one may t..." (the excerpt cuts off), suggesting a dawning recognition of the complexities of love and manipulation.

Recurring Images of Decay and Restlessness

The text is punctuated by physical and emotional symptoms that mirror the sisters' inner states. Martha's restlessness is described through specific actions: "excited steps," "half the nights at the open window," and being "violently startled" when caught. Her decline is marked by "despairing listlessness," deep blue rings around her eyes, and an "odour of valerian" from her mouth—a medicinal smell that suggests chronic distress. The narrator herself becomes attuned to these signs, interpreting them as proof of her own shrewdness. The domestic setting, with its chimney-corner and phlegmatic mother, contrasts with the sisters' volatile emotions, creating a tension between stillness and agitation.

The Structure of Confession and Surveillance

The narrative is built on a series of letters and reported conversations that create a layered structure of confession and surveillance. The narrator writes to Robert, receives his contrite replies, and then reports Martha's reactions. She also observes Martha secretly, noting when she "thought herself alone" and when she was "caught in the act." This triangular communication—narrator to Robert, Robert to narrator, narrator to Martha—generates a claustrophobic intimacy. The father's intervention, bringing a letter that the narrator is "not allowed to read," underscores the limits of her knowledge. Yet she continues to piece together the story from fragments, positioning herself as both participant and observer.

Movement Between Domestic and Emotional Landscapes

The excerpts shift between interior spaces and the natural world, though the latter is only glimpsed. The narrator's early description of her role as a "singing-bird" whose chatter is tolerated suggests a confined, performative existence. Martha's restlessness drives her to the window, a threshold between the house and the outside. The father brings the bad-news letter in a "bad humour," and the mother remains in her "chimney-corner," immobile. These spatial details—the window, the corner, the threshold—map the characters' emotional states. The narrator's takeover of housekeeping is a territorial move, claiming the domestic sphere as her own. The movement is not physical but psychological, as the sisters orbit around Robert's absence.

Readers attentive to the narrator's voice will notice her careful self-presentation: she admits to cunning and childishness while asserting her maturity. The incomplete excerpts leave open how her role evolves and whether her influence proves lasting. Pay particular attention to the moments when she claims to act for Martha's sake—these may reveal as much about her own desires as about her sister's. The novel's structure, built on letters and reported speech, rewards close reading of who speaks, who listens, and who is left in the dark.

Reading how the younger sister in The Wish quietly absorbs Martha’s chaos, I remembered being the listener in my own family’s tangled affections. That same hush—of watching someone choose poorly and feeling helpless—came back when I first opened The Setons — Text and Context. Its gentle domestic gravity felt familiar, like sitting on a porch while rain settled everything.