Sometimes, I understand the Greek and Roman civilisations more than I do our own. As a teacher it's fun to look at that with my students and ask - have we advanced or not?
Madam
by Phoebe Wynne
Genre: Gothic / Dark Academia
About: Rose is given a prestigious new job as Head of Classics in an elite all-girls boarding school. The offer is as unexpected as it is daunting for a teacher as young as she is, but it's an offer she can't turn down. Only when she arrives, she begins to wonder at them choosing her, or why she was needed in the first place. Just what did her predecessor do and why won't anyone talk about her?
The Good
I liked the setting of a boarding school in Scotland and the Victorian Gothic vibes that came with it. I also liked the relationships between Rose and a few of her students. It reminded me of how important teachers are in shaping us and I loved to see the girl's enthusiasm in Greek mythology. In fact the little inserts of both historical and mythological female heroines was really interesting to read and I could definitely see why it would inspire her young students.
The Bad
Rose as a main character was a mistake on many levels. Firstly, because it felt as thought the author was inserting herself into the character (she was also a young Classics teacher) when in reality the story would have been far more interesting if it had switched POVs, or even to have been told through a student's eyes. I think Rose was a lazy choice.
Secondly, because she wrote Rose as this confused and highly judgemental feminist. Even when I was agreeing with Rose on the disgusting practices at the school, I found her so unlikeable to read. Writing characters on a moral pedestal is not a way to connect your reader - it's the reason Fanny is the least liked Jane Austen heroine. I also didn't connect with her because many important scenes were skimmed over or summarised into narration. Rose constantly feels disconnected from places and people, and I in turn was disconnected from her.
Then we have Rose's reaction to situations, added in with the Gothic writing, that turned her into a ridiculous character. At the beginning she's 'haunted' by her predecessor in a nod to Du Maurier's Rebecca. However the psychological turmoil the character feels in Rebecca makes sense as the character is replacing a wife, not a teacher replacing another teacher (a very normal thing in education). Rose's reaction to her predecessor's books being returned to her is described with Gothic turns of phrases such as she 'fled her office', her 'beating heart' and the books are 'quiet tombs'. They're literally textbooks. These kinds of silly reactions minimise her subsequent reactions to actual serious events - which are a repetitive circle of her either crying, feeling faint, sick, running away or having an outburst. All making her seem like a hysterical woman and doing nothing for feminism.
In fact she's actually incredibly passive as a character. It takes her far too long to work out what's going on at the school and it doesn't help that she'll act as though getting to the bottom of this mystery is such a headache. She's given plenty of hints but then will reflect on them with gems like this: 'she hadn't yet allowed herself to interpret France's worrying comment' - why not? Or she'll be intimidated out of talking by a painting, or find courage because of a storm (I lol'd at this: 'she realised she felt bolder with the storm still in her skin'). She is just too timid of a character for the modern context the writer has placed her in. These kind of things I can overlook when the character is written for a time before feminism but Rose doesn't have that kind of excuse.
The Somewhat Iffy
The time setting is completely wrong for this novel. I get the point that the author is trying to suggest that, for some parts of society, feminism hasn't happened, but to set this novel in the 90s made very little sense. The author doesn't make use of Rose's time outside the school to showcase the contrast (or create tension in how far-reaching the school's influence is). And while I'm sure there are many men in power who would love the idea of this school, I don't quite buy that every year fifty to a hundred teenage girls get married to wealthy, powerful, older men. That would seem to suggest a large swathe of men in power are married to teenage girls - which even in the 90s would be extremely noticeable.
Also some of the teachers normalising all this read strange in the context of knowing they'd been brought up outside of the system. Emma, for instance, finds the idea of a girl choosing her suitor ridiculous when she chose the man she married before coming to the school. The novel would have made so much more sense if it had been written a hundred years before.
The Headmaster's role is also really strange. He's a shadow of a character for maybe three quarters of the book when really he should have been front and centre as an antagonist. When he finally turns up, it's to repeat threats that have proven to have no effect on Rose. The school never forces Rose to show her loyalty and they never make good on their threats. They just keep thinking she'll comply and it makes the story feel forced. In reality, Rose should have tried to quit at the beginning, and when she doesn't but keeps disobeying the rules, the school should have shown it's power (as it often did with the students) rather than keep telling her she'd best 'buckle down'.
Oh and also the mystery of why Frank recommended her to the place is never answered. He's brought up a lot as a reason why she's there (because otherwise it does look noticeably questionable), but we never meet him or find out what was behind that recommendation. Since he was a buddy of Anthony, it could have be a plot twist of Rose herself being brought there as a match for Anthony.
Overall
There was potential for a good read here. The boarding school setting, if it had been written in an appropriate time with interesting POV characters, could have been a great, haunting read that spoke to feminism. As is, this one consciously reminds you of Rebecca, The Bell Jar, The Handmaiden's Tale, and, well, go read those instead.
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