On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Analysis of the fist chapter

Storyline

Edward and Florence, the main characters of the novel, arrive in Dorset on their wedding night. They would like to spend their honeymoon in a Georgian Inn on Chesil Beach.

They decide to have dinner on the terrace and at the end of the dinner they stay in their bedroom.

Setting

When the lovers arrive in the Georgian Inn it is evening, at dinner time, and the weather is not good. Right from the beginning the setting description conveys that something wrong is happening in the perfection of Georgian Style. Regularity and symmetry of the Inn fight back with the imperfection of weather: It is July but the weather is not good as it should to be.

Reflecting on the setting, I can say that while the weather shows a sense of inadequacy of characters ant their feelings, the perfection of the Georgian Inn represents how they are supposed to feel since they are just married.

Characters

The narrator introduces the characters by an "objective" point of view, but he also tells what Florence thinks about Edward and what he thinks about Florence.

Edward

He is not the son of a rich family, however they do not lack him about anything, (Text: He has never travelled; He works with Florence's father).

He is calm, polite, patient and sensitive about other people's (and in particularly Florence's) necessities and feelings. (Pg. 22-23; "Between Edward and Florence...disgust and joy."

He attended the History university and History is the way through which he reeds the world.

Knowing the story of humanity and studying wars, rebellions and different difficulties that human kind faced, he thinks to know how to live but he is not able to face his problems. History do not help him in this case.

He believes in destiny and in a force that decides the sort of a person or an entire world.

Unable to act, he learns by the life of someone else.

Edward really loves Florence with all her problems and faults, and he is really attracted by her.

When Edward describes Florence, he starts from her physical appearance underlining how beautiful and desirable she is. He is acknowledged about Florence's behaviours and he knows that she is sure and unsure about herself at the same time and these feature fascinates him.

Florence

She belongs to a rich family because the narrator tells that she travels a lot and her mother owns a car which was not that common during 60's.

She is a skilled violinist and she is self-confident only when music is topic of conversation.

She is usually unsure and worried about everything.

She is used to analyse herself and she feels different because her sense of anxiety in front of sexual relationship. She is afraid of being violated by who has sex with her also if it will be Edward.

She desires to be happy, having a baby with Edward and she wants to make Edward joyful having sex with him, because she knows his desire, but she doesn't want to suffer and she is blocked by her negative thoughts. Anyway she does not want to make Edward fail.

Florence does not really love Edward as a husband and she is not physically attracted by him. She loves just how she feels when she is with him, the sense of safety he conveys to her.

As a matter of fact when she describes him, she only talk about what he does and some funny, cute and strange thinks that she likes about him (Ex. He isn't able to wear a pair of socks; he has got only one tie...)

The two characters in the 60's

They feel inadequate because they are young, and in this age, until marriage you are nobody.

Edward and Florence do not talk about their problems because they are not supposed to do that. They observe a lot of rules that the society used to impose even when they are alone.

The reason why they married is becoming adults, being considerate and try to grow up and face problems being married.

Narrator and narrative techniques used

The novel is told by a third person omniscient and intrusive narrator.

He is omniscient because he knows what happens during the stay of Florence and Edward but he knows also their feeling, their thoughts and their story and, last but not list, he could give the reader information about the time in which characters live.

He is intrusive because sometimes he conveys his point of view or he clarifies situations.

(Ex. Intrusion: "But it is never easy"; Omniscience: "They were nervous to".)

The narrator uses to create curiosity in the readers mind leaving out pieces of information (Omission of facts), or telling just an episode belonging to characters' past (Feedback).

Feedback and Omission of facts creates also confusion because a chronological organization of facts lacks and it is not easy to follow the grassroots of the story.