The power of pride in 'On Chesil Beach'
Florence and Edward are newly-weds at 22. Their honeymoon takes place in a hotel beside Chesil Beach in Dorset, South West England. The story is set in 1962, just before Britain’s sexual liberation.
The pair argue about sex. Florence doesn’t want sex in the same way other people do, she tells Edward. She would like nothing more than to remain in the pre-60s era of English repression. The book tussles with the term ‘frigid’.
Most reviews focus on the central theme of sexual confusion and repression, but it was the depiction of pride that struck me more than anything.
Following a failed attempt at sexual union, Florence runs from the room, disappearing two miles down Chesil Beach. There she sits. Edward finds her and they berate one another some more. Edward always wants something from her! He’s always trying to take something from her! Florence is frigid, yes, she admits it, that word describes her perfectly.
(Spoiler Alert)
Florence gets up and leaves. Edward wants to call after her. Florence wants to turn back. Neither of them do. They are stubborn in their pride.
Pride is such a powerful force. The desire to retain one’s honour, to maintain one’s social posture at all costs for fear that, if lost, we’ll plummet into an abyss of disillusionment and social exclusion.
Florence and Edward are in love, they adore each other, they get on exceptionally well with one another’s families. They got married. Yet due to pride they don’t stick it out.
The ending is excruciating because we’ve all been there. We’ve all loved someone and avoided reaching out for fear they won’t reciprocate. How many harmonious communions have been gashed due to pride…
Was it pride or the unmitigated consequences of Florence having been abused by her father growing up? She is prideful, yes, but ultimately overcomes her pride and expresses her extreme discomfort with having sex and proposes an alternative so deeply contrary to what was acceptable at the time. Florence was ahead of her time and gashed her pride, Edward was unable to reciprocate IMO. I love your blog posts—happy I stumbled upon them!