Baroness Orczy and The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a book series following the adventures of the audacious and dashing English noble man Percy Blakeney, his wife and comrades during the French revolution. Among the eighteen related publications, the series’ first novel of the same name, which was originally introduced on the stage, is the most popular. Despite its late 18th century French setting, the novel is funny, and playful, an enjoyable read for desperate romantics or just about anybody who is need of a simple and lovely escape from the the daily life. I watched the film of the same name a while ago and thought it an incredibly fun piece of entertainment. When I was going through a seemingly never ending series of tests at school, I picked up this novel for a light read, wanting to relieve the immense stress that I was under. The magic didn’t work twice. The novel took longer to read, giving me extra time to reflect on the plot and the characters more carefully. Gradually, though I found the book funny and endearing in its own way, I also began to see some problems here and there that made me feel slightly uncomfortable with the book at times.

Sir Percy Blakeney, also known as the Scarlet Pimpernel, is a dreamlike figure that is exclusive to our imagination. With more money than one could count, more charisma than one could have, and more courage than one ever need, Sir Percy meets all the expectations for the stereotypical “women want him, men want to be like him” kind of characters. Yet, beyond this image of the romantic aristocratic hero, there’s not much nuance to his personality for us to appreciate and empathize with. He’s an impressive man, but just like the myths surrounding his adventures suggest, the Scarlet Pimpernel is merely a fantasy. Nevertheless, his flamboyantly heroic personality is not only very entering but also very fitting with the tone of the novel, making readers laugh even in the most desperate of times

The novel, despite its title, actually focuses a lot on Marguerite, the beloved wife of the heroic Scarlet Pimpernel. Not only is the main story told from her perspective, but it is her adventure that takes up most of the plot points. I love Marguerite and would definitely befriend her if she were a real person. She’s smart, resilient, selfless and courageous. At the start of the novel, she was perceptive enough to see the goodness in Percy and loved him for that, even when he was pretending to be a super rich but ridiculous English aristocrate. She was not blinded by money and displayed her contempt for her husband’s foolish words and actions as he pushed her away and keep up his act in front of her. She had faith in her his kind nature and tried her best to mend their relationship in the most desperate of times, hoping to change him for the better. She risked everything to save her brother as well as her husband and would die for them had the situation required it. My only problem is that we couldn’t see much of Marguerite outside her interactions with her husband or brother, the two man who seems to make up her entire world. Marguerite is much better developed than Percy, but her character still leaves much to be desired.

All in all, though The Scarlet Pimpernel isn’t going to be the one book I reread every six months, it was a light-hearted comedy that can bring much laughter and joy to your gloomy afternoon.

The picture below is about the 1934 on-screen adpatation of The Scarlet Pimpernel. When you have the time, check it out (before the 1982 version of course)