Oscar and Lucinda is a 1988 novel by Peter Carey, winner of the Booker Prize for the novel the previous year. The novel, set in the 19th century, revolves around the complex relationship between Oscar Hopkins, an Englishman raised in a small village, and Lucinda Leplastrier, the daughter of an Australian businessman. The story of their love, set against a backdrop of Victorian England and colonial Australia, is a lyrical, moving tale.
Oscar and Lucinda is told from the point of view of Oscar Hopkins, a deeply religious yet oddly rebellious young man, whose relationship with Lucinda changes as he gradually starts to question his faith. As the book progresses, it becomes apparent that both Oscar and Lucinda share an inability to find their place in the societal conventions of their times. As an adult, Oscar is an Anglican priest, yet his intense spiritual nature remains conflicted. If he is to try and cope with the changes in his faith and life, he must find a way to reconcile his existential crisis with his belief in God and a higher power.
Lucinda, on the other hand, is a strong willed and fiercely independent businesswoman, yet remains an outsider to the values and customs of the society. For her, her relationship with Oscar is a daring escape from her sheltered existence. Her presence in his life helps him to grow, develop, and slowly but surely, reveal his suppressed feelings.
In the novel, Oscar and Lucinda’s paths first cross when Oscar comes to Australia for missionary work. He sees Lucinda as a lost soul, the same kind that he has been trying to save by preaching and converts to Christianity. As their relationship develops, Lucinda helps Oscar to come to terms with his suppressed emotions, as well as his rejection of faith and the rules of Victorian England.
Throughout the novel, Lucinda uses her precarious position as an outsider to help Oscar confront his internal conflicts and accept his spiritual crisis. Similarly, Oscar helps Lucinda confront her own moral issues, such as the complex question of following her beloved father’s wishes versus her own growing ambition. By their mutual exploration, they come to understand each other more and more, and help each other grow and develop.
To put it simply, Oscar and Lucinda is a love story, but like several of Carey’s novels, it also addresses profound themes of religion, society, and identity. The relationships between the two protagonists, Oscar and Lucinda, serve as a metaphor for the greater themes of the novel; the different concepts of faith, the struggle to understand one’s identity and place in a much-altered world, and the moral dilemma of deciding one’s convictions when surrounded by conventions.
Overall, Oscar and Lucinda is a rich and rewarding novel, full of colourful characters and sublime insights. Highly recommended for readers seeking a moving exploration of faith and identity in a Victorian world.
