THE COUNTRY GIRLS

Our Missed Opportunity this month is the ‘The Country Girls’, the first story in ‘The Country Girls Trilogy’ by Edna O’Brien who sadly passed away earlier this year. Edna O’Brien was one of the most influential Irish writers of the 20th century whose writing often focused on women trying to break free from the domestic and religious constraints of Ireland during the 1960’s.

The first part of this ground breaking trilogy tells the story of two young girls, Cait and Baba growing up in a small village outside Limerick in Ireland. Their relationship is one of a loving and loathing dependence. From different backgrounds, Cait lives on a farm with her mother, alcoholic father who disappears off for weeks at a time on benders and Hickey, a loyal and caring farmhand. Money is tight and opportunities limited. By contrast, Baba is the daughter of a vet and his glamorous socialite wife Martha. Baba is jealous of Cait who naturally succeeds academically and Cait is in awe of Baba’s ability to live life to the full and take risks. Cait is literally minded and astutely describes her best friend as ‘coy, pretty malicious Baba was my friend and the person I feared most after my father.’ However, Cait has one secret, which is her infatuation with Mr. Gentleman. Mr. Gentleman works as a solicitor in Dublin but comes home at weekends. He is French, rich, well dressed and in Cait’s eyes totally exotic, most importantly he is married. He begins to pick Cait up in his car for drives together.

When Cait’s family suffer tragedy, both she and Baba are sent to a boarding convent school, Cait being on a scholarship. Inevitably Baba leads Cait astray and the two girls find themselves aged 17 moving to Dublin. Baba is determined to live the wild life ‘I’m going to blow up this town she said, and she meant it, that first night in Dublin’ Meanwhile, Mr. Gentleman sees Cait living away from home as his opportunity to step up their relationship. O’Brien’s handling of this relationship is both heart wrenching and familiar to read and his treatment of Cait which ends the first part of the trilogy is tragic to observe.