The Wife Upstairs

When I first saw “The Wife Upstairs” by Rachel Hawkins as a Book of the Month choice I had zero interest in it. It looked like a murder mystery which is not my jam, so I chose something different and moved on. But this novel kept popping up on instagram, everywhere. Finally I read a synopsis of the book. I HAD to read it. Modern day “Jane Eyre”, uhhhh...yes please. Unfortunately by then, book of the month was sold out so it went onto my list as a book I wanted to eventually buy and read. Luckily this month they had it restocked so I was able to get it. 

This novel is full of twists, turns and suspense. Jane, a young 20-something has become a dog walker to the elite families of Thornfield Estates. Moving to Alabama leaving a sinister past behind in Arizona. When Jane is almost run over by Mr Rochester she has a new goal in mind. To no longer be the community dog walker but a member of it herself. Which leads to a crazy ride of secrets, dishonesty and murder.

“Jane Eyre” meets the other Mrs Miller.

I instantly saw a “Jane Eyre” influence (obviously the entire reason I read the book) when I read the synopsis. Hawkins uses some of the same names in the story. The neighborhood’s name is reminiscent of Thornfield Hall. The plot line, similar, Jane falling for Mr. Rochester, while his insane wife, is locked away upstairs. Clearly Hawkins put her own modern day delicious twist on it, but the subtly plot remains the same. 

The first book that came to mind as a reference other than “Jane Eyre” is “The Other Mrs. Miller”, like I said...murder mystery, not my cup of tea. However my Mom did drop off a thrilling suspense novel on one of her short (masked) trips by my house this past year. The book was titled “The Other Mrs. Miller” and is full of elite neighborhood gossip and  murder. 

I really enjoyed having a modern take on my favorite novel. It was especially interesting to compare the two and the messages they sent. In “Jane Eyre” Mr. Rochester has no way of ridding himself of his insane wife, he was tricked into marrying her and is stuck with her until death do they part. In “The Wife Upstairs” Eddie could have completely walked away from Bea when he discovered her insanity (I’m sorry but killing people who get in your way is insanity). Instead Eddie, unsure of how to handle the situation, locked her in their escape room to keep her from harming anyone else. 

I found it interesting that both men, in both versions of the story, chose not to abandon their wife. While Mr. Rochester couldn’t divorce his wife, he could have had her moved to a different estate, never bringing his ward or Jane to that property. Locking her away even further from everyone. He could have simply abandoned her at the estate and let her do herself in. Instead he chose to insure her care, to make sure that a nurse was employed who would be kind and gentle with her and see to her wellbeing, but also be courageous enough to deal with her episodes. 

Similarly Eddie locking Bea up. He could have turned her in, taken her fortune and completely moved on with his life. He didn’t want to harm her, didn’t want to harm her reputation, but also didn’t want her to harm anyone else. Therefore, in the same manner as the first Mr. Rochester, he locked her away but ensured that she was fed, had access to a bathroom, and brought her novels to read. Checked on her. 

I’m not saying what he did was right, by any means. He should have turned her in, the second he suspected that her mother’s “accident” had not been an accident, so should Blanche. But it seemed like Blanche was more concerned with having something to hold over Bea. 

It also really stuck out to me how firm the message was that you can never really fully know someone. Eddie and Bea were married, lived together, ran companies together. Yet, neither one knew the other. Bea didn’t know that Eddie would do anything to scam his way into a better deal, yet that seemed to stop with her, he ran the contracting company she helped him start and kept her company running after she “died”. I’m always intrigued by these stories, fiction or otherwise. How on earth does the spouse not know. How can you live with someone whose first instinct is to murder anyone in their way and never realize it. I guess we really can only see the sides of people that they allow us to see. 

I was so happy with the ending. That neighborhood was toxic...everyone in it...toxic. Jane deserved better, after everything that happened in her life she deserved better.