Gerda and Christie

A recurring early theme of Powys is of mistaken sexual choice. The male protagonist is shown between two women, the first possessing ordinary sane qualities like beauty and competence, while the second has unworldly qualities, a spiritual pathos which is also strength. Very crudely, this was the difference between Gladys and Lacrima in Wood and Stone, although the sadomasochist emphasis disguised it and no man in the book had to choose between them. In Rodmoor, Adrian Sorio loved both Nance, a sympathetic feminine woman, and Philippa, an ambiguous perverse girl whose tastes were both intellectual and cruel but with whom Sorio had far deeper affinities. Rook’s choice between Ann and Netta in Ducdame obviously fits this pattern. Wolf Solent is the final full reworking of the theme as plot, although it appears in fragmented forms in later fiction.