A Person of Significance

In his play ‘A Woman of No Importance' Oscar Wild satirises hypocritical attitudes to marriage and extra marital affairs and illustrates how long concealed secrets can come back to haunt the relationships of the present. Above all he voices the desire of the alienated to find a place in society and shows the sacrifices a mother makes to secure the career of her son. Such is the focus of ‘A Person of Significance' by Marjorie Lazaro who narrates the struggle of Gad a young Burmese immigrant to establish himself as a concert pianist in 1950's London. Gad's story details his experience of prejudice and social disapproval as he negotiates, first a courtship, then marriage with Therese a young French woman. Whereas Wilde sets his action in the sophisticated but sterile world of the privileged upper class salons of London, Gads story plays out against the background of the streets and squares of 1950s London so convincingly realised you can practically smell the places and hear the passing traffic. Literally at the centre of the action is Gad and Therese's marriage which follows the account of their courtship and their determination to overcome the inevitable obstacles facing a young couple in a mixed race relationship with no money. As in Puccini' opera, the lovers and their group of friends share a bohemian existence however, unlike Puccini's lovers this romance, though not without its dark sadnesses, ends happily. The narrative is framed on a pattern of oppositions between Eastern and Western Culture, men and women, Asian and European races, faith and scepticism, and seeks to explore both the social tensions these create as well as how, like harmony and dissonance in a musical score, these can be integrated and transcended to achieve something both beautiful and meaningful. Gad's aspiration to become a professional pianist is counterpointed by Theresa's pragmatic approach to the constraints imposed on their relationship by their lack of money. Both suffer loss through death and when a painful secret that haunts Therese is brought to the surface by the actions of the spoilt and privileged ‘friend' Valerie it threatens to wreck Theresa's marriage to Gad. Overall the novel is a distillation of youthful love amid the intolerance of 1950's London. It is difficult to believe that such painfully humiliating abuse the young couple encounter on the streets of London happened within living memory. ‘A Person of Significance' both reminds us of this uncomfortable fact and hopefully helps to ensure such hostility to unconventional love such as that experienced by Wilde never returns.