A couple of years after she wrote I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith wrote a romantic comedy based on the novel. The play was produced in England in 1955, was poorly-reviewed by London critics, and has been out-of-print ever since. As a result, I paid entirely too much for an ancient old library edition in hopes of gaining a different perspective on my favorite novel. I received my copy yesterday and devoured it in two hours. The content was largely the same -- the plots are identical and 90% of the dialogue is lifted right out of the novel. There was one major change that I didn't entirely agree with, though.
The novel is driven by Cassandra's love for Simon. They're friends and intellectual equals, but their "relationship" only exists in Cassandra's head. No romantic notions (aside from one platonic kiss) are ever verbalized or made tangible, and it doesn't matter that we never find out what the hell Simon is thinking because Cassandra has completed her arc of personal growth.
The play is also driven by Cassandra's love for Simon, but since they don't really talk and they don't really connect, her love basically comes out of nowhere. Then, at the very end of the play, all of that unspoken amazingness I blogged about two weeks ago is replaced with this:
Yes, it's the ending that most readers long for, and it's an ending that makes sense given the rest of the play. However, it turns a beautiful, moving story into a mediocre romantic comedy. Cassandra still turns Simon down, but it's not powerful, not tear-inducing, and, frankly, not good. I'm taking the author's advice (and yes, she actually wrote this instruction in a preface) and I'm currently giving it a re-read. Hopefully that will help.
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