Audrey Strange’s post-divorce nervous breakdown

Audrey Strange’s post-divorce nervous breakdown is described as the severe emotional consequence of Nevile Strange leaving her. She went to stay with her aunt and was, for a time, markedly unlike her former self; recovery came gradually after the divorce and Nevile’s marriage to Kay Strange. The account presents the breakdown not as a brief setback but as an ordeal whose effects shaped Audrey’s return to her former life.

Background and Course

After Nevile left Audrey, she went to her aunt, Mrs. Royde, at the Rectory, where she suffered what Lady Tressilian called a complete breakdown. Lady Tressilian described Audrey as almost a ghost of her former self and said the separation had affected her terribly. Her account connects the depth of the crisis to Audrey’s usually quiet, self-contained manner: she felt things intensely, even when she did not display them openly.

The divorce followed, and Nevile married Kay. Audrey did not recover at once. Lady Tressilian described her improvement as gradual, saying that little by little she began to get over what had happened; by the time of their conversation, she was almost back to her old self. The distinction between that present improvement and the earlier collapse makes recovery a process rather than a sudden reversal.

How Others Understand the Breakdown

Lady Tressilian’s defense of Audrey rests on the contrast between outward reserve and inward intensity. When Audrey’s wish to revisit old memories was questioned, Lady Tressilian rejected the assumption that she would want to rake them up: the suffering had been real, and she had only lately regained much of her former steadiness. Her remarks make the breakdown a reason to treat Audrey’s past with care, not evidence that she remained defined by it.

Mary Aldin also acknowledged that Audrey had taken the separation hard, recalling that she had suffered a bad nervous breakdown. Mary added a different dimension to the account: Audrey’s care for the person she addressed as the listener’s mother had helped draw that woman’s attention away from her grief over her son’s death. The evidence thus presents Audrey not only as someone receiving care during her crisis, but also as someone able to care for another amid bereavement.

Divorce and Its Continuing Consequences

The divorce also remained visible in the practical arrangements surrounding Audrey. Nevile acknowledged that money under a will went to Audrey because she had been his wife when the will was made. During the same inquiry, Superintendent Battle pointed out that she had been entitled to an allowance from Nevile at the time of the divorce. The exchange establishes the financial questions raised by their separation, though it does not establish whether the allowance was paid or specify its terms.

These later references place Audrey’s breakdown within a wider aftermath: the marriage ended, Nevile remarried, and questions about Audrey’s position continued to surface. The account does not reduce her recovery to those arrangements, but it shows that the consequences of the divorce were emotional as well as practical.