'The Scapegoat' by Daphne Du Maurier

By chance, John and Jean--one English, the other French--meet in a provincial railway station. Their resemblance to each other is uncanny, and they spend the next few hours talking and drinking - until at last John falls into a drunken stupor. It's to be his last carefree moment, for when he wakes, Jean has stolen his identity and disappeared. So the Englishman steps into the Frenchman's shoes, and faces a variety of perplexing roles - as owner of a chateau, director of a failing business, head of a fractious family, and master of nothing.

Gripping and complex, The Scapegoat is a masterful exploration of doubling and identity, and of the dark side of the self.

MY THOUGHTS:

This doppelganger/mistaken identity yarn is written with a flourish of du Maurier suspense, and also a tinge of the Gothic, although it was set in the 1950s. Two look-alikes come face to face in a city pub. John, an English historian, is a lonely orphan who regrets being a perpetual spectator of other people's lives. Jean de Gue, the Frenchman, feels shackled by family demands that stem back for centuries, including business, close relationships and community expectations. So Jean decides to do a quick swap when John is asleep, running off with his clothes and identity, leaving John to face the mess he's left behind in his own chateau, should he choose to do so.  

John finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He feels too sympathetic not to play along with the act, since so many people depend on Jean. Yet he also feels extremely guilty for hoodwinking the trusting souls. He has to improvise when it comes to being a husband, son, brother and father, since he's been none of these things for many years, if ever. Fortunately for him, a guy like Jean who would cut and run like that is an erratic role model whose shoes are not hard to fill. 

It seems that while Jean was a happy-go-lucky chap who was popular with many people, his own siblings consider him a jerk. His sister Blanche has not spoken to him for over 15 years, and John can't figure out why. This story held my interest all the way through, although I found it hard to warm to any of the de Gue family except for Jean's 10-year-old daughter Marie-Noel, and one other character who sadly dies. 

But one question du Maurier leaves us with is whether or not familiarity may breed contempt. As long-term secrets come to light, John finds genuine affection for Jean's family welling up. But would it dry up if he had as long a history with them as Jean? I guess I liked the pair of doppelgangers, but only just. John makes some questionable decisions, and for all his energy and charisma, Jean is such a cocky ratbag! 

Yet having said that, I kept hoping John would keep stacking up the brownie points for Jean in his family's eyes.

🌟🌟🌟½