Book Review: "The Scapegoat" by Daphne Du Maurier

I've read many Daphne Du Maurier books and at the moment, I'm in the midst of a quick reread of Don't Look Now. I've reviewed a few over the years and some have been featured in 'Why It's a Masterpiece' with others coming up. You can see my previous reviews for the following books by clicking on their links in the titles:

Don't Look Now and Other Stories

The House on the Strand

The Parasites

Of course, there's no real such thing as a bad Daphne Du Maurier novel and this one, which often reminds me of Strangers on a Train is the same. Honestly, I love those novels where someone discovers something off about someone else - even if it is their doppelgänger.

John is a lonely guy, he feels like a failure and even though he's a historian, he often talks about failing as an individual. Personally, I don't think he's much of a failure, he still has tons of privilege. He eventually meets someone who looks exactly like him and his name is Jean - he's French. John is travelling in France you see, and he's honestly stunned by the fact this 'Jean' looks so much like him that even he thinks at first he is looking at himself. Du Maurier writes this in a way that is meant to surprise and confuse the reader, but also set the atmosphere of silence that follows.

After a while of talking to this man, John wakes up to his entire identity to stolen and Jean has made a break for it. Basically, John realises that his clothes, papers, car, and passport have all been switched. Instead of going to the police and telling them about it, John gets into Jean's shoes and tries to live out his life - looking at this as an experience to do better for himself and actually commit himself to other people apart from himself. He discovers things like Jean having a wife and child and realises that Jean has ran away from what on the outside, looks like a stable life. Du Maurier writes this as both a psychological mystery and an odd tale of a man trying to make himself better by using somsone else's life. He turns what is a crime into something of benefit to himself. I found it so strange but also intriguing.

He then starts to realise what happened. Jean has started an affair behind his wife's back and thus, broken trust with her, he's mismanaged the family glassworks business, and fostered resentment among relatives. John is kind and nice, whereas Jean is not. The contrast is weird and sharp but John often finds it difficult filling the shoes of a man who seems to be so hated amongst the people closest to him. John then develops tender, forbidden feelings for Françoise and tries to be the husband that she would have wanted Jean to be. It's quite sweet but we also have to remember that stolen identity is also a crime. Both men have committed it at this point. At least John is trying to make the other man's life better rather than worse.

As things heat up, we get emotional climaxes and moments in which John sometimes makes things worse since he doesn't really know all about Jean's past sins and manipulations. It is something that Daphne Du Maurier does so well - she shows us that ultimately the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It's pretty awesome when you think about it - this man was put into a position where he had basically no choice but to continue forwards. One lie snowballed into another but at least he had good intentions. It's still a crime on both sides.

Daphne Du Maurier's books always feel like a treat to read and yet, there's still so many more to read. I was surprised about how much this one reminded me of the book Strangers on a Train because of its concepts. On the other hand, it definitely reminded me of The Double by Dostoevsky as well, as we have that element of psychological torment going on within the mind of the nicer, kinder and more friendly one. Honestly though, this is probably one of my favourites of Du Maurier so far.