Haunted House, Haunted Lives

Evelyn Axon and her adult daughter Muriel live in a decaying house, isolated from the world and each other. Evelyn, a widow, is obsessed with spiritualism and convinced their home is haunted by supernatural forces and malicious "tenants." Muriel, intellectually disabled and emotionally stunted, is both a victim and a silent rebel, her inner life a mystery even to herself. Their relationship is a toxic blend of dependence, resentment, and mutual incomprehension, with Evelyn's paranoia and Muriel's passivity feeding off each other. The house itself becomes a character, a physical manifestation of their psychological decay, filled with locked rooms, broken objects, and the residue of past traumas.

Welfare Visits and Watchful Eyes

The local welfare department, represented by a series of social workers, attempts to assess and assist Muriel. Reports document her borderline intellectual functioning, emotional withdrawal, and the hostile, obstructive attitude of Evelyn. Recommendations for day care and socialization are met with suspicion and resistance. The welfare system's bureaucracy and the Axons' secrecy create a stalemate, with Muriel's needs largely unmet. The neighbors, especially Florence Sidney, observe the Axons with a mix of concern and judgment, but no one truly penetrates the family's isolation.

Locked Doors, Silent Suffering

Muriel's life is one of routine, surveillance, and small acts of defiance. She is alternately infantilized and neglected by her mother, who locks her in rooms and withholds food as punishment. Muriel's inner monologue reveals a mind both limited and cunning, capable of mimicry and deception. She steals, hoards, and fantasizes about autonomy, but is ultimately trapped by her circumstances. The house's locked doors symbolize both her physical and psychological imprisonment.

The Sidney Family's Discontents

The Sidneys, neighbors to the Axons, are a conventional but unhappy family. Colin Sidney, a history teacher, is bored and dissatisfied in his marriage to the practical Sylvia. Their children are unruly, and domestic life is a series of petty conflicts and disappointments. Florence, Colin's sister, is single and burdened by guilt and a sense of duty. The Sidneys' struggles with communication, intimacy, and self-fulfillment mirror the dysfunction next door, though their problems are less extreme.

Social Workers and Secrets

Isabel Field, a young social worker, becomes involved in the Axon case. Intelligent but emotionally detached, Isabel is both drawn to and repelled by the suffering she encounters. Her affair with Colin Sidney provides an escape from her own loneliness, but is fraught with guilt and ambiguity. Isabel's professional boundaries blur as she becomes more invested in the Axons' fate, yet she remains ultimately powerless to effect real change.

Muriel's Hidden World

Muriel becomes pregnant, a fact that both shocks and confounds Evelyn. The origin of the pregnancy is left ambiguous, with hints of abuse or exploitation, but no clear answers. Evelyn's response is a mixture of denial, shame, and fear of outside interference. The pregnancy becomes another secret to be managed, another source of anxiety and potential exposure. Muriel, as ever, is passive, her feelings and desires unreadable.

Love, Lies, and Escape

Colin and Isabel's affair unfolds in stolen moments and clandestine meetings. Both are seeking escape from their respective domestic prisons, but their relationship is marked by ambivalence and self-doubt. Colin is torn between his responsibilities and his longing for something more; Isabel is wary of emotional entanglement. Their love is both a lifeline and a dead end, offering no real solution to their deeper dissatisfactions.

The File Goes Missing

A bureaucratic mishap results in Muriel's social services file being lost and then found by Frank O'Dwyer, Colin's colleague, who sees in it the material for a novel. The file's contents—years of reports, observations, and failed interventions—become a symbol of the system's impotence and the voyeuristic fascination with other people's misery. Colin, realizing the file's significance, retrieves it for Isabel, but the damage is already done: the Axons' privacy has been violated, and the system's failures are laid bare.

Birth, Death, and Denial

Muriel gives birth at home, with only Evelyn to assist. The baby is unwanted, neglected, and possibly harmed. Evelyn's response is to deny, deflect, and ultimately dispose of the child, convinced it is a "changeling" or supernatural impostor. The event is both a literal and symbolic culmination of the family's dysfunction: a new life is met not with hope, but with fear and rejection. The outside world remains oblivious or indifferent.

The Dinner Party Unravels

A dinner party at Frank O'Dwyer's house brings together the Sidneys, their colleagues, and friends. The evening descends into drunkenness, arguments, and emotional breakdowns, exposing the fragility of social conventions and the underlying despair of the characters. The missing file is discussed, secrets are hinted at, and relationships are strained to the breaking point. The party serves as a microcosm of the novel's themes: the impossibility of true connection, the persistence of misery, and the failure of language to bridge the gap between people.

A Child Unwanted

Unable to care for or accept the baby, Evelyn and Muriel conspire to dispose of it, taking it to the canal and abandoning it. The act is both horrifying and pitiable, a final expression of their incapacity to nurture or love. The baby's fate is left ambiguous, but the emotional and moral consequences are clear: the cycle of neglect and violence has claimed another victim.

The Final Visit

Isabel, belatedly realizing the gravity of the situation, returns to the Axon house. She is locked in a room by Evelyn, who is now unraveling completely. Colin and Florence, alerted by Isabel's cries, intervene, but not before tragedy strikes. Evelyn collapses and dies, Muriel is left alone, and the authorities are finally forced to act. The intervention, when it comes, is both too late and inadequate, a last-minute attempt to impose order on chaos.

Tragedy on Lauderdale Road

The aftermath of Evelyn's death brings the Axon story into the public eye. An inquest reveals years of abuse, neglect, and systemic failure, but offers no real resolution. Muriel is placed in care, the house is sold, and the neighborhood moves on. The Sidneys, too, are changed by the events, but their own cycles of disappointment and frustration continue.

Aftermath and Inquest

The official response to the tragedy is a mixture of blame-shifting, bureaucratic hand-washing, and superficial reform. The social workers are criticized, the neighbors feel guilty, but no one is truly held accountable. The deeper issues—poverty, isolation, mental illness, the limits of compassion—remain unaddressed. Life goes on, with the lessons of the past quickly forgotten.

New Owners, Old Shadows

Colin and Sylvia buy the Axon house, hoping for a fresh start. They renovate, redecorate, and try to impose order on the chaos they have inherited. But the house's history cannot be erased: the atmosphere of misery and neglect persists, infecting the new occupants. The Sidneys' own family problems continue, and the cycle of unhappiness is perpetuated.

Cycles of Misery

The novel ends with a sense of stasis and recurrence. The characters are trapped in their roles, unable to break free from the patterns of the past. The house, the families, the welfare system—all are caught in cycles of dysfunction and disappointment. The possibility of change is hinted at, but never realized.

The Unanswered Cry

The fate of Muriel, the baby, and the other victims of the story is left unresolved. The novel closes on a note of ambiguity, with the unanswered cries of the lost and the forgotten echoing through the empty rooms of the house. The reader is left to ponder the limits of empathy, the failures of society, and the persistence of suffering.

Characters

Evelyn Axon

Evelyn is the widowed mother of Muriel, living in a state of near-delusion, obsessed with spiritualism and convinced her house is beset by supernatural forces. Her relationship with Muriel is one of domination and contempt, yet also dependence. Evelyn's psychological decline is mirrored in the physical decay of her home. She is both a victim of her circumstances and an agent of cruelty, unable to accept help or change. Her death is both a release and a final act of self-destruction.

Muriel Axon

Muriel, intellectually disabled and emotionally stunted, is the passive center of the novel's tragedy. She is alternately compliant and sly, capable of small rebellions but ultimately powerless. Her pregnancy and the birth of her child are shrouded in ambiguity and horror. Muriel's inner life is largely inaccessible, her motivations and feelings opaque even to herself. She is both a victim and, in her own way, a survivor.

Isabel Field

Isabel is a young, intelligent social worker whose professional detachment masks deep ambivalence and loneliness. Her affair with Colin Sidney is an attempt to find meaning and connection, but she remains emotionally guarded. Isabel's involvement with the Axons exposes the limits of her empathy and the failures of the welfare system. She is both a witness to and a participant in the novel's central tragedies.

Colin Sidney

Colin is a history teacher, husband to Sylvia, and father of three. Dissatisfied with his domestic life, he embarks on an affair with Isabel, seeking escape from his responsibilities. Colin is characterized by passivity, self-pity, and a lack of resolve. His actions are often motivated by a desire to avoid conflict rather than to pursue happiness. He is both sympathetic and exasperating, a man trapped by his own indecision.

Sylvia Sidney

Sylvia is Colin's wife, a woman worn down by the demands of motherhood and marriage. She is pragmatic, efficient, and emotionally distant, focused on the day-to-day survival of her family. Sylvia's relationship with Colin is marked by mutual disappointment and unspoken resentment. She represents the ordinary, unglamorous struggles of domestic life.

Florence Sidney

Florence, Colin's sister, is single and burdened by a sense of responsibility for her family and neighbors. She is both a watcher and a would-be helper, but her interventions are often ineffectual. Florence's own life is marked by loneliness and a longing for connection, which she seeks through acts of charity and concern.

Frank O'Dwyer

Frank is Colin's head of department, a man more interested in literary pretensions and social games than in genuine relationships. His discovery of Muriel's file and his intention to use it as material for a novel highlight his detachment and lack of empathy. Frank represents the voyeuristic, exploitative side of middle-class society.

Social Services Bureaucracy

The various social workers, case files, and bureaucratic procedures that surround the Axons are collectively a character in the novel. The system is well-intentioned but ultimately powerless, hampered by red tape, lack of resources, and the resistance of those it seeks to help. Its failures are both systemic and personal.

The House

The Axon house is more than a backdrop; it is a living symbol of the family's dysfunction. Its locked rooms, decaying furnishings, and oppressive atmosphere reflect the psychological states of its inhabitants. The house absorbs and perpetuates misery, outlasting its occupants and infecting its new owners.

The Baby

Muriel's child, born into neglect and hostility, is the ultimate victim of the novel's cycle of misery. Its brief existence is marked by suffering and rejection, a symbol of the failure of love and the persistence of trauma.

Plot Devices

Parallel Domestic Narratives

Mantel structures the novel around two neighboring households—the Axons and the Sidneys—whose lives run in parallel but rarely intersect. This device allows for a comparison of different forms of unhappiness, showing that misery is not confined to the obviously dysfunctional. The juxtaposition of the two families underscores the universality of disappointment, isolation, and the longing for escape.

Bureaucratic Documentation

The inclusion of social services reports, letters, and official documents provides an impersonal, clinical perspective on the Axons' situation. These documents both reveal and obscure the truth, highlighting the limitations of institutional intervention and the gap between official narratives and lived experience. The lost file becomes a symbol of the system's impotence and the voyeuristic fascination with other people's suffering.

Locked Rooms and Physical Barriers

The recurring motif of locked doors, hidden rooms, and physical barriers reflects the psychological imprisonment of the characters. The house's architecture becomes a metaphor for the secrets, lies, and unspoken traumas that define the characters' lives. The act of locking and unlocking doors is both literal and symbolic, representing the struggle for control and the fear of exposure.

Foreshadowing and Irony

Mantel employs foreshadowing to create a sense of inevitable tragedy. Early hints of Muriel's pregnancy, Evelyn's decline, and the system's failures build a sense of dread. Irony pervades the narrative, as well-intentioned interventions come too late or have unintended consequences. The novel's dark humor underscores the futility of efforts to impose order on chaos.

Shifting Perspectives

The narrative shifts between the perspectives of Evelyn, Muriel, Isabel, Colin, and others, allowing for a multifaceted exploration of events. This device highlights the subjectivity of experience and the difficulty of understanding or helping others. The reader is left to piece together the truth from conflicting accounts and incomplete information.

Analysis

Hilary Mantel's Every Day Is Mother's Day is a darkly comic, deeply unsettling exploration of domestic misery, social failure, and the limits of empathy. Through the intertwined stories of the Axons and the Sidneys, Mantel exposes the hidden dysfunctions of ordinary lives, the inadequacy of institutional responses to suffering, and the persistence of cycles of neglect and violence. The novel's use of bureaucratic documentation, shifting perspectives, and symbolic settings creates a sense of claustrophobia and inevitability, while its mordant humor prevents it from descending into pure bleakness. At its core, the book is a meditation on the impossibility of true understanding between people, the dangers of denial and secrecy, and the ways in which the past haunts the present. Mantel offers no easy solutions or redemptions; instead, she invites the reader to confront the uncomfortable realities that lie beneath the surface of everyday life, and to question the boundaries between victim and perpetrator, helper and voyeur, sanity and madness.

Last updated: May 10, 2025