Soft revenge in The Fire Portrait

 

Frances McDonald, heroine of The Fire Portrait, had reason to seek revenge: her home has been set on fire, and the authorities are making no progress in bringing the perpetrator/perpetrators to justice. What to do? Leave Aloe Glen, the small rural town she has made her home, and run for cover back to Cape Town? She'd prefer to stay and fight but she's in an awkward situation: it is wartime, her husband is away in North Africa serving with the Allies, many of her neighbours feel more sympathy for the enemy, and she is regarded as an outsider in the community. 

It turns out there was a witness to the arson attack on her home: a youngster who can identify the perpetrator. But he is a minor and his evidence may be discounted as unreliable. The war ends and still there is no justice. Yet, slowly and steadily, France's resolve and patience begin to tell. She stands up in a public meeting and confronts the culprit. Several young people stand up beside her, along with their mothers who also know the truth. The code of silent acquiescence is dented. Even so, the culprit becomes a politician and achieves success. Yet so does Frances and, inadvertently, it is because of the fire: in its immediate aftermath she painted a portrait of herself using the charcoal and ash from the conflagration. The work becomes famous. But Frances is not yet done: she confronts the culprit in his parliamentary office and threatens to expose his actions to the press should he seek to intimidate the whistle-blowers. And when she turns her burnt home into an art gallery to display some of her singed paintings, she invites him to the opening ceremony to observe but not to speak. Everyone present now knows his culpability.
Everyone present now acknowledges the truth.
A soft, shadowy revenge, indeed...