"The Ebony Tower" by John Fowles, summary

This book is a philosophical and psychological novella by John Fowles, written in 1974. The work reinterprets medieval Arthurian motifs and French laîtres de chivalrous in the context of the spiritual crisis of the twentieth-century artist. In 1984, British filmmakers created a television adaptation of the story of the same name, starring Laurence Olivier as Henry Bresley and Roger Rees as David Williams. The novella served as the title for the author’s 1974 collection, opening a series of prose texts on the nature of creativity and personal freedom.

Arrival in Kotmine and meeting the inhabitants of the estate

Thirty-one-year-old English artist and art critic David Williams arrives at the Breton estate of Cotminé, nestled deep in the Paimpont forest. A publisher has commissioned David to write a biographical and critical essay for an album dedicated to the work of the celebrated seventy-seven-year-old painter Henry Bresley. David’s wife, Beth, remains in England due to the illness of their daughter Alexandra and plans to join her husband in Paris later.

Arriving ahead of schedule, David pushes through the locked gate and enters the house. Silence reigns in the courtyard and the house. In the hall on the ground floor, the guest admires the Bresleys’ extensive collection of paintings: works by Derain, Ensor, Marquet, Miró, as well as the owner’s own famous painting, "Hunting by Moonlight." Stepping out into the garden, David notices two completely naked girls lounging on the grass under a catalpa tree. One is reading a book under a straw hat with a red ribbon, while the other is asleep.

Soon, one of the girls, wearing a white galabiyya, comes out to David. It’s twenty-three-year-old Diana, nicknamed Mouse, a former student at the Royal College of Art. She shows her guest to his room and explains that the owner of the estate is relaxing. Later, over tea under a tree, David meets the second girl, twenty-year-old Anne, nicknamed Ugly, dressed in a black tank top and red panties.

Henry Bresley appears before his guest in brightly colored clothes with a silk scarf. He behaves like an eccentric, rude, and capricious man, using outdated aristocratic jargon and swear words. Bresley makes fun of the girls, calling his estate akin to a harem, while simultaneously displaying touching affection for them.

Art Criticism Discussion and Evening Conflict

Bresley shows David his studio, set up in a former barn. There stands a huge unfinished painting, "Kermessa," depicting a fair lost in a dark forest. The owner admits that Diana helps him with his work, preparing the canvases and completing the rough drawings. David notes the high quality of Diana’s graphic sketches.

In conversation, Bresley shares memories of the years of World War I, when he refused to serve due to his pacifist beliefs, and of his subsequent work as a medic during the Spanish Civil War. David notices that behind the old man’s seemingly uncouth demeanor lies a deeply vulnerable, shy man, suffering from a fear of illness and decay. David also meets the master’s servants, a married couple named Jean-Pierre and Mathilde.

That evening, over dinner, Bresley becomes heavily intoxicated. A heated argument erupts between host and guest about the direction of contemporary art. Bresley launches a merciless critique of abstract painting, to which David himself belongs. The old man calls abstraction a betrayal of human nature, a victory for eunuchs, and a cowardly escape from social responsibility.

According to Bresley, the rejection of the depiction of the real human body and naturalistic forms turns art into sterile geometry. He introduces the concept of the "ebony tower" — a symbol of contemporary artists’ retreat from reality into dead, abstract non-objectivity. David tries to defend the freedom of creative exploration, but Bresley resorts to personal insults. Diana and Anne take their drunken host to bed.

A walk to a forest pond and the girls’ revelations

The next morning, Bresley appears embarrassed and apologizes to David for his rudeness the previous day. The weather is warm and sunny. The estate’s inhabitants go for a picnic to a forest pond deep in the Paimpont Forest, which in ancient times was known as the Forest of Brocéliande and served as the setting for Arthurian romantic legends.

On the shore of the pond, Diana and Anne take off their clothes and swim in the cool water. Bresley settles down on a deck chair and falls asleep, covering his face with a kerchief. David is embarrassed by the girls’ nudity, but gradually gets used to the surroundings. The feeling of freedom and closeness to nature reminds him of the paintings of Gauguin and Manet. David joins the girls and also swims in the pond.

Relaxing on the grass, Diana tells David the story of her arrival in Cotminé. A year ago, she and a friend stumbled upon Bresley’s estate. Impressed by the power of his paintings and tired of the academic routine of the Royal College of Art, she later wrote the old man a letter offering to help in his studio. Diana admits that Bresley taught her not to be ashamed of her own body and to disregard bourgeois conventions.

Anne shares details of her difficult life in the London slums, recounting her parents’ religious fanaticism, her experiences with drugs, and her difficult relationships with men. In Cotminé, both girls found protection and respect from the old foreman. David begins to see them as sincere, courageous people who have rejected false social norms. On the way back, they all pick blackberries together for a pie.

Nighttime conversations and the end of relationships

Returning from the picnic, Bresley retreats to his bedroom to talk with David. The old man confesses his terrified fear of losing Diana. Later, Anne reveals a secret to David: Bresley has proposed to Diana. Diana is tormented by doubts, yearning for freedom but simultaneously feeling pity for the helpless foreman.

That evening, Anne shows David Diana’s room and her work. The folder contains graphic sketches and sensitive abstract watercolors. David notes that Diana is strongly influenced by his own work. Anne goes to bed, leaving David and Diana alone.

Diana confesses to David that she had followed his progress back in London and saw him as the ideal artist. She is deeply afraid of the future and the possibility of marrying an older man. David advises her to return to independent painting and promises to assist her in London. A strong emotional and physical attraction develops between them.

The girl invites David to stroll through the garden at night. Under the moonlight, they stop at the garden gate. Their mutual attraction develops into a passionate kiss. Diana confesses her feelings, but when David suggests they go to her room and spend the night together, she refuses. She says that knights errant should not discard their armor for fleeting passion or pity. Diana goes to her room and locks the door, leaving David alone.

David’s departure and inner collapse

In the morning, Anne brings David juice and a note from Diana, who has gone shopping in a neighboring town to avoid another encounter. Anne sympathizes with David and even jokingly offers to take her friend’s place, but David gently declines. Anne calls Diana crazy and David a born saint.

After saying goodbye to Bresley and Anne, David gets into the car and heads towards Paris. Near the estate gates, his tire accidentally runs over a stoat that has jumped out onto the road. David gets out and looks at the dead animal with its bloody mouth, taking this as a bad omen.

All the way to Orly Airport, David is lost in deep thought. He realizes that the emotional trauma he experienced in Cotminé has exposed his inner inadequacy. He understands that he acted cowardly in choosing safety and familiar conventions over the real risks of life and emotional sincerity.

David realizes that his abstract painting is merely an escape from reality, and that he himself will forever remain a decent man and an eternal mediocrity. His wife, Beth, meets him at Orly Airport. When she asks him how he survived the trip, David replies curtly: "I survived."