Alice by Hugo Vickers

Author:Hugo Vickers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

23. Alice Itinerant

Alice brightened considerably after her transfer to Merano. In October 1932, Louise was relieved to hear that Alice liked being there, and Victoria told Dr Binswanger that she thought it a worthwhile risk, though ‘would have preferred it had she submitted patiently to her constant sojourn at Bellevue and remained in your care’.1

Alice now began an extraordinary nomadic existence which lasted until 1937. Her mother knew where she was, but other members of the family did not. Over time these years have become obscured. Only now, as previously sealed papers are opened, has it been possible to trace her whereabouts.

At the end of 1932 Alice was still at Merano. At the beginning of December Victoria visited her on her way to another stay with Dickie in Malta. Victoria found Alice much improved. The Martinsbrunn Sanatorium afforded her greater freedom. She lived simply, having dispensed with the services of a maid, and looked after her own clothes. Victoria was pleased that Alice asked after Nona for the first time in two years. The Pye-Crust, in attendance on Victoria, commented that Alice seemed improved in spirits and was taking an interest in everyday things.

Alice had made friends with a Swedish lady, called Miss Heilskov, who acted as her secretary and was happy to discuss philosophical ideas with her. Miss Heilskov was a masseuse and physiotherapist of late middle age, who had been employed at the sanatorium for nine years and whom Dr von Kaan recommended highly for ‘kindness and honesty’. Before that she had worked in a large asylum for the insane in America and was thus trained to deal with mood swings.

The greatest shock for Victoria was when Alice told her that she did not wish to return to her family or to resume former ties. There is no doubt that Alice still felt betrayed by her family in the matter of her two and a half years’ stay at Kreuzlingen. Her mother had put her there; Andrea had sanctioned this. Thus she now decided to pursue her own life quietly without any of them. But although it was clear that she needed time to herself in order to regain her physical and spiritual strength, total severance from her family was a serious step with wide implications. Before her illness Alice had been the mainstay of a close-knit family. Her daughters were married, but Philip was only eleven, an age when a mother might well have expected to look after him. Alice’s decision was tantamount to a renunciation of her role as mother.

Victoria talked to Dr von Kaan, whom she found a ‘very clever man’, with a ‘high reputation’,2 and between them they agreed that Alice should be allowed freedom under surveillance. Thus, shortly after Victoria left, Alice moved into a modest pensione in Merano, still accompanied by Miss Heilskov. ‘I feel at last one dares hope again,’3 commented Louise, when she heard the news. Just before Christmas, Dr von Kaan reported that Alice was feeling well in her new home, and enjoying her freedom on probation.

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