My mortal enemy

My Mortal Enemy is a novella by Wilma Cathar, and it is for all intents and purposes a magnificent, quick read. Your teacher did well with this one.

Our protagonist in the story is Myra Henshaw. As a young girl she threw away social position and money to elope with her one true love, but soon discovers that what she'd given up (the money and the social position) is what she really wanted all along. She felt her sacrifice too great, and she yearned for what "love" couldn't give her......... ultimately she was never satisfied with anything.

Our narrator, Nellie, tells Myra's stories through her own eyes. She first meets Myra while she's young and impressionable and views her a great romantic heroine, but soon she realizes that Myra's life is nothing more than one of self imposed despair. Myra's mortal enemy has been her own self.