Character Clues

Character Analysis

Physical Appearances

Let's play a game, shall we?

Physical appearances give us a whole lot of clues about what people are like in this book, so check out the following description and see if you can guess who it's about:

She seems different from the others. Her white-blonde hair is arranged neatly in a bun, as young ladies must wear their hair, but even so, it seems a bit wild, as if the pins won't really hold it. (5.3)

Did you guess Felicity? If so, then go ahead and give yourself a gold star because you are correct. This is the first description we get of Felicity, and it comes before Gemma even meets her—but already we get a sense that this girl is a bit of a wild child because though her appearances try to conform to expectations, she just can't quite be tamed. Her hair—like her personality—refuses to be contained.

Now check out how Gemma describes Ann for the first time:

Ann Bradshaw is a doughy, plain girl, which is doubly damning. (5.9)

Immediately we sense Ann's unpopular status, and we know that in a sea of beautiful girls, she is pitiably ordinary—realities Ann struggles with throughout the book.

Can you find other examples of how appearances reveal information to us as readers?

Actions

It's easy to gloss over action while reading because there's so much of it in this book, but it's important to slow down and zero in on the physical movements characters make because they very often clue us in to how they're feeling about something or who they are. So when Gemma trips over a tree root and curses, check out what happens immediately after:

Ann's head shoots up at this. No doubt, she's the prudish sort who'll run off to Mrs. Nightwing every time I glance cross-eyed at her. (5.24)

Ann is alarmed by Gemma's cursing—her head shoots up—which Gemma notices, and then uses to deduce the fact that Ann's kind of a square. And while Gemma over-estimates Ann's willingness to tattle, she is spot on in reading Ann's action as representative of the fact that the girl is easily shocked and likes to keep a clean record.

Ann isn't the only one whose actions blow her cover. When Pippa uses her wit (as she seldom does) on Felicity during a conversation about how to trick Madam Romanoff to contact Mary and Sarah, Felicity's physical response lets us know how she feels about this rare power reversal between her and Pippa:

Felicity is up quick as a hare. With nimble fingers she unties Pippa's rowboat and sends it out onto the lake with a shove. (20.51)

We see how easily angered Felicity is—note the words quick and nimble, both of which indicate ease—and how important it is to her to reclaim control over her dynamic with Pippa immediately (otherwise she wouldn't shove the girl onto the lake). And as we notice these qualities through her actions, we are certain that Felicity needs to feel like the most powerful person in the group too.

So remember, Shmoopsters: Sometimes actions speak louder than words in this book, so be sure to note what characters do, in addition to what they say (and, of course, how they look).