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Chapter 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Brilliant Career, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Womanhood
Class and Poverty
Ambition, Respectability, and Pride
Love
Maturity and Suffering
Summary
Analysis
The next morning, Sybylla scolds herself in the mirror for thinking herself so interesting. She is humiliated at having accepted Everard’s flattery, and she resolves to refute any more compliments he might pay her. She reminds herself that she is “ugly and useless,” which is a routine that has replaced her morning prayers.
Sybylla alternates rapidly between inflated and deflated self-worth. She convinces herself that Everard’s interest in her is not genuine, and she reiterates that she is “ugly and useless.” The repetition of the same insults every time Sybylla lapses into self-loathing signifies the cyclical nature of such feelings. The extent to which she reminds herself of her low worth is another instance of self-deprecating humor; however, the fact that she insults herself instead of praying shows that she still wrestles with her crisis of faith.
Themes
At breakfast, Everard tells Mrs. Bossier that she is robbing the world of an artist by preventing Sybylla from traveling to Sydney to be trained as a performer. He even offers to pay the expense himself. Mrs. Bossier considers performers immoral and unrespectable, and she insists that Sybylla will never be “a bold bad actress.” Sybylla agrees that she will never be a bold bad actress, putting special emphasis on the adjectives rather than the word actress itself. Everard tries to convince Mrs. Bossier that Sybylla could have a “brilliant career” on the stage, but Mrs. Bossier scoffs that girls should not think of careers and should focus on marriage and motherhood. Everard presses the issue, but Mrs. Bossier puts her foot down. Finally, though, she says that Sybylla may take a trip to Sydney with Aunt Helen and Everard in the autumn.
Sybylla demonstrates her cleverness, humor, and penchant for wordplay by emphasizing that she will never be a “bold bad actress.” This emphasis implies that she might become a good actress, and it allows Sybylla to keep that dream alive without lying to her grandmother. Here, Mrs. Bossier also establishes the pillars of her model of womanhood. She has high moral standards, and her age and aristocratic status grant her authority that other women may not have. She refuses Everard’s wish to bring Sybylla to Sydney, even though as a high-born man Everard might be expected to wield more power in the situation. However, although Mrs. Bossier herself has power, she is a firm believer in traditional, domestic womanhood.
Themes
Sybylla and Everard spend more time together. She appreciates the company of a well-bred gentleman with knowledge of culture. When Everard once again compliments her, however, Sybylla gives him a sarcastic bow and thanks him for amusing himself with “a little country bumpkin.” She runs off to her room, ignoring Everard calling after her. Sybylla knows she is ugly, and she doesn’t want anyone to “perjure his soul” by pretending otherwise. She mopes until the smell of flowers by the garden tempt her outside, and she gathers several blossoms to decorate her room.
Sybylla’s description of herself as a “country bumpkin” reveals that her respect for peasants does not stop her from being insecure about her own poverty. Her insecurities consistently prevent her from gaining what she wants, whether that be love or the company of cultured people. The religious and legal language of Everard “perjuring his soul” in calling her pretty raises the stakes of her unhappiness to melodramatic degrees, highlighting the irrationality of Sybylla’s teenage angst.
Themes
Literary Devices
While she arranges the flowers in vases, she overhears Everard Grey talking with Aunt Helen. She admits that a “heroine of a story” might have run away or covered her ears to prevent herself from eavesdropping, but Sybylla remains and listens to their conversation. Everard complains about Mrs. Bossier’s resistance to bringing Sybylla into show business. He believes that Sybylla would succeed, and he could protect her from scandal by marrying. Helen warns Everard not to be rash, since he is known to be something of a fickle ladies’ man, and Helen does not want Sybylla to have her heart broken and grow into a cynic. She tells Everard to hide his attraction to Sybylla for the rest of his stay at Caddagat.
Sybylla again distinguishes herself from other (more respectable) women by acknowledging that her actions are not those of a “heroine.” She is extensively well-read, and she knows the behavior her readers are accustomed to in their protagonists. Nevertheless, Sybylla is writing her own story, and she represents herself as a real person rather than an idealized heroine. Helen’s concern about a romance between Everard and Sybylla likely stems from her own tragic experiences with romance, and her desire that Sybylla avoid cynicism repeats the notion that a woman should not be a pessimist. Meanwhile, Everard’s ready willingness to marry Sybylla demonstrates his own youthful impulsiveness, but also his perspective of marriage as a tool to manage social status.
Themes
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Sybylla leaves their conversation, offended that Aunt Helen considers her a child who will fall in love with every man she sees. She cries aloud, “I hate and detest men!” Hawden overhears her, and he tells her it is his right to pursue Sybylla romantically. Sybylla agrees, but she tells Hawden it is also her right to reject those pursuits.
Sybylla's frustration with men and her distrust of marriage have escalated to a dislike of all men. Frank Hawden does nothing to dissuade this negative opinion––his assertion that he has a right to pursue Sybylla demeans her and makes clear that he sees her as a prize instead of a person. Sybylla refutes Hawden not by challenging his right to make advances, but by declaring that she also has rights.
Themes
Sybylla leaves Hawden. She goes to play piano, but she is interrupted by Everard, who asks her to sing for him. She runs away from him, only to again be confronted by Mr. Hawden. He apologizes to her, and when she rejects his apology, Hawden confesses that he loves her. Sybylla is unmoved, and declares that there is no such thing as love. Hawden tries to argue, but Sybylla only mocks him. He tells her she will reject her treatment of him, but she laughs off his anger and departs.
The rapid sequence of Sybylla fleeing the two men who are interested in marrying her indicates how patriarchal expectations can make women feel trapped and desperate. Driven by this discomfort, and her own insecurities, Sybylla draws this conclusion that love does not exist. Her rejection of Hawden’s apology marks a shift in their relationship, as Hawden humanizes himself only to be faced with ridicule.
Themes
