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Chapter 11
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
Sybylla avoids any more private conversations with Everard Grey until one morning on the veranda. He expresses his desire to be better friends, and though Sybylla desperately wants to be his friend, she understands that “the conceit of men” would make Everard think he has conquered her if she accepts his friendship. She spurns him, and Everard leaves her, irritated.
Sybylla’s experiences with vain, entitled men like her father and Frank Hawden have shaped her belief that men are inherently conceited. Her fear that Everard will think he’s conquered her also recalls their chase through the garden, when Everard won a kiss in triumph and Sybylla was left defeated and uncomfortable. Her conviction to maintaining her independence and dignity drives her to reject one of her greatest desires, a true friend with an understanding of arts and culture.
Themes
Two days later, Everard and Uncle Julius leave Caddagat for Sydney. Hawden tells Sybylla that he is glad the “dandified ape” is gone, since now Sybylla will pay more attention to him. Hawden will come into property in England when he is 24, and he asks Sybylla to come with him there. Sybylla is so startled by the idea of marrying Hawden that she starts laughing. She calls Hawden “a boy, a child,” who falls in love twice a week, and to whom marriage would be a farce. Hawden is insulted and grabs Sybylla by the wrist. She punches him in the nose and runs off, while Hawden roars that she will hear more from him. She acknowledges that her ferocity is her own fault, but she calls back to Hawden that a child who takes up man’s tools will always cut himself.
Hawden’s description of Everard as a “dandified ape” highlights the differences between the two men in class and culture. It also underscores Hawden’s complete misunderstanding of Sybylla’s character, as the refinement that made Everard “dandified” is precisely what she likes about him. His obvious disdain for culture is an additional reason why Sybylla laughs at his proposal of marriage. When she calls him a “boy,” she makes clear that she does not think of Hawden as a man. Her parting comment to him emphasizes this, as she implies to Hawden that a child like him will only embarrass himself if he tries to act like a man.
Themes
Later, Mr. Hawden tells Mrs. Bossier that Sybylla has been flirting with him. Mrs. Bossier scolds Sybylla for her immodesty and adds that Hawden has asked for permission to marry Sybylla. Mrs. Bossier says the choice is up to Sybylla, but Sybylla is so offended by the idea that she breaks down in angry tears, ranting to Mrs. Bossier about how much she hates Hawden. She knows her grandmother thinks any man with stable finances is a good match, but Sybylla wants to lead a life “independent of the degradation of marriage.” She tells her grandmother that she never flirted with Hawden, and Mrs. Bossier puts the matter to rest.
Hawden’s attempted manipulation shows how entitled he feels to Sybylla’s affection. It also demonstrates that despite his lack of education, Hawden is keenly aware of the social systems he operates in, and he knows how to use his male privilege to his advantage. Mrs. Bossier’s conception of marriage also characterizes her awareness of social systems, as she sees marriage as a social and economic maneuver for women to secure a stable life. Sybylla, on the other hand, views marriage as a “degradation.” This recalls how she has witnessed her mother degrade from a refined aristocrat to a weary dairy farmer. Once again, Sybylla asserts her intent to remain independent of marriage.
Themes
Sybylla finds Mr. Hawden and demands he stop plaguing her with declarations of love. She tells him that often she does not believe in love, and when she does, she thinks it too sacred to desecrate with a boy like Hawden. She adds that she did not want to be so harsh with him, but his treatment of her has driven her to it. This fails to stop Hawden’s pursuit of Sybylla, and in fact afterwards he follows her all over Caddagat complaining about her abuse of him. Despite this annoyance, Caddagat is so beautiful in the springtime that Sybylla barely minds Hawden.
Sybylla admits that her understanding of love is more complex than simply not believing in it, and she acknowledges that her opinion on love changes frequently. Sybylla’s desperation to be loved emerges as she confesses that she thinks love is sacred, implying that her insecurities about her worthiness to achieve that sacrament drives her to deny love’s existence entirely. This moment of vulnerability does not prevent her from insulting Hawden, however, and she again dismisses his manhood by calling him a boy. The beauty of Caddagat distracts her from Hawden, continuing Caddagat’s role as a sanctuary for Sybylla.
Themes
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