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Chapter 12
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 introduces this chapter as an account of her first, last, and only real sweetheart. When she first meets her lover, she has been collecting ferns, and she looks “quite the reverse of a heroine” in work clothes with a mess of tangled hair. While she is picking lemons for Aunt Helen, a pair of hands wrap around her waist and carry her down from the ladder. The young man is tall and handsome, though not remarkable, and Sybylla guesses he must be her neighbor Harold Beecham.
Sybylla again acknowledges that she does not fit the archetype of a heroine––in fact, she is “the reverse” of a heroine. She implies that heroines do not wear work clothes or have unkempt hair. This underscores how Sybylla prioritizes independence over beauty, and suggests that the role of “heroine” is associated with the upper class.
Themes
Harold Beecham mistakes Sybylla for a serving-girl, and she decides to go along with the confusion. He teasingly asks her to kiss him before showing off with his stock-whip. He whips the air around her, but he is so skilled with it that Sybylla trusts him to keep her safe. Harold is impressed at her lack of fear.
Harold’s first impression of Sybylla is one of mistaken identity. Sybylla has expressed, and will continue to express throughout the novel, that she needs the person who loves her to truly understand her. The fact that Harold fails to meet that criteria on his and Sybylla’s first meeting hints that romance with him might not give Sybylla what she wants. He is impressed by Sybylla’s courage when he whips the air, but Sybylla attributes her lack of fear to Harold’s skill with the whip. Their differing interpretations of Sybylla’s reaction shows that Harold is more willing to give Sybylla credit for her own abilities than Sybylla herself.
Themes
Later, Mrs. Bossier tells Sybylla that Harold Beecham is visiting, and she sends Sybylla to entertain him. She dresses in evening-wear and greets Harold. When they meet, she laughs, because despite Harold’s “sex, size, and importance,” Sybylla has all the power in this situation. Harold recognizes her and blushes, and he tries to apologize for his conduct by the lemon tree. This only makes Sybylla laugh more.
Sybylla’s assessment of Harold’s advantages highlights the different aspects of power and privilege. Not only is Harold male, but he is wealthy and influential. He also is more physically imposing than Sybylla, and bringing up that point moves these privileges from abstract concepts to tangible realities. Despite Harold’s advantages, Sybylla has taken control of their encounter by surprising him with her true identity.
Themes
Sybylla and Harold tease each other. When Sybylla mentions Uncle Julius is bringing a judge home for dinner, Harold says he cannot dine with a judge in his work clothes. Sybylla reassures him that men don’t notice clothes and adds that he will look fine after she brushes him down. Harold counters that he has already brushed himself, but Sybylla says he’s done a poor job. She complains that men are “the uselessest, good-for-nothingest, clumsiest animals in the world,” who are only good to smoke and swear.
Considering how much Sybylla values intelligence and culture, her description of men as “animals” indicates that she does not believe any man could live up to her standards for refinement. Her characterization of men as “useless” and “good-for-nothing” also echoes her own insecurities, as she often chides herself for being useless. This hints that some of Sybylla’s dislike of men stems from her personal insecurity. The incorrect grammar of the words “uselessest” and “good-for-nothingest” adds a level of childishness and naivete to Sybylla’s complaint.
Themes
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Sybylla and Harold walk through the garden together, where they encounter a horse by the fence. When Sybylla approaches the animal, it startles and damages its bridle. She fetches a hammer to try to repair the damage, but she fails. Harold mends it for her, laughing that “the helplessest, uselessest, troublesomest little creatures in the world” who are only good to torment men. This makes Sybylla laugh.
Harold’s good-natured retort to Sybylla’s remark about men mimics the language she used against him. The specificity of his repetition demonstrates that he listens to Sybylla and takes into account the specific words she uses. He does not respond to Sybylla’s teasing with offense, but uses it as an opportunity to respond with a similar joke, revealing that he and Sybylla share a similar sense of humor. Harold’s response to Sybylla’s quip is also delayed––he waits until the right moment to speak. This suggests that he is able to restrain himself better than the outspoken Sybylla.
Themes
Uncle Julius comes home, and when Harold goes to greet him, Sybylla talks to Aunt Helen. This conversation prompts Sybylla to realize that Harold is quieter than most men and content to listen while she does all the talking. Julius and Mrs. Bossier take up Harold’s attention during dinner, so Sybylla reads through the meal, only looking up occasionally to smile at Harold. The next morning, Julius gives Harold the pair of bullocks that Harold came to Caddagat for, but Harold lingers at the house to speak with Sybylla. This outrages Julius; he considered Harold to be too sensible to be distracted by women, which Julius sees as “the ruination of all men.” Harold pays no mind to Julius’s judgment. He comes to visit again a few days later, and Sybylla marvels at his silence––it is “fearful,” “wonderful,” and “intelligent.”
Just as Mrs. Bossier provides a contrast to Sybylla’s untraditional womanhood, Uncle Julius acts as the conventional older man to Harold’s youth. He lacks Harold’s respect for women, and his remark that women are “the ruination of all men” is a broad, universalizing, and disparaging statement. However, Harold ignores the advice of his elder and continues to pursue Sybylla. Her description of his silence shows the appeal that Harold offers. His willingness to listen to her is “wonderful” and surprising, and he displays the intelligence that she craves in a partner. And though he is less emotional than Sybylla, the “fearful” nature of his silence provides Sybylla some of the passion that his words do not.
Themes
