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Chapter 31
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
As the months pass, Sybylla grows unhealthier, until Mrs. M’Swat finds her in bed suffering a breakdown. The M’Swats call for a doctor, who prescribes bedrest, and the M’Swats are very worried for Sybylla. They do not understand the cause of her illness and attribute it to the amount of work she has been doing. Mr. M’Swat writes to the Melvyns, and they respond that a neighbor can bring Sybylla home if she comes to Goulburn.
Sybylla’s mental health has reached its limit, and her depression takes a physical toll. The M’Swats don’t understand why she is sick, but their genuine concern for her displays their kindness and their care for Sybylla. The Melvyns, on the other hand, do not even care for Sybylla enough to bring her home from the M’Swats––she has to make her own way to Goulburn, and even then a neighbor will come pick her up.
Themes
The knowledge that she is leaving Barney’s Gap revives Sybylla. Despite her relief, she thinks she will miss the M’Swats, since the children have come to like her. She promises to write to them and assures Mrs. M’Swat that she will tell Mrs. Melvyn that Sybylla’s illness was not Mrs. M’Swat’s fault.
Though Barney’s Gap was as horrible as she feared, Sybylla ultimately disproved her initial impression of the M’Swats, which led her to believe she could never befriend them. She has not formed profound bonds with the family, but they all like her and Sybylla finds herself liking them. Part of her belief that she will miss the M’Swats may be due to the fact that they will miss her––Sybylla is, as always, desperate to be loved and missed by anyone.
Themes
Literary Devices
As Mr. M’Swat escorts Sybylla to the train, he tells her Mr. Melvyn does not need to worry about his debt. Sybylla thanks him, and Mr. M’Swat says that there is no good being alive if people don’t help each other. He bids her farewell and recommends she put off marrying her fiancé until he can get a bit of property.
Mr. M’Swat first seemed to be an unintelligent lout, but his parting words to Sybylla reveal his compassion and his wisdom. He relieves the Melvyns of their debt and espouses a simple but meaningful worldview: the only reason to be alive is to help other people. The fact that it is Mr. M’Swat who imparts this wisdom highlights that Sybylla isn’t the only one who has philosophical ideas. His following advice, that she wait to marry until Harold can buy land, also suggests that practicality and wisdom are not mutually exclusive.
Themes
