Marginal Momentum:
the Use of Peripheral Characters to Propel Plot
While the novels of Anne Radcliffe, Jane
Austen, and Amelia Opie center around female heroines, they are rich with minor
characters floating around the peripheries. The heroines are usually single
women of respectable social standing, and many of the characters surrounding
them fall into similar social milieus. However, within many novels, there are
characters that seem to be on the periphery of the plot because of their social
marginality: in Romance of the Forrest,
Peter is the trusty and tireless servant of the heroine’s temporary father figure, separated by
class status; in Sense and Sensibility,
Margaret is the youngest sister of heroines Elinor and Marianne, marginalized
by her age; in Adeline Mowbray,
Savanna is the mulatto servant of Adeline, set apart by race; and in Persuasion, Mrs. Smith is the ill and
impoverished widow and friend of Anne Eliot. These characters cannot
participate fully in the activities of the class around them, because of class,
age, race, and status. Though marginal, these characters substantially drive
the plot for their heroines, whether by playing supporting roles, raising the
stakes, providing moral guidance, or offering informational intelligence. These
marginal characters critically enable the heroines’ tales to go on.
In
Romance of the Forrest, Anne
Radcliffe creates the character of Peter who serves the la Motte family, and
later Adeline while she is under their care. Throughout the beginning of the
novel, Peter was frequently marginalized as a servant. Servants “occupied a
unique place within the family,” for though they were under the care of the
head of house, they were there under an economic contract (Marple). Within this
contract, it was easy for Peter to receive blame. He was blamed for carrying
out la Motte’s demands to drive on, which led to the carriage’s breakdown. He
was the one to surreptitiously go into town to make all the physical
arrangements necessary for the family to live in the Abbey. He was also put in
the most compromising and dangerous situations, for he was the only one sent
into public. Though very important and very brave for carrying out these roles,
la Motte never allows Peter to speak his own opinions or his own mind; he is
forced to be the hands and feet of his master.
Though
Peter is marginalized by his low class, he is able to support the protagonists,
move the plot forward, and enhance themes in ways no other characters can. Not
only does he support the family and Adeline’s existence at he Abby, he also is
one of the first to reveal to Adeline the gravity of her danger, and to help
her take steps towards escape. Though their initial plot of escape is thwarted
by the Marquis, Peter later provides Adeline with the safe haven she needs to
truly escape in bringing her to his village. This time in the village is
crucial for Adeline’s development: there she overcomes her illness, is able to
create a more independent identity, and receives the peace she needs to prepare
her for the final conflict with the Marquis and Theodore. Peter’s
marginalization thematically mirrors the plight of Adeline, as she is
controlled by the men around her, yet has little power to alter her situation
but by escape. In this way, Peter’s marginality illuminates the more
prominent marginalizing force of masculine dominance. While Peter’s aid is
critical, as a peripheral piece of the plot, his worth is easily overlooked.
Sense and Sensibility also includes
Margaret as a crucial marginal character, though she is marginalized for her
age rather than her status. In a family recently left without a male head of
house, the Dashwoods are women in financial decline. Their best hope of
improvement is in marrying one of the two eldest daughters to a wealthy man.
These two daughters become the focus of their family’s social efforts, as well as
the focus of the novel’s plot. Because Margaret is too young to be out in
society, she instead stays home, generally making more blunders when in social
settings than positive additions. With her youth, Margaret is underdeveloped
and neglected within the plot.
Though
rather overlooked, Margaret serves a very important function in driving the
text of Sense and Sensibility. Though never explicitly stated, as the
youngest daughter, Margaret raises the stakes of necessity for her sisters to
marry. Because she will be unable to marry for several years, she will continue
to be dependent on her mother’s resources as a widow. The “financial and social
constraints” of widowhood were serious enough to make Laura Brodie count
widowhood as one of the “tragic possibilities” threatening the women of
Austen’s novels. Margaret’s presence places added pressure on the marriage of
her sisters because of the added strain she poses to her mother. While Peter
pushed the plot forward through his involvement in the text, the simple fact of
Margaret’s existence adds momentum for the novel’s heroines.
Adeline
Mowbray presents a more politically controversial marginalization in
Savanna. Pat notes in a post that Adeline’s relationship with Savanna would
have challenged social norms in relationships with people of mixed race. In the
class presentation on slavery, we discussed that Savanna’s status as mulatto
would not have gone unnoticed by those around her, for people were very aware
of the “percentage” of a certain race people were. Savanna is
partially white, which may have distanced the subversiveness of her
relationship with Adeline. Even so, she is nonetheless an escaped slave. Her race
marginalizes Savanna to the point of returning her to work serving others, in
some ways “authoriz[ing]…an outmoded aristocratic ideal of noblesse oblige”
(Howard). Though liberated from slavery, Savanna remains in the under classes
of society.
 |
| Many female slaves were known to work as seamstresses, especially in America. In England however, this notion of black women working in service continued. Thus Savanna continues to work in the service class, even when freed. |
While
racially marginalized, Savanna comes to play a significant role in the plot and
her heroine’s life. Unlike Margaret, who is largely absent from the plot,
Savanna becomes Adeline’s closest friend throughout her marriage to Barrendale
and until Adeline’s death. Though in a service position, “Savanna’s refusal to
submit passively to the arbitrary authority of Adeline’s bad husband…implies a
liberal undercurrent” through which Savanna challenges Barrendale’s moral
failings (Howard). She becomes in large part an illuminator of virtue in the
midst of a plot that makes many ambiguous statements on morality. Practically,
Savanna’s marginality allows Adeline to pay her little, which enables Adeline
to keep a servant. Through her moral guidance, Savanna helps illuminate virtue
for Adeline, and by her practical service, she supports Adeline through her
loneliest days. Though more foregrounded than Margaret or Peter, Savanna as a
marginal character not only plays a role in perpetuating the plot, she also
reveals crucial moral development in the novel.
Persuasion’s Mrs. Smith, though far less
controversial in her marginality, also takes on an illuminating role for her
heroine. Mrs. Smith has been marginalized by her financial status. Though
coming from a respectable family and marrying well, Mrs. Smith has fallen into financial
straights after the loss of her husband. She has succumbed to the tragedy of
widowhood and its threat of leaving her financially challenged. In this
poverty, she has also become ill, further removing her from circulation in
society. Mrs. Smith has little opportunity to interact with much less
participate in society, simply because of her financial situation.
 |
| Mrs. Smith lived in the low class Westgate Buildings, pictured above. In her time, not only were poor residents of Bath socially separated, they were also spatially separated from the upper echelons of society. |
Despite
her marginal situation, Mrs. Smith, like Savanna, plays an important
illuminating role for the heroine of Persuasion.
When she understands Anne’s intention to refuse Mr. Elliot, Mrs. Smith offers
her critical information about Mr. Elliot’s moral character that confirms
Anne’s decision. Without this concrete information, Anne may have floundered
more in her decision between Mr. Elliot and Captain Wentworth, or may not have
acted quickly enough to communicate her interest in Wentworth over Mr. Elliot,
leaving Wentworth too discouraged to continue to pursue her. Mrs. Smith’s
marginal position enables this illumination, for her downfall was caused in
large part by Mr. Elliot, and the gossip chain in which she participates alerts her to the urgency of speaking with Anne on this subject. Through this
illumination, Mrs. Smith enables the heroine to arrive at the happy ending the
author intends.
Though
each of these characters were marginal in different ways, through class, age,
race, and status, these marginalities would have been linked in the minds of readers. Anthony Wohl points
out the similarities in characterization in popular literature for members of
the lower classes and racial minorities, noting the “childlike” nature they are
given. While this characterization is less emphasized for these characters, readers would nonetheless have been able to recall the connection. Though marginalized, these characters critically impact their
texts either in support of the heroine, by providing pressure, or through illuminating
and guiding. Peter physically provides support for his heroine and offers her
safety; Margaret provides a physical reminder of the need to marry; Savanna
supports and illuminates virtue to guide her heroine; and Mrs. Smith also
offers an illuminating intelligence that guides her heroine to a happy ending. While
these minor characters are easy to overlook, Radcliffe, Austen, and Opie do not
give them insignificant roles. Perhaps through understanding the importance of
seemingly peripheral characters, readers will engage more with those on the
margins of 18th century novels.
Additional Information on Class and Prejudice:
Cody, David. “Social Class.” Victorian Web. 26 April
2012 <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/Class.html>
Wohl, Anthony S. “Race and Class Overview: Parallels in
Racism and Class Prejudice.” Victorian Web. 26 April 2012 <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/race/rcov.html>
and <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/race/rc4.html>
Works Cited:
Brodie , Laura
Fairchild. “Society and the Superfluous Female: Jane Austen’s Treatment of Widowhood.” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. (34:4). Autumn
1994, 697-718.
Howard, Carol. “The
Story of the Pineapple': Sentimental Abolitionism and Moral Motherhood in
Amelia Opie's Adeline Mowbray.” Studies in the Novel
(Univ. of North Texas, Denton). (30:3) Fall 1998,
355-376.
Marple, Lauren
Reikos Simeon. “From obligation to agreement: concepts of servitude in early
modern England.” Early Modern England. 1994. 26 April 2012 <http://earlymodernengland.com/2012/04/from-obligation-to-agreement-concepts-of-servitude-in-early-modern-england/>
Seamstress. 18th-century
American Women. 15 September 2011. 26 April 2012 <http://b-womeninamericanhistory18.blogspot.com/2009/02/virginia-runaway-slave-seamstresses.html>
Westgate Buildings. “Jane in June: The
Jane Austen Tour of Bath.” The Bookish Type. 26 April 2012 <http://thebookishtype.blogspot.com/2010/06/jane-in-june-jane-austen-bath.html>
No comments:
Post a Comment