Crusoe's Daughter: Analysis of Major Characters
"Crusoe's Daughter" is a novel centered on Polly Flint, a solitary and introspective heroine who navigates her life in a remote seaside village. From a young age, Polly identifies with Robinson Crusoe, feeling a sense of isolation. As she grows, she interacts with a host of characters, including Arthur and Celia Thwaite, and develops complex relationships, particularly with Theo Zeit and Paul Treece, which shape her experiences and emotional struggles. The narrative also explores the lives of Polly's aunts, Aunt Frances and Aunt Mary, who embody contrasting traits of adventure and religious devotion, respectively.
Key characters include Theo, who eventually marries another woman but later seeks refuge for his daughters during World War II, and Captain Flint, Polly's irresponsible father whose absence profoundly affects her life. Other notable figures, like Agnes Woods and Charlotte, contribute to the themes of loss and the quest for connection. The novel culminates in Polly's later years, where she reflects on her past and her lifelong endeavors, including her work translating "Robinson Crusoe." As a rich tapestry of character studies, "Crusoe's Daughter" delves into themes of solitude, longing, and the impact of personal relationships over time.
Crusoe's Daughter: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jane Gardam
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: A marshy coastal area in northern England
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 1898–1985
Polly Flint, the bright, inquisitive, solitary heroine of the novel. She is brought to live in a remote seaside village with two maiden aunts at the age of eight. Polly identifies early on with Robinson Crusoe, feeling herself to be similarly marooned. As a teenager, she visits the home of Arthur and Celia Thwaite, where she meets a number of “artistic” houseguests, including the young poet Paul Treece. Initially attracted to him, she soon grows impatient with his callowness and boundless enthusiasm. She has a brief affair with his friend Theo Zeit, but her impassioned letters to him while he is fighting in World War I apparently frighten him off. She is heartbroken for a long period and becomes an alcoholic in middle age. She sets herself the task of translating Robinson Crusoe into German, then begins to write critical material on the novel. She also becomes a teacher for the local boarding school. The novel ends with Polly in her eighties, about to be interviewed by a local reporter.
Aunt Frances Younghusband, one of Polly's aunts on her mother's side. Small, gentle, and sweet, she has an “under-standing” with the local vicar, Father Pocock. They marry and embark on a mission to India. He dies en route, and later Polly receives a photo from Frances, apparently taken after Pocock's death, showing her with a group of people on board ship, all dressed as Pierrots. It seems that all of her life Frances had a taste for adventure, which she is now indulging. She dies of dysentery soon thereafter.
Aunt Mary Younghusband, Polly's other aunt. Polly thinks of her at first as the “ice maiden” because she seems so remote and austere. On the day of Frances' wedding, though, she amazes Polly by looking radiantly beautiful. It develops that she was at one time going to marry Arthur Thwaite, but his sister prevented it somehow. In later life, she has become very religious and frequently goes on retreat at the local convent. She dies soon after Frances.
Theodore (Theo) Zeit, an upper-class young man of Polly's age. His family is from Germany originally and is Jewish. His father owns the factory that overshadows the seaside village. Theo is good-natured and confident, and he gives Polly the impression of being completely happy and at ease in the world. They have an affair of sorts, but after he leaves the village to fight in World War I, he marries Delphi Vipont, a pale blonde beauty who lived near the village. He returns to the village briefly after the war but decides to live in Germany. Later, during World War II, he sends his two daughters to Polly in England to escape the Holocaust. Ultimately, he returns to the village a frail and wasted man.
Charlotte, the maid for the Younghusbands. Frumpy and somewhat dirty in her personal appearance, she is a quiet and rather bad-natured woman. She holds great affection for her nephew Stanley, who comes for tea every Wednesday. After he dies of influenza, it is revealed that he is actually her son. Wounded by the Younghusband sisters' lack of sympathy for her grief, she flees the house abruptly, never to return.
Agnes Woods, a pale-complexioned, bitter woman who always wears black and carries black knitting with her. She has a secret, unspecified, and admiring relationship with Aunt Frances. After Frances leaves, she suffers a stroke and is virtually incapacitated. When Mary dies, Polly and Alice have an unpleasant time caring for Agnes until she dies.
Captain Flint, Polly's father, a jolly, irresponsible, roving man. Polly remembers little of him except that he shared a meat pie with her in the first-class train compartment on their journey up to the aunts'home and that he sang and danced for the aunts at their home. He used to leave Polly in the care of various people while he went off traveling by sea. He died when his ship sank, going down with the ship while sipping from a large stone bottle of gin.
Arthur Thwaite, a quiet, elderly friend of the Younghusband sisters who visits annually. He has a drooping mustache and wears a monocle. He hardly speaks, except to comment on the weather, but Polly nevertheless is drawn to him. He turns out to be Polly's grandfather; he had once been romantically involved with Aunt Mary, but he also had an affair with Polly's grandmother (the aunts' mother), and from that union Polly's mother was born.
Paul Treece, an energetic, amiable, and very talkative young poet. Paul, a student at Cambridge, meets Polly while they are both guests at the Thwaite home. Paul is one of the “artistic” people Celia has invited to stay. Restless and excitable, Paul is callow but nevertheless a talented poet. He is infatuated with Polly and sends her long letters from the front after he eagerly enlists to fight in World War I. He is killed in France.
Alice, a serving girl of about the same age as Polly. Formerly the vicar's maid, she comes to the Younghusbands when Charlotte leaves. Initially mousy, quiet, and tired-looking, she gradually develops a strong personality and becomes a good friend to Polly. She takes over the running of the boardinghouse when Polly succumbs to alcoholism. She ends up marrying Mr. Benson, the schoolteacher who boards with them.
Celia Thwaite, Arthur's sister. An old, garishly painted woman, Celia is a poet who takes enormous pride in the fact that her family at one time knew and entertained people such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Virginia Woolf. She likes to surround herself with artistic people and generously opens her house to them. Polly thinks her vain and full of machinations. She may have been responsible for breaking up the relationship between Arthur and Mary years ago.