The Divine Fire: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Divine Fire: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics among key figures that shape the narrative. Central to the story is Keith Rickman, a talented yet struggling poet driven by a sense of honor and a desire to redeem his past. His journey is complicated by Horace Jewdwine, a literary editor who recognizes Rickman's genius but is too fearful to fully support him, ultimately undermining both their futures. Another significant character is Lucia Harden, a Baronet's daughter and the muse for Rickman, whose own struggles with heartbreak connect deeply with his quest to restore her father's lost library. The antagonist, Mr. Pilkington, represents unscrupulous capitalism, taking pleasure in Rickman's challenges as he seeks to reclaim what was wrongfully taken from Lucia. Additionally, Flossie Walker, a more conventional character, embodies societal expectations as she attempts to secure a stable future through marriage, inadvertently complicating Rickman's aspirations. Together, these characters highlight themes of honor, ambition, and the often harsh realities of artistic life, inviting readers to reflect on the interplay of personal and societal conflicts.
The Divine Fire: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: May Sinclair
First published: 1904
Genre: Novel
Locale: England
Plot: Psychological
Time: The 1890's
Savage Keith Rickman, a young unknown poet, a genius, who for all his warring personality traits is always honorable. Disillusioned over dishonorable dealings between his bookseller father and a financier, and kept from success by the indecisiveness of a literary editor, he spends years slaving and starving himself to redeem what he considers a debt of honor. At last his genius is acknowledged, and success enables him to go to the woman for whom he has loved and slaved.
Horace Jewdwine, the literary editor who believes he has discovered a genius but who fears to jeopardize his reputation by proclaiming it. He encourages Rickman privately, but fails him in every important matter and finally loses the credit for his “discovery.”
Lucia Harden, a Baronet's daughter, Jewdwine's cousin and Rickman's inspiration. Rickman's aim in life is to redeem and to return to Lucia her father's library, of which his own father cheated her and then lost to an unscrupulous financier. When she finally receives Rickman's gift, Lucia is ill and unable to walk. However, realizing that her malady is only heartbreak, she recovers.
Mr. Pilkington, an unethical financier. He holds the Harden library mortgage and enjoys the spectacle of the young genius' apparently doomed struggle to redeem it.
Flossie Walker, a conventional young woman and Rickman's fellow boarder. Her goal is a house in the suburbs, and with this in mind she traps Rickman into a proposal of marriage. Yet she refuses to wait the years necessary for the paying off of his “debt of honor”; to his relief, she marries another.