The Small Room: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Small Room: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics and moral complexities within an academic setting through its diverse cast. Central to the narrative is Lucy Winter, a recent Harvard graduate navigating her first year of teaching at Appleton College after a personal setback. Her integrity is tested when she uncovers plagiarism by a talented student, leading her to confront issues of honesty and loyalty among her colleagues. Carryl Cope, a devoted medieval history professor, grapples with her own pride and the consequences of her influence on the student involved in the scandal, ultimately seeking to uphold academic integrity.
Another pivotal character is Harriet Summerson, a seasoned British literature teacher who provides guidance and support to Winter, embodying the values of generosity and honesty. The influence of Olive Hunt, a wealthy trustee, introduces themes of rigidity and alienation, particularly in her fraught relationship with Cope. Other characters, like the compassionate Jennifer Finch and the conflicted Jack Beveridge, add depth to the exploration of personal sacrifices and professional responsibilities in academia. Through these characters, the narrative delves into the challenges of maintaining integrity, navigating personal relationships, and the pressures inherent in academic life.
The Small Room: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: May Sarton
First published: 1961
Genre: Novel
Locale: A New England women's college
Plot: Realism
Time: The 1950's
Lucy Winter, a twenty-seven-year-old Harvard graduate who has recently experienced the collapse of her engagement and is beginning her first year of teaching American literature at Appleton, a small New England college for women. She is abruptly initiated into the twisting relationships of academe when she accidentally discovers indisputable plagiarism in the paper of an outstanding student who is the protégée of one of the most powerful and respected professors on campus. Confronted with issues of honesty, loyalty, pride, confusion, and commitment, Winter maintains her integrity during the ensuing arguments about the situation and grows steadily in respect from and for her colleagues and students. Simultaneously, she sharpens her awareness of teaching as a challenging profession and a demanding art.
Carryl Cope, a brilliant, indomitable scholar and professor of medieval history. Totally devoted to her profession and the college, she cares little for appearances and is passionately committed to academic excellence. After discovering the dishonesty of a student in whom she has invested countless hours and enormous energy, Cope at first hopes to cover up the incident. When it becomes clear that exposure is inevitable, she maintains her self-respect and that of others by admitting her mistakes in pressuring the student and concentrating exclusively on cultivating the mind. In the painful resolution, Cope not only faces her own pride directly but also risks the dissolution of her intimate twenty-year friendship with Olive Hunt.
Harriet (Hallie) Summerson, a secure, honest, well-liked woman and a superb teacher of British literature. A generation older than Winter and unfailingly generous, Summerson welcomes Winter into the college community and consistently offers her valuable advice and support. In her characteristically unselfconscious way, Summerson also models for Winter, a teacher accomplished in her art.
Olive Hunt, a wealthy, influential, and generous trustee of Appleton College. Once elegant but now somewhat faded with age, she is proudly rigid in her ideas and beliefs. Convinced that people are responsible for managing their own lives independently, she violently opposes the college's hiring a resident psychiatrist and vows to withdraw her financial support if her views are dismissed. An irreparable consequence of her adamant resolve is alienation from Cope, whom she has loved for years.
Jennifer Finch, an apparently unassuming but wise professor who inserts a quiet objectivity and compassion into frequently heated discussions of campus affairs. Bound tightly to an extraordinarily dominating mother, she still maintains an inner freedom that gives her unique influence among her peers and students.
Jane Seaman, a brilliant student whose plagiarized essay on Homer's the Iliad is published in the college magazine. When Winter confronts her, Seaman admits that the pressures to excel academically and to fulfill the demanding expectations of Cope drove her to dishonest scholarship. Softened by Winter's genuine, loving concern, Seaman eventually agrees to see a psychiatrist for assistance in dealing with her problems.
Blake Tillotson, the president of Appleton College. He maintains an honest, intelligent, and compassionate attitude throughout debate over the plagiarism incident, despite conflicting demands, including those from Cope; from Hunt, whose financial support depends on his decisions; from students who are angered that their governing councils were ignored in handling a student's dishonesty; and from faculty members who express opposing views on both the Seaman case and the proposed mental health committee.
Jack Beveridge, an intense and seasoned professor of Romance languages whose ironic, cynical attitude masks a deep kindness and compassion. His defense of Cope and Hunt leads him to unaccustomed anger and alienates him from his wife.
Maria Beveridge, an ample, commanding, straightforward woman, the wife of Jack and mother of three young boys. Disagreements with several of her husband's views, and particularly her jealousy of Cope and Hunt, move the couple close to divorce.
Henry Atwood, a young assistant professor who is completing his dissertation on Henry Fielding. Initially naïve about the complexities of the college scene, he grows into a new sense of himself and his profession during his first semester at Appleton.
Deborah Atwood, Henry's wife, a somewhat immature young woman. She also develops as she finds her way in a new academic environment.
Pippa Brentwood, a student who especially needs encouragement and affirmation following the death of her father. She questions Winter about the plagiarism issue and tests the young teacher's developing, ambivalent convictions about the nature of teacher-student relationships.