The Virgin and the Gipsy: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Virgin and the Gipsy" features a complex interplay of characters, primarily focusing on Yvette Saywell, a rebellious and spoiled nineteen-year-old who struggles with her identity and relationships. At odds with her conventional family, particularly her father, the rector, and her controlling grandmother, Yvette finds herself drawn to the freedom represented by the Gypsies. Her older sister, Lucille, embodies a more pragmatic approach to life, balancing domestic responsibilities with her own flirtations. The narrative also introduces Joe Boswell, a Gypsy who becomes Yvette's lover and ultimately helps her rediscover her understanding of love and desire.
Other key figures include Aunt Cissie, who harbors jealousy and resentment towards Yvette, and She-Who-Was-Cynthia, their mother, whose departure has left a lasting impact on the sisters. The characters reflect contrasting values of tradition and modernity, touching on themes of rebellion, identity, and the allure of a nonconformist lifestyle. As Yvette navigates her relationships, her journey reveals the challenges of balancing personal desires with familial expectations in a post-war society.
The Virgin and the Gipsy: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: D. H. Lawrence
First published: 1930
Genre: Novel
Locale: A rural rectory in the Midlands of England
Plot: Psychological
Time: The 1920's
Yvette Saywell, a nineteen-year-old who has just returned home from school. A proud, spoiled young woman, Yvette causes friction in the family because she does not take responsibility for her own actions. Like her sister, she is both attracted and repelled by the notion of having a relationship with a man. Because she does not like the “common” boys who are attracted to her, she decides never to fall in love. The candor of this “virgin witch” brings her both admirers and enemies. Because of her longing for freedom, she identifies more with the carefree Gypsies than with the members of her own family. After her father reprimands her for visiting the Eastwoods, she becomes hard, detached, and revengeful; only the Gypsy is able to reveal the mysteries of love to Yvette, thereby bringing her “back to life.”
Lucille Saywell, Yvette's older sister and confidant. Unlike Yvette, this aristocratic-looking twenty-one-year-old not only takes care of household matters involving doctors and servants but also works at a job in town from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. every day. Her insolence toward Granny and her belief that a girl should have flings and then marry at the age of twenty-six have much to do with Yvette's rebellion against her family and her involvement with the Gypsy.
The rector, the father of Yvette and Lucille. Heavy and inert, this forty-seven-year-old man is fanatically afraid of the unconventional, which is why he prevents Yvette from visiting the Eastwoods. Although he still worships his departed wife, he is greatly disturbed by Yvette's similarities to this woman.
The Mater, the girls' grandmother, who is the matriarch of the household. Obese, bedridden, and nearly blind, this “toad-like” creature never does any harm, but her compulsive desire to control other people's lives interferes with the plans of Yvette and Lucille. After the great reservoir bursts, she drowns in the resulting flood.
Aunt Cissie, the rector's middle-aged sister. This pale, pious woman who eats very little has dedicated her life to serving the Mater. When Yvette steals from the money that Aunt Cissie has collected to commemorate the fallen heroes of World War I, Aunt Cissie's jealousy of the girl's privileged position in the family manifests itself in a torrent of insinuations and verbal abuse.
She-Who-Was-Cynthia, the girls'mother, who ran off years before with a younger man. Her freethinking qualities and blithe carelessness have been transferred to Yvette. Whereas the Mater and Aunt Cissie regard the girls' relation to this woman as a badge of shame, Yvette views her mother as a being from a higher, immortal world.
Joe Boswell, a Gypsy who becomes Yvette's lover. Neat and dapper, almost rakishly so, he is, in Major Eastwood's words, a “resurrected man,” having barely escaped death in World War I. Unlike Yvette, he is the master of himself and, therefore, is the only person who has any real power over her. At the end of the novel, he rescues Yvette from the flood and from her stifling view of love and sex. She is ultimately saved because of the Gypsy's admonition to be brave in heart and body.
Mrs. Fawcett, a rich Jewish divorcée. This thirty-six-year-old mother of two leaves her husband, a renowned engineer, for a man six years younger than she. Her nonconformist lifestyle attracts Yvette and repels the rector.
Major Eastwood, Mrs. Fawcett's lover and an admirer of the Gypsy. Like the Gypsy, he is a “resurrected” man; he was literally dug out of the ground by his fellow soldiers. This handsome, athletic man also resembles the Gypsy in his disdain for work and in his assertion that anyone who can really feel desire is a king. Because of his relationship with a rich woman who is younger than he, the major is viewed as a “sponge” by the rector.
Bob Framley, Yvette's friend and a member of the big, jolly, unruly Framley family. He accompanies Yvette on her holiday to Bonsall Head and assists in her rescue from the flooded house.
Leo, a friend of Yvette who is described by her as a “mastiff” among the “housedog” boys who court her. He proposes to Yvette, even though he is practically engaged to Ella Framley. It is Leo who honks the horn of his car and thereby brings the Gypsy to Yvette's attention.
Lady Louth, a friend of the Mater. The Mater insists that Yvette and her friends visit this awful woman during their trip to Bonsall Head.
Uncle Fred, the rector's middle-aged brother. This stingy and gray-faced man eats dinner with the Saywells periodi-cally.