Character Sketch of Miss Fairchild in Hearts and Hands
Introduction
Miss Fairchild is one of the main characters in the short story ‘Hearts and Hands’. She is a flat character who is directly characterised. She is a protagonist. She is an interesting character with diverse personality traits. She is a pretty lady with a modern style. She seems to be highly influenced by the ways of life of materialism. She gives great importance to outward attractive appearances, hence she is unable to observe the reality. As she is wealthy, she seems to be arrogant. She seems to be inclined to lead a dazzling life in the midst of luxuries.
A Lady of Charming Personality
She is an attractive woman with a lovely smile. She is fond of wearing elegant dresses. She seems to be a smart, stylish, and rich woman who loves to travel. She has the manners and style of an aristocratic family. On the train, she looks and speaks how a first-class person should. She has a full, sweet and deliberate voice that she uses while conversing with Mr. Easton. When she glances at Easton and another man, she seems to be disinterested at first but as soon as she notices it is Mr. Easton, her countenance brightens, and a tender pink tinges her round cheeks.
An Arrogant lady and Her Clinging to Social Images and Fantasies
Miss Fairchild appears to be an arrogant lady from her voice and facial expressions. When she speaks for the first time in the coach with Mr. Easton, she commands to be given the chance to speak first. It seems that she is accustomed to speaking and be heard. Her impression and behaviour are inspired by the social images and fantasies which blind her from seeing reality.
When she sees the young and handsome Mr. Easton, she feels attracted to him and her heart seems to be filled with images of her happy past with him. On seeing Mr. Easton handcuffed with another man, she appears to be horrified. However, her own fantasies do not allow her to respect the other man’s revelation about Mr. Easton. When she is told that Mr. Easton is the marshal and the other man is the convict, Miss Fairchild’s expression of horror changes to that of relief. She continues to speak to Mr. Easton as if he was a hero.
‘And so now you are one of these dashing Western heroes, and you ride and shoot and go into all kinds of dangers.’
When Mr. Easton says that his butterfly days are over, Miss Fairchild thinks that he is talking about his adventurous days and not about his imprisonment. It clearly shows that she judges the nature and character of people on the basis of their outward appearance.
Her Believing People too Easily
It takes very little information for Miss Fairchild to believe that one person on the coach whom she knows is a respectable man. Perhaps she associates her own class and respectability with her old friend or perhaps is very gullible. She does not think twice to question the word of the rough-looking man to whom her friend, Mr. Easton, is handcuffed.
A Lady of Flirtatious Nature
Miss Fairchild is a flirtatious lady. When she sees Mr. Easton, a glow on her face and a shine in her eyes can clearly be seen. When Mr. Easton tells her that he has got a job of marshal and it is not as high a position as that of an ambassador, Miss Fairchild responds immediately with a warm reply that she likes him more than she likes the ambassador and that she is no longer in touch with the ambassador. As she comes to know that Mr. Easton has settled down in the West, she tells him that she loves the West, suggesting that she would settle down with him in the west.
Great Fond of Living A Life of Luxuries
Miss Fairchild seems to be a lady of not much integrity. Her heart only likes to live a luxurious life. She is so much dazzled by the life of materialism that she does not have a soft corner for others. As she wanders in the world of fantasies, she does not have a kind and sympathetic heart. She does not care and worry for others. We come to know about this from the fact that she carries on travelling instead of looking after her ill father.
Her Behaving As A Normal Human Being
Though Miss Fairchild is so much blinded by her feelings that she cannot see past them and allows herself to be lied to, she is also a normal human being who does not and can not always act with a gloss of style and manner. This characteristic has been shown when she begins truly and simply talking about the West to the two men with shining eyes and says that money is not everything, but people always misunderstand things and remain stupid.
Thus, finally, it can be observed that she is a beautiful lady with modern style and manner, but she greatly lacks a pure, kind and generous heart. She is a selfish lady who only thinks of enjoying life. She lives in the midst of luxuries and cares more for social images.
Treasure Trove Poems and Short Stories Workbook Answers