FLOR COOMBE-MORAN
Clan: Derwilde
Type of Character: main POV, Protagonist
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PERSONALITY
How does is show (Internal Characterization)?
A HEART:
Adjectives:
companionly - sometimes grumpy /caring, familial /plucky, willing /humane, listener /appreciative, sometimes flippant /earnest, sometimes fiery or angry/open-hearted/impatient - protective/unsentimental/melancholy at times
Sociable but grumpy (especially in the morning): does not like crowds - a morning scene where she takes it upon herself to be sociable/or a court scene when she is reluctant to engage or flippant
Protective/Caring: show her guilt/ getting herself into knots about her family (Tide) she put in danger by her apparent lack of care about the national picture/a character will make realise that it is not her fault, she won't believe it/show her caring quickly for the people she meets on the road/ she will be the less distrustful of the party
Earnestness/singlemindedness: show her determination not to be put off from her task even though all is against her and seems lost/ reference to her work as a female scientist and how difficult it was to publish her book - not taken seriously in certain quarters/ another character (Fern) mentions that it is a trait she has had from a young woman/ her brother from childhood/ Cliff will be pushing back against that somewhat but will rally to her in the end/ show how fierce she can be in her dealings with 'highers up' and Sand (especially at the start of their relationship)
Unsentimental: show how she lies to herself about her attraction to Sand, believes it is because she has been on her own for so long, does not think it is serious, overshadowed by events - Sand will be more aware of how serious their feelings for each other are, but will not be able to get close to her (in this book).
Melancholy despite optimism - her attraction to Sand will elicit guilt when she thinks about Myst - does not know for most of the book that he has been killed- she has not grieved yet his loss - in limbo/ show how small things, happenings are trigger to remember him (not forget to put this in regularly)
What lies does the character believe?
She believes she put people in danger because of her lack of appreciation of the dangers the clan was in, her lack of acumen.
She believes she does not have any feelings for Sand and hides her attraction to him by lying to herself about Myst and her duties to her clan
What is the character like (sentences)?
1 - Flor is pleasant to be around but can be grumpy in the morning ... not totally easy to live with, but she will take it upon herself to be agreeable and sociable. She prefers to be by herself and does not like crowded situations.
2 - Flor believes she is caring and appreciative, which is true. Above all she is protective: she will do almost anything for those she loves. This will put her in danger and could at times cloud her judgement. She can become angry when those she protects are hurt or put in danger.
3 - she is unsentimental (not romantic), and not interested in men other than Myst
4 - her earnestness can become single-minded and sometimes make her impatient, flippant and even fiery. Cliff is the character that mostly sees this side of Flor. She usually keeps this under wrap with strangers.
5 - because of Myst's disappearance, she is now a lot more melancholy than when she was younger - it can affect her moods and her joie de vivre.
What do others/the world think?
Sand will realise at the end of the novel that he is not Flor's priority and that she is not over the loss of her husband. At the start of their relationship, he also finds Flor sometimes difficult to get along with - too fiery for him.
- Cliff sees her as a friend and of course a link to his best friend, Myst - their relationship is complex.
- Lily, her daughter, knows her mother to be caring and protective - despite her impatient and fiery behaviour. Lily would have liked her mother to be more aware of social proprieties (this will change with events). Lily, at the start of the book, is a would-be socialite, attracted by the glitter of Highfort and at odds with her mother's outlook on life.
B INTELLECT
Adjectives:
1 droll with friends, plain speaking with strangers, self-deprecating / 2 incisive /3 clever, fast thinking/ 4 driven, precise / 5 imaginative / 6 inquisitive / 7 decisive/ 8 intuitive, self-critical and up to now blind to certain political facts/9 rational/10 unconventional, freethinking/11 Well-read
Show Flor's sense of humour while bantering with Cliff and Fern - no banter/but sparring with Sand (this is how we know their relationship is changing). Keep the tension between Cliff/Sand/Flor for a while.
Show how she is not intimidated by talking to powerful figures
Show her anger at being kept in the dark, being deceived and also maybe betrayed - this will drive a wedge between FLOR and SAND at the start - she will push hard to know what he knows, thinking that he is keeping things back from her
Shows how Flor pursues the mystery against all odds and despite the dangers - however, will not force others into her schemes/dangers (caring)
show her lack of propriety for 'ladylike' deportment - could be considered provincial by some/ show how at odds she is with Lily at the start of the book/ because of this, might discounted as naive (or even simple) by opponents / show Sand reacting to this in a negative way to start with
show how Sand is won over when he realises her depth (culture, knowledge), and her strengths, puts everything else for him into perspective
What lies does the character believe?
Flor thinks she is a clever enough person but thinks she is quite dumb when it concerns politics - she regrets her lack of interest in that respect and fights for the truth. Sand will first fight that back 'You do not need to know'.
Flor thinks that she is not good with words really (only precise and matter-of-fact), and that Myst was the one with a way with words - it is how she still connects to him through his words, poetry and stories.
Flor thought she had life sorted out until Myst disappeared, not aware of her precarious political situation until the clan was taken over
Flor thinks that Sand knows a lot more than her about what is going on and will not tell - things will get better between them when she knows he has also been betrayed
What is the character like (sentences)?
1- Flor shows her sense of humour with her friends - Cliff, in particular, loads of banter. At the time, she also shared many laughs with Myst - who was a more serious character and loved poetry (ribbed him a lot for his love of pretty words.) She also shows her wit with Fern (who appreciates greatly her self-deprecating humour). She is plain speaking with people she does not know or does not trust fully.
2 - Her observations are incisive, but she is struggling in the dark to start with because she does not know what is going on, which drives her flippant and angry - will drive a wedge between her and her closest at first: Lily, Cliff and Sand - Fern will always support her (voice of reason)
3/4/7 - Her fast thinking and her drive will ultimately save the day - shows how when confronted with choices, she is quick to make a decision /maybe not take the right path at times - a double-edged sword.
5 - She is fairly imaginative but will draw a lot of her imagination from Myst (his poetic soul) - how she connects with him since his disappearance - his poetry and her love of myth.
6/9 - Her relentless approach to solving Myst's disappearance makes her very inquisitive - show how this stems from her love for truth and her scientific/rational mind
8 - She can be over-critical and her friends (Cliff in particular) will help her to put things into perspective
10 - What makes Flor who she is, is her lack of propriety/She is a child of the Enlightenment, and she does not care what people think socially/It can make her appear unsophisticated in certain circles, and her daughter Lily does not appreciate her free spirit (until she discovers she is pretty much like her mother)/ One of the things Myst liked about her, Sand not so much.
11 - Flor has had a good education and passed her exams to get into the Arkivon. This shows in her shared love of words with Myst and her scientific leanings/ but can get along with others not educated in the same way: see Ember and Merry Greatfen's partnership with Flor
What do others/the world think?
People who do not know Flor might get the wrong impression of her - she would appear somewhat of a 'blue stocking' and maybe provincial to a Highfort audience - this would lead opponents to underestimate her - even her own daughter, Lily, still knowing her mother's intelligence and capacity is exasperated by her lack of 'bon ton'.
People close to her know her worth and respect her immensely - Myst and Cliff are aware of her qualities and will make sure they shine. Still, Cliff will sometimes try to reel back Flor as he is afraid for her safety (more than anything else). It will take Sand a while to see through appearance - corrupted by Highfort mannerisms
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