The Fountain Overflows: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Fountain Overflows" is a novel that intricately explores the lives and dynamics of the Aubrey family through the eyes of Rose Aubrey, the middle child and narrator. The story unfolds from Rose's girlhood to her budding career as a pianist, highlighting her deep connection to her musical identity and her family's complexities. Central characters include Clare Keith Aubrey, Rose's mother, a once-prominent concert pianist who sacrifices her career for family life yet embodies fierce devotion and intellectual integrity. Piers Aubrey, the father, is depicted as brilliant but unstable, whose financial recklessness strains the family while still endearing him to his children through his creativity and charm.
Rose's twin, Mary, complements her personality with a more reserved demeanor, while their older sister Cordelia struggles with her aspirations as a violinist, seeking external validation amidst familial pressures. The narrative also introduces Richard, the beloved younger brother, and various supporting characters like Constance, a practical friend of Clare, and Queenie Phillips, a dark figure whose actions impact the family dramatically. Through these characters, the novel delves into themes of artistic ambition, family loyalty, and the challenges of navigating personal aspirations amidst complex familial relationships. This rich character tapestry invites readers to reflect on the interplay between genius and the everyday struggles of life.
The Fountain Overflows: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Rebecca West
First published: 1956
Genre: Novel
Locale: The Scottish countryside and London
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: The late nineteenth century
Rose Aubrey, the narrator, the middle child (with her twin, Mary) in the Aubrey family. The novel covers the period from her young girlhood to her first engagement as a professional pianist. Rose defines herself through her musical identity and her family affection. She inherits psychic gifts from her mother. Her parents' eccentricity develops her survival skills of selective vision and creative lying. She adores her parents and deals realistically with the strains they place on her; she is convinced that everything will be all right in the end.
Clare Keith Aubrey, Rose's mother, a concert pianist who abandoned her career to be married and have children. She has the ferocity of genius in her family devotion as well as in her music. A highly principled intellectual, she is gifted with second sight but unable to deal with practical life except through savage self-discipline and sacrifice. The constant strain makes her gaunt, nervous, and outwardly ridiculous.
Piers Aubrey, the brilliant, unstable father of the family, a journalist and political writer. He loses jobs suddenly and gambles family funds on the stock exchange. He is infinitely kind to Aunt Lily yet often completely disregards his family's welfare. He has a talent for fine carpentry and makes his children enchanting gifts. His charm and genius win their adoration, yet he abandons them. His absence ironically ensures their financial security, because it allows Clare to sell family portraits whose true value she had concealed from Piers.
Mary Aubrey, Rose's twin, a complement and opposite to her. She is beautiful, with a greater and more spontaneous musical talent than Rose's. Her personality is more reserved; she does not share Rose's warm temper and emotional expressiveness. The twins are constant conspirators, however, in the management of their family life.
Cordelia Aubrey, the oldest of the children, a source of pain to the family in her plan to be a violinist. Endowed with beauty, great energy, and no musical taste, she wishes to please the outer world and escape her parents' inconvenient genius. She enters into a precocious concert career, but the cruel assessment of a bitter master violinist breaks her resolve and leaves her bedridden, with hope of eventual music-free happiness.
Richard Quin Aubrey, the adored younger brother of the Aubrey girls.
Constance, a childhood friend of Clare Aubrey, unhappily married to her cousin Jock. She shares Clare's understanding of life but is a physical opposite of her: tall, substantial, calm, and as beautiful as an ancient Roman statue. She is gifted with the practical skills Clare lacks.
Rosamund, Constance and Jock's only child, a friend of the Aubrey children. She is beautiful and tranquil like her mother, and she is able to understand and manipulate other people. She stammers and seems slow, with no outward brilliance, but she is an expert at chess and meets life with practical equanimity.
Beatrice Beevor, the misguided teacher who launches Cordelia on her concert career in defiance of Mrs. Aubrey's qualms.
Queenie Phillips, the darkly beautiful, tyrannical mother of a schoolmate of the Aubrey girls, fascinated by Rose's psychic gift. Queenie murders her prosperous businessman husband. Her death sentence at the hands of an insane old judge provides Piers Aubrey with a major legal cause and personal victory.
Lily Moon, called Aunt Lily, Queenie's small, ugly, blonde sister, a former barmaid who was rescued and befriended with her niece by the impoverished Aubreys. A tragicomic figure, she inspires the Aubreys' affection while trying their nerves.