The Jailing of Cecelia Capture: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Jailing of Cecelia Capture: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex dynamics and development of its key characters, primarily focusing on Cecelia Capture, the protagonist. Born into a troubled family on a reservation in Idaho, Cecelia shows early promise in academics but ultimately becomes a high-school dropout and single mother reliant on welfare. Her journey leads her to the City College of San Francisco, where she meets her husband, Nathan Welles, whose emotional detachment and rigidity starkly contrast with Cecelia's aspirations. The narrative takes a pivotal turn when Cecelia is incarcerated due to legal issues, prompting reflections on her tumultuous past and relationships, including her fraught connection with her parents, Will and Mary Theresa Capture.
Other significant characters include Bud Donahue, the father of Cecelia's son, whose death in Vietnam haunts her, and Thomas Running Horse, a Sioux man who represents both cultural connection and disappointment in Cecelia's search for understanding. Jim, another of Cecelia's lovers, highlights themes of race and insecurity. Additionally, Miss Wade, a welfare caseworker, epitomizes systemic failures in supporting individuals like Cecelia. Through these characters, the story addresses themes of identity, resilience, and the impact of societal expectations on personal growth.
The Jailing of Cecelia Capture: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Janet Campbell Hale
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: Tacoma, Washington; San Francisco, California; and a reservation in Idaho
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: Latter half of the twentieth century
Cecelia Capture, the protagonist, through whose point of view the story is told. Born into a dysfunctional family on a reservation in Idaho, Cecelia early demonstrates academic talent but becomes a high-school dropout and an unmarried teenage mother on welfare. At the age of twenty-one, she enters the City College of San Francisco, where she meets Nathan Welles, whom she later marries. While subsequently attending law school, she is arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated and is also held for welfare fraud, an old charge. During her weekend incarceration, she reminisces about her past; after her trial, she is freed. A meeting with her husband results in a decision to divorce, thereby freeing her to start a new life.
Nathan Welles, Cecelia's husband, a graduate student and eventually an English professor at a community college in Spokane. Emotionally detached, socially conscious, and extremely rigid, he proves to be an ineffective parent for Corey, Cecelia's son by Bud Donahue, and Nicole, his and Cecelia's daughter.
Will Capture, Cecelia's father, a talented athlete and scholar who wins a football scholarship to Notre Dame. He hurts his knee and flunks out. After serving in World War II, he becomes a prizefighter, then spends a year in prison for almost killing a bigoted white man. His alcoholism and domestic problems lead him to sell part of his land.
Mary Theresa Capture, Cecelia's mother, a bitter woman of Native American and Irish ancestry. She undermines Cecelia's self-confidence by criticizing her daughter's Native American ancestors and perceives herself as a prisoner in her marriage. She leaves Will at one point but returns when he sells his land to buy the family a house.
Bud Donahue, the father of Cecelia's son. He dies in Vietnam and represents, for Cecelia, an ideal against which she measures other men. Only after she visits his grave and bids him good-bye at the end of the novel is she free of her past.
Jim, a former merchant marine from Georgia and one of Cecelia's lovers. When she refuses his offer of marriage, despite the security it would provide, he resentfully resorts to racist remarks to salvage his ego.
Thomas Running Horse, a Sioux whom Cecelia meets at a bar in Roseberg, Oregon, after she has left her family in Spokane to attend law school in San Francisco. Although he represents, for her, the epitome of the Native American male and understands and shares her past, he fails to fulfill her needs because of his sexism, illustrated in a denigrating remark about “educated squaws.”
Miss Wade, a welfare caseworker who embodies the failure of institutions to serve their clients. When Cecelia proposes to take academic courses at the City College of San Francisco, Miss Wade ridicules her plans, disparages her intelligence, and suggests that she take vocational courses more appropriate for welfare recipients.