Beautiful People: Pauline Gantley

Audio version of “Beautiful People: Pauline Gantley” is available here.

A little while ago I did a ramblish post regarding first drafts and writer’s block. I mentioned a project of mine (known henceforth as Pauline Story Take 3), and the fact that I was having trouble with a rather important aspect of it…namely, the plot. You will be glad to know that that trouble has cleared up considerably since that last post. I still don’t know all the details of the plot, but it’s been growing and thriving most excitingly, which makes me happy.

I’ve greatly enjoyed reading the “Beautiful People” archives on others’ blogs. If you don’t know what these are – as far as I know, they haven’t really been in use for some years – they are sets of questions about one’s characters, which are meant to help the writer know the character better…and, if the writer shares it with others, it should help others to know the character better as well. (Source for the Beautiful People questionnaires is here.)

So, as a way to share a bit more about PST3 with you, why don’t I share a Beautiful People questionnaire for Pauline with you? (She is the main character of Pauline Story. In case there was any confusion about that.)

(I know some people like to “cast” their characters, but I have yet to think of an actress who looks just like my mental image of Pauline, so soft Impressionist-style paintings will have to do instead. This picture is a nearly perfect representation of Pauline as regards figure and clothing and ✨vibes✨, but this isn’t quite the way her face looks. Her face is sort of softer and sweeter. Her hair is also a tad lighter.)

What is her full name?

Pauline Therese Gantley. (The Therese is tentative…I’m not fully settled on her middle name.)

Does her name have a special meaning?

I didn’t give her the name for any special reason, so in that sense, no. Looking it up now, apparently Pauline means “small” in French. I don’t think Pauline is literally particularly petite, but she does hate the spotlight and prefers to be more hidden, so I suppose that sort of makes sense? (Also, this is entirely irrelevant, but I am now curious – since Pauline is presumably just a feminine version of Paul, does the etymology of the French meaning have anything to do with the fact that St. Paul is thought to have been a small man? Did it mean small before it was his name, or did it come to mean small afterwards? Random musing of the day.)

Does she have a methodical or disorganized personality?

More on the methodical side. She’s not a perfectionist, but orderliness makes her happy.

Does she think inside herself more than she talks to her friends (more importantly, does she actually have friends)?

She absolutely thinks inside herself MUCH more than she talks out loud; she’s a very private person. She does have friends…two of ’em. Her Aunt Hilda, and eventually Harold Shaw. (If she has others, they have not introduced themselves to me at this point.) She loves her family – even though she doesn’t LIKE them all of the time – but their relationship isn’t such that she would feel comfortable confiding in them much.

Is there something she is afraid of?

The biggest thing she’s afraid of is conflict. She absolutely hates it, but has to deal with it quite a lot.

Does she write, dream, dance, sing, or photograph?

She doesn’t write or photograph (considering she lives in the 1880s, I doubt she’s had the chance to photograph – not that cameras were unheard of, but I highly doubt that an average family like the Gantleys would own one). She has been taught to dance and sing, and is proficient-but-not-amazing at both. Dreaming, however, she is excellent at.

What is her favorite book (or genre of book)?

Pauline’s a poetry kind of girl.

Who is her favorite author and/or someone who inspires her?

She loves Sir Walter Scott’s poetry. One of her favorite bits is the “western waves of ebbing day” bit in “The Lady of the Lake”…she just loves the beautiful evocativeness of it.

The western waves of ebbing day
Rolled o’er the glen their level way;
Each purple peak, each flinty spire,
Was bathed in floods of living fire…

(You can be proud of me, Astrya; I did eventually do at least a little bit of research on this :P)

Favorite flavor of ice cream?

Oh wow, I’m currently looking up Victorian ice cream flavors, and some of them are WONKY. As to Pauline’s favorite, I’ll say either cucumber or orange blossom.

Favorite season of the year?

Probably spring…but there are things she likes about all of them.

That’s all of the questions, so I’ll end with a couple snippets involving Pauline, just to further round out the picture.

“…apparently I’m expected to sit upstairs the whole time. It isn’t fair. You never had to sit in your room when company came, did you?”
Pauline tried to think of a tactful way of hinting that it was more Henrietta’s behavior than her age that led to her being exiled when company came. “Well, guests usually expect children to be quiet, Henny, and I was always a quiet -“
“Oh, yes, yes, I know, you were always perfect and boring. But I’m talking about me.”

***

Pauline flushed. “I was taking a walk,” she said, struggling to keep her voice from sounding defensive.
“Rather a long one.”
“Yes.”
Winifred waited for more, then chuckled when it was evident no more was forthcoming. “All right, then. I understand. I know you enjoy your own company more than ours.”
Pauline felt torn between indignation at the statement, a sense of resentment that Winifred should take so lightly a subject which was so painful to herself, and an ashamed realization that Winifred’s statement was perfectly correct. Struggling between these feelings, she could not think of anything to say in reply. She turned to look out the window as though she had just seen something which attracted her attention.

What do you think of Pauline? Would you be interested in hearing more about her? Aren’t the Beautiful People questionnaires awesome?