Character Analysis Of Dodie Smith's I Capture The Castle

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Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle is told from the point of view of seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain. Cassandra, along with her sister Rose and friend Stephen, go through major character transformations that go along with the theme of coming of age. The use of setting, archetype, conflict, theme, and other literary terms will be used to show the argument of how these characters transformed. Over time in I Capture the Castle, Cassandra endeavors to develop her writing skills. She fills three notebooks with witty yet emotional entries that candidly recount the great changes that take place within the decrepit walls of the castle. She also tells the story of her complex first love and how she herself changes (Cambridge Guide). There is …show more content…

She wishes to free herself from the depravity from where she lives and hopes to snag a rich husband with her beauty. This can be considered a selfish and adolescent trait. This is the beginning of how her transformation blooms into something along the lines of coming of age. Even though she lacks love for Simon, she continues to go after him for the sake of his money. This parallels the theme or conflict of love versus money. At first she chooses money before she realizes that Neil is the one who makes her happy and the one who she is in love with. London in the 1930’s also seems to be a prominent cultural setting that affects Rose’s transformation. Rose finally seems to be taking her first strides into womanhood whenever she lives in London. During this time period, London was trying to become more modern and efficient with lots of motorcars and electric lighting. This affected Rose tremendously while getting her trousseau. The example relates to symbolism because London at the time was a city of wealth and prosperity, which is what Rose desired to have. Both the setting and symbol relate to coming of age by Rose preparing for her marriage while she is learning life lessons and how to become a woman from Mrs. Cotton as well as realizing her true feelings for Simon and Neil. Rose is a spirited young woman who just needed to be introduced into a very new society to find her own sense of

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