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Chapter 18
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in My Brilliant Career, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Womanhood
Class and Poverty
Ambition, Respectability, and Pride
Love
Maturity and Suffering
Summary
Analysis
Every year to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s birthday, Caddagat’s neighboring course Wyambeet hosts a horse-race, which is then followed by a servants’ ball at one of the local estates. Most residents of the district, both servants and estate owners, attend the races, and this year Sybylla goes with her family. Uncle Julius drives them to the course, and Sybylla cheers him on. Julius remarks that he is glad to see Sybylla has the spirit of an Australian, while Mrs. Bossier says that Sybylla has the spirit of an Australian but lacks the manners of a lady. Aunt Helen points out that if Sybylla can use up her excess energy on the drive to Wyambeet, she might be well-behaved at the racecourse itself.
The nationalist pride that runs through the novel reappears as the characters discuss what makes an Australian spirit. Julius characterizes Sybylla’s excitement and enthusiasm as Australian. This indicates that other characters share Sybylla’s interest in national identity and are seeking examples of that identity. Julius finds an example in Sybylla, which adds to her characterization as a young woman deeply of her homeland. Mrs. Bossier’s assertion that Sybylla’s Australian spirit is unladylike also continues Sybylla’s characterization as different from other women––but it also questions whether traditional conventions of femininity suit the Australian nation. Contrasting ladylike behavior and the Australian spirit suggests that expectations of womanhood are antithetical to the national identity Australians are constructing.
Active
Themes
The buggy comes across a vehicle from Five-Bob Downs, which Harold is driving. The rest of the buggy is full of ladies, including one who sits beside him in the buggy. This disappoints Sybylla, who expected Harold to come alone. He has spent so much time alone with her that she subconsciously came to think of him as hers exclusively, and she loses some of her excitement when she realizes he will belong to those other ladies for the day.
Sybylla is disappointed to see that Harold belongs to other women for the day, which demonstrates how Sybylla thinks of romantic relationships as a form of ownership. This adds to her resistance to marriage: she is too independent to accept being owned by a man. The many women around Harold also remind Sybylla––and the reader––that Harold is a wealthy young bachelor. Marriage to him would be socially advantageous for many women, and those women are more willing than Sybylla to pursue Harold openly.
Active
Themes
Uncle Julius notes Sybylla’s disappointment when she comes to help him with the horses, and he encourages her to “stick to her guns” to win the master of Five-Bobs Down. Sybylla claims not to understand, but Julius says she can’t deceive him––he is well aware of Sybylla and Harold’s flirtation, and if the relationship had been with any other man, Julius would have put a stop to it long ago. Harold, Julius tells Sybylla, is a good, sensible man with nothing against him except his lion-like temper. He adds that Sybylla could easily handle that temper if she doesn’t mind “giving in and coaxing a little.”
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Themes
Literary Devices
Sybylla insists that her feelings for Harold are purely platonic, and that even if Harold proposed to her, she would not marry him. She is tired of everyone assuming she would marry a man for wealth, especially because she has no desire to marry at all. Her only ambition is to find a profession that will support lifelong independence. Julius responds only with a joke, telling her that she can take up a profession as his assistant.
Active
Themes
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Sybylla leaves Julius to find Mrs. Bossier, but instead she finds Joe Archer, a jackaroo she knows from Five-Bob Downs. They sit together and discuss literature for a while. Their conversation is interrupted by Harold Beecham, who tells Sybylla that Mrs. Bossier sent him to find her for lunch. Harold gives a quizzical look to Archer, who blushes uneasily. Harold offers to escort Sybylla to her grandmother, but Sybylla rebuffs him in favor of Archer. When Harold leaves, Archer complains that Harold is going to punish him severely, since Harold has “a roaring derry on disobedience.” Sybylla is interested in the bad temper she keeps hearing about in Harold, since he always appears calm to her. She wants to see some emotion in him.
Active
Themes
Sybylla joins the parties from Caddagat and Five-Bob Downs for lunch. Among them is Miss Blanche Derrick, who is considered the most beautiful woman in Melbourne. Archer tells Sybylla that Miss Derrick has set her intention to marry Harold, and that while she is as handsome as people say, she is also haughty and only pays attention to men with large fortunes. During the races, Sybylla takes no interest in the horses. Instead, she watches Harold and Miss Derrick, who look beautiful together, and she bitterly laments her own lack of beauty.
Active
Themes
Sybylla excuses herself and joins some children to pick flowers. She does not return for a long time, and when she does, Harold meets her. Mrs. Bossier and the Caddagat group have returned home, so the group from Five-Bob Downs will be taking Sybylla home with them for the night. Sybylla protests that she has nothing to wear to dinner. Harold offers her the many dresses they have at Five-Bob Downs, but Sybylla scoffs that men are too stupid to know about fashion. Harold counters that young men know enough to want a young lady at dinner no matter how she is dressed. She agrees to join the Beechams when she learns Aunt Helen will be coming to Five-Bob Downs with them, since she would be content to follow Helen anywhere.
Active
Themes
