All
characters, even minor ones, fall victim to (larger, historical) forces they
neither understand nor control, “fools of fortune to the end. By G. Gómez Ferrante
The
expression “fortune’s fool” can be traced back to medieval times, when many
popular sayings suggested that destiny favored imbeciles. This notion was
reinforced by Goddess Fortuna’s wheel, which, by spinning capriciously, changed
people’s fate. The nature of the Wheel of Fortune also hinted at the fact that oafs
were favored by it, since they had nothing to lose and everything to win. Thus,
in medieval times the idea that fools were blessed with luck was widely held.
Shakespeare immortalized the meaning of the phrase in the Renaissance. In Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and Timon of Athens
a fool of fortune was someone who could not escape his fate; he was fortune’s
puppet. Similarly, in Trevor’s 1984 novel, Fools
of Fortune, most characters are unable to escape their fates and lead
miserable lives.
It
is easy to show how the main characters in Trevor’s novel are puppets of fate.
However, minor personages also fit Shakespeare’s view, for instance, Miss
Halliwell, the Cork schoolteacher. Miss Halliwell was a spinster, a condition
that must have been frowned upon by the community or, at least, that was how
she perceived it. However, her marital status was not her chosen state. There
were historical forces at work that converged to make her lack of choice
possible. The Great Famine of 1845, for instance, reduced the Irish population
enormously. One million Irish died during the Famine and another million
emigrated so as to survive. Then the Irish War of Independence and the
subsequent Civil War also meant that more men from rural areas were gone to
fight. Thus, the supply of men for Miss Halliwell to marry was scarce. Because
of this, most people in the community felt sorry for her: “Ah, good Miss
Halliwell! A born teacher, a privilege to have her in Cork
In
her desperation, Miss Halliwell developed an unhealthy love for Willie. Even
though she knew nothing good could come out of it, she tried to entice Willie
during her French lessons. Being in pain herself because of her plight, Miss
Halliwell felt identified with Willie’s bereavement. Moreover, she assumed that
he was in so much pain, that, in consoling him, he would fall for her. “When
they told me about you (Willie), when they told me what had happened, I knew
there would never be another child in this room who could mean as much to me as
you have.” (Trevor, 1984:64) Miss Halliwell’s remark exemplifies her expectations
to comfort Willie and her manipulations to make him like her. She also knew
that Willie’s mother was not in a proper state to take care of him. She wanted
to exploit every misfortune Willie was suffering so as to profit from his pain.
Miss Halliwell wanted to feel loved. Nevertheless, she accomplished the
opposite; Willie despised her for her actions: “I was glad I had been cruel to
Miss Halliwell.” (Trevor, 1984:65) All her efforts were in vain, and, because
of Willie’s hatred towards her, Miss Halliwell grew resentful and bitter. She
had become a victim of her own machinations. In failing to meet her goal, she
ruined her life even more than it already was.
In
all, Trevor’s characters in his novel fall victims to fate. Most of them are
slaves to forces which they cannot control and which affect their lives in ways
they cannot even conceive. Miss Halliwell’s case exemplifies this. She is an
innocent victim of the Great Famine of the previous century. She was not even born,
and her life was already been doomed by its effects. Moreover, and as a
consequence of this, she became desperate and fell for a boy who destroyed her
last hope of being loved. Therefore, Miss Halliwell became embittered to the
point of suggesting that Marianne had an abortion. She was unable to accept the
fact that Willie had fallen in love with somebody other than herself. Thus, Ms.
Halliwell was a fool of fortune, prisoner to both historical forces and to her
own designs.
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