Felicity Worthington
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Felicity Mildrade "Fee" Worthington (born c. 1879) is one of the main characters in Libba Bray's novels A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing.
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[edit] Appearance
Felicity, though not as beautiful as Pippa, is considered "sexy". She has small, grey eyes, set "in a face so pale it's almost the color of an opal," and white-blonde hair (which is also, at times, described as "golden").
[edit] Childhood
Felicity, though very rich, had a miserable childhood. Her father molested her, and Lady Worthington, Felicity's mother, largely ignored both this and everything else relating to her daughter. Admiral Worthington convinced his daughter, then a very small girl, that the molestation was her fault, not his, and that she "bring[s] it out in him". In Rebel Angels, Felicity defends her father's actions, telling her friend Gemma that "he didn't mean it".
While Felicity was still quite young, just after a family holiday to Scotland, Lady Worthington left her husband and daughter and eloped to France with an artist, where Lady Worthington scandelously ran an artist's salon. Felicity is forced to hide her mother's infidelity and abandonment; it cannot be known that Lady Worthington is a "whore".
[edit] Strength
One of Felicity's defining characteristics is her strength, both physical and emotional. However, any reminder of "weakness" she has shown in the past (i.e. her father's molestaion) causes her to become enraged or depressed, or both. She is constantly trying to strengthen herself, and gives her greatest desire as "to be too powerful to ignore."
Felicity's personality bears a strong resemblance to Gemma's mother's friend Sarah. Unfortunately, Sarah went mad when she felt that she was losing the power of the realms and became Circe. Sarah showed signs of paranoia and jealosy of Gemma's mother Mary, both of which Felicity has occasionally shown of Gemma, though she was quick to hide it (Gemma can enter the realms on her own, but Felicity can only go if Gemma takes her, a fact she resents; she hates being dependent on anyone). Finally, Felicty's act of ruthlessly hunting and sacrificing a deer to gain access to the realms parallels Sarah's sacrifice of a Gypsy child; the parallel is heightened by the respective narrators' (Gemma and Mary) feelings of anxiety and foreboding. It could be that Felicity's need to be strong will cause her to betray Gemma as Sarah betrayed Mary.
[edit] Name
Felicity's first name means "happy"[1]. Her surname, Worthington, is Anglo-Saxon; it means "from the river's side"[2]. This makes sense, as Felicity claims that her middle name, Mildrade, is "an old family name" that "can be traced all the way back to the Saxons". Mildrade is probably a form of the Old English name Mildred, which means "gentle and strong."[3]
In Rebel Angels, Felicity, Ann, and Gemma make anagrams of their names. Felicity's is Maleficent Oddity Ralingworth. This name is declared "perfect" for Felicity-- for, as Gemma says, it is "evil and odd". Before trying to make an anagram with Felicity's middle name included, the best that Ann could find was City Worth Gin If Leno and Wont Left in City Groh, neither of which would work as names.
[edit] Education
Felicity has attened Spence Academy ever since she was a young girl. At Spence, girls learn few subjects that will be useful to them, as fine ladies who needn't work for a living. Amongst other things, students study singing and ballroom dancing. Felicity is not especially good at either subject. She has proven proficient in French, however; in Chapter Nine of A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma remarks that Felicity's French is "absolutely flawless".
In the Realms, Felicity studies archery under a lone, Artemis-like huntress. While not initially perfect, Felicity, determined to be powerful, soon improves. In Rebel Angels, a new teacher, Miss McCleethy, introduces archery to the students; Felicity, of course, is the best of the girls. Felicity claims that this is "because [she expects] to win".
[edit] Friends and Family
- Sir George Phineas Worthington, Felicity's father, is an honored admiral under Queen Victoria and "naval hero". He sexually molested his only child, Felicity, while she was young; Felicity has never told anyone, and her own mother turned a blind eye. Consequently, Admiral Worthington is still one of the most well-respected men in the British Empire, and one whom "half the English-speaking world has heard of".
- Lady Worthington, Felicity's mother, "left [her husband] for an artist. She ran away to France to be with him". For this, Lady Worthington is branded "a courtesan and a consort," and not received in the best society houses. There seems to be little love lost between Felicity and her mother. Felicity resents her mother for her emotional and physical abandonment, and Lady Worthington, in turn, can not "even be bothered" to send Felicity anything, for her birthday.
- Little Polly, the daughter of Admiral Worthington's late cousin Bea, is Admiral Worthington's ward. After Bea died of consumption, Polly's father signed his daughter's guardianship over to Admiral Worthington, making Worthington "so happy". In Rebel Angels, Polly comes to live in London with the Worthingtons and a governess, Mrs Smalls. Polly is said to look like Felicity. Felicity realizes that Admiral Worthington means to molest Polly, as he did Felicity, and makes the small girl promise to "lock [her] door, every night" and to "keep Uncle out".
- Pippa Cross is Felicity's first and dearest friend at Spence. Felicity says that she "adore[s] Pippa. But she's very sheltered. There are things [that Felicity] could never tell her." After Pippa's death, in September of 1895, Felicity, Ann, and Gemma remained friends with Pippa, visiting her in the Realms. Pippa eventually is seduced by the thought that she will not have to cross over, and leave the Realms, however, and Pippa and Felicity part-- the former for the Winterlands and the latter for England.
- Gemma Doyle is Felicity's friend at Spence, whom she met in September of 1895, when Gemma came to Spence. Felicity and Gemma bonded after Gemma saved Felicity from being seen with Ithal.
- Ann Bradshaw is one of Felicity's friends at Spence. Fee initially disliked Ann, due to Ann's lack of money and charisma, but has since come to love her.
- The Honorable Simon Middleton "meant to court" Felicity, whom he had known his whole life. She refused him in 1894. As consequence, "he doesn't much care for" Felicity.
- Ithal, a young, handsome Gypsy who lived in the woods near Spence in September of 1895. Felicity, infatuated with breaking rules, sometimes would meet Ithal in the woods, kissing and flirting with him. She was not as in love with him as Ithal was with her, however, and later insulted and ignored him, causing Ithal to leave the Spence campus, dejected.
[edit] External links
- A Great and Terrible Beauty at IMDb
- Valor, the official fanlisting for Felicity
- Libba Bray's Official site
