In “The Thing in the Forest” by A.S. Byatt, Penny is a little girl who is sent away from her hometown during the war. During her childhood, Penny was always alone. Her father “died in a sheet of flame” and after that, her already neglectful mother “embraced grief, closed her face and her curtains” (Byatt 308). Penny needed a friend, but mostly she needed someone that understood what she was going through and someone that would be a more positive outlook on it all. When Penny was taken from her home to go to the mansion she made up Primrose in her mind. Primrose was the positive side of Penny that was shown to everyone instead of letting people see how much she was affected from her childhood. Primrose might have only been part of Penny’s imagination but she impacted Penny’s life more than anyone else did or ever would.
When Penny went into the forest and Alys wanted to come, Penny told her no and that “It’s for your own good” (Byatt 306) because she knew the …show more content…
By working with “the abused, the displaced, and the disturbed” (Byatt 308), she was always focused on others and their issues in life. As a child Penny was abused, her mother neglected her when she “closed her face and her curtains” (Byatt 308). She was displaced, she was moved from homes during the war and lost who she really was. And she was disturbed, she was traumatized from seeing the thing. She was disturbed throughout her entire life because she felt trapped, “I cannot get out, this is a real thing in a real place” (Byatt 308). Therefore, working with children like herself was a way of holding onto her own childhood. Penny could not let go of her childhood until she knew if she truly saw the thing or not. “I remember all of it, there isn’t a bit of it I can manage to forget” (Byatt 310). By constantly remembering the thing Penny cannot let go of her childhood and move on with the rest of her
When Penny went into the forest and Alys wanted to come, Penny told her no and that “It’s for your own good” (Byatt 306) because she knew the …show more content…
By working with “the abused, the displaced, and the disturbed” (Byatt 308), she was always focused on others and their issues in life. As a child Penny was abused, her mother neglected her when she “closed her face and her curtains” (Byatt 308). She was displaced, she was moved from homes during the war and lost who she really was. And she was disturbed, she was traumatized from seeing the thing. She was disturbed throughout her entire life because she felt trapped, “I cannot get out, this is a real thing in a real place” (Byatt 308). Therefore, working with children like herself was a way of holding onto her own childhood. Penny could not let go of her childhood until she knew if she truly saw the thing or not. “I remember all of it, there isn’t a bit of it I can manage to forget” (Byatt 310). By constantly remembering the thing Penny cannot let go of her childhood and move on with the rest of her