Recap
A character changes when their values, beliefs, understanding or conduct differ after the pressures of the plot, and the difference can be traced. A character remains unchanged when the same pressures leave them as they were. Change is not the same as events; it is not always improvement; and staying the same can be as meaningful as changing. Minor characters often remain unchanged because the narrative does not focus on them: they may advance the plot, interact with major characters, or throw a major character’s change into relief. Always link the change, or its absence, to the interpretation of the work as a whole. The full explanation, with worked examples from Macbeth and Pride and Prejudice, is in the study guide.
Key relationships
| Step | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | What are the early traits and values? | Lady Macbeth: “unsex me here”; “A little water clears us of this deed” |
| Pressure | What tests them? | Mounting killings; Macbeth’s withdrawal |
| Response | Same or different? | “What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” |
| Meaning | What does it show about values? | Conscience she tried to suppress persists |
| Whole | How does it affect the work? | The play argues that guilt survives will |
| Pattern | What it can suggest |
|---|---|
| Change as growth | The work values self-knowledge (Elizabeth, Darcy) |
| Change as reversal or collapse | The work warns about a belief (Lady Macbeth) |
| Stasis of a minor character | A fixed social type; a foil (Mr Collins) |
| Stasis of a major character | Tragic or satirical refusal to learn |
Conditions to remember
- You need a before and an after, both evidenced.
- A change may be partial or apparent; name which.
- Link every change to the work as a whole.
- Attribute values to the character from what they say and do, not from your opinion of them.
Mistakes to avoid
- Summarising events instead of tracing change.
- Assuming all major characters change, or all minor characters are unimportant.
- Calling any mood shift a change in character.
- Quoting one moment as proof of a change.
- Forgetting the “so what” for the whole work.
Quick self-check
- What is the difference between an event and a change?
- Why do minor characters often remain unchanged?
- Give the five steps of the method.
- What does the contrast between “A little water clears us” and “will these hands ne’er be clean?” show?
- What does Collins’s lack of change help Pride and Prejudice do?
Answers.
- An event happens to a character; a change is a traceable difference in values, beliefs or conduct.
- The narrative does not focus on them; they serve the plot, interact with major characters or highlight others.
- Baseline, pressure, response, meaning, whole.
- Lady Macbeth’s belief that guilt can be washed away is reversed; her conscience persists.
- It gives a fixed point against which Elizabeth’s growth and Charlotte’s choice are measured.
Next: the practice questions.