Characterisation of other characters

Here, we will characterise Angie and Eddie's mother from “Monster under the Bed” by Lezanne Clannachan. Although Eddie’s mother is absent from the action she is very relevant to the plot and the way Eddie relates to her.

Angie

Angie is an active character in the short story, presented from Eddie’s point of view. From her outer characterisation, we find that she has two children and that she sells insurances for a living (ll. 91-93). Her physical portrait is also conveyed and suggests that she is not a typical mother; she is concerned with looking young: “She laughs at his bad joke, the light catching a diamond piercing above her lip. She’s wearing a lot of make-up. Trying to look younger than she is.” (ll. 31-32)

Inner characterisation

Angie’s inner characterisation is conveyed through her attitude and what she says to Eddie. She is the first one to interact with Eddie which suggests that she is a sociable, friendly person, and she has a sense of humour: “She smiles as she sits down. ‘This is my bench, you know.’” (l. 29).

However, at the end of the story we find out that she decided to approach Eddie because he reminded her of her brother who ran away from home (but returned): “ ‘The thing is, Eddie, when I saw you sitting there, you looked just like my little brother.’ ” (ll. 148-149)

From her conversation with Eddie, we can infer that Angie is a curious person (she wants to find out more about Eddie), and that she feels her children do not appreciate her enough:

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The mother

The mother is absent from the action in the short story, and only appears in Eddie’s thoughts, memories or statements. Consequently, she is only presented from her son’s perspective.

Her outer characterisation reveals that her husband left her and she lives with her son Eddie. The reason her husband left her is that the woman suffers from agoraphobia (the fear of going outside).

Inner characterisation

Her illness is what influences her inner characterisation. The fact that she liked a particular type of pastry from a London Bakery suggests that she lived in London before. Also, she was probably a good mother before her illness: “He shakes her hand with a firm grip to show strength of character. It’s manners not money that matter, his mum liked to say when he was little.” (ll. 44-45)

According to Eddie, she began to change when he was 11 years old. She stopped going out to town and eventually even outside the house:

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