Rose

Rose is not given much outer characterization in the story “A Way of Talking” by Patricia Grace. We can guess that she is a young woman, because she goes to university in Auckland. She is younger than her sister, who is getting married, although we do not  know by how much. Her father calls her fat at one point (l. 145), but since this is in the context of the entire family making light-hearted jokes about themselves and each other, it cannot be taken seriously.

Rose is one of the main characters in the story, and her inner characterization is revealed through her words and reactions to events, as well as by her sister Hera’s memories and thoughts about her. 

It is from Hera’s flashbacks that we learn that Rose has always been outspoken: “I remembered back to when we were both little and Rose used to play up at school if she didn’t like the teacher.” (ll. 103-104). The girls were taught by their mother that acting “smart” and speaking out was against common-sense: “I’m older than Rose but she’s the one that speaks out when something doesn’t please her. Mum used to say, ‘Rohe, you’ve got the brain...