Characters

There are two main characters in the short story “Buttony” by Fiona McFarlane: Miss Lewis, the teacher, and Joseph, her favourite pupil who is also loved by all his classmates.

Miss Lewis' fascination with Joseph revolves almost entirely around his physical beauty. She sees his beauty and ignores that he, like all the other children, can misbehave. She seems to consider Joseph incapable of the negative actions of an adult.

The short story also includes the other children in the class, who form a collective character. They are mostly mentioned as a group, but sometimes mentioned by individual names. However, they act primarily as the background to the main characters’ relationship dynamic.

You can find Miss Lewis' and Joseph's characterisations in the following pages.