Characterization of Muriel and Sybil

Along with Seymour Glass, we recommend that you also focus on Muriel and Sybil as they are relevant and well-developed characters of “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” by J. D. Salinger.

Muriel Glass

Muriel’s outer characterization presents her as the wife of Seymour Glass, a World War II veteran. Although we do not know her age we can assume that she is still quite young, as she is often called in the short story “the girl”. We also know that she smokes and she is concerned about her looks.

Inner characterization

Her inner characterization is revealed indirectly through her gestures, preoccupations, and attitude during the phone conversation with her mother.

The fact that she is called “the girl” does not only hint at her age but also at her attitude; she acts in a self-interested manner and her parents still treat her like a child, although she has been married to Seymour since before the war.

Her initial attitude suggests that she is very concerned with appearances and material things:

She read an article in a women’s pocket-size magazine, called "Sex Is Fun - or Hell." She washed her comb and brush. She took the spot out of the skirt of her beige suit. She moved the button on her Saks blouse. She tweezed out two freshly surfaced hairs in her mole. When the operator finally rang her room, she was sitting on the window seat and had almost finished putting lacquer on the nails of her left hand.

The fact that she does not bother to answer the phone immediately, but would rather finish her nail polishing, only further suggests that she is firstly concerned with herself and her comfort, and she believes other people will wait for her: “She was a girl who for a ringing phone dropped exactly nothing. She looked as if her phone had been ringing continually ever since she had reached puberty.”

From her conversation with her mother, we find out that she is rather bothered by her mother’s concerns, and that she treats her with a superior attitude: “"Mother, darling, don’t yell at me. I can hear you beautifully," said the girl. I called you twice last night. Once just after - -."”

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Sybil Carpenter

Sybil Carpenter is a secondary episodic character in the short story, yet she is very symbolic. Her name alludes to Greek mythology: sybils are beings that could foresee the future. This reference suggests that, just like Seymour, she isn’t understood by those around her, but she is able to understand Seymour (she sees the imaginary fish he sees).

Her outer characterization informs us that she is on holiday with her mother and that her father is also soon to arrive there. She is probably around four-years-old as she is “wearing a canary-yellow two-piece bathing suit, one piece of which she would not actually be needing for another nine or ten years.”. Also, she has “blond hair”.

Inner characterization

The girl’s inner characterization surfaces in relation to her mother and Seymour. Her mother calls her “pussycat” but does not seem to understand Sybil or have enough patience with the girl: “"Pussycat, stop saying that. It’s driving Mommy absolutely crazy. Hold still, please."”

Also, in the relationship with her mother, the girl is depicted as “sitting insecurely on a huge, inflated beach ball”.

When her mother leaves her alone on the beach, Sybil has no problem with standing off in search for Seymour, suggesting she, like many children, has a sense of freedom and lack of fear.

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