Sylvia Wilkinson

Outer characterization

Sylvia is the main character in the short story "The Fly-Paper" by Elizabeth Taylor. Sylvia is physically described as “a plain child, plump, mature for her eleven years”, with greasy hair fastened back by a pink plastic slide (ll. 20-22). She wears a winter coat with cuffs and collar of fake fur, despite the summer weather, and a shabby handbag which once belonged to her mother (ll. 21-24). She also wears a cotton dress with a fake hem, which is too short for her (ll. 35-36). Sylvia goes to school, and every Wednesdays after classes, she goes to her piano lessons, taking the bus to the outskirts of the nearest town. We learn that her mother has died, probably recently (l. 20), and since only the grandmother is mentioned as her guardian, we can assume that her father is dead as well, or at least not in the picture.

Inner characterization

Sylvia is a docile, obedient child. She has been taught that raising her voice in objection is frowned upon in polite society, so she does not complain about the ...