Vera

Outer characterisation

Vera is the main character of "Some Are Born to Sweet Delight" and is a seventeen-year-old girl who works as a filing clerk at an important firm. We get the feeling she has been quite rebellious when it comes to hair and clothes. For example. she used to have pink strands in her hair before starting work at the firm. When she goes out to the pub at night she wears “T-shirts with spangled graffiti across her breasts”. Throughout the text, she wears flowered Bermudas and a flowered jumpsuit.

It is suggested that Vera is British and lives in the United Kingdom. This is implied by her wish to “travel to the Continent, America – anywhere”, suggesting that she is not American and lives outside of mainland Europe. The “No Irish” policy of the house also clearly shows that she is not Irish, and historically the English have displayed feelings of suspicion towards the Irish.

Inner characterisation

At the beginning of the story, Vera adopts a behaviour which shows hints of xenophobia, or an irrational prejudice against foreigners. When she comes home drunk, she does not want to receive Rad’s help. She feels like “she mustn’t go a step nearer”, and she rejects Rad, telling him to go away and to get out. She makes a clear distinction between Rad and his kind and “one of her own crowd”. This distinction happens often throughout the text, as Vera differentiates between his kind and her kind. Furthermore, she compares foreigners to “a caged an...