Novel in which a character changes
“Consider the Lilies” by Iain Crichton Smith is set during the Highland Clearances, an important historical event in Scotland. This occurred at the turn of the 19th century, when thousands of people were evicted from their houses. Those who refused were put out by force and their houses were burned down. The land that was left was used for sheep farming. The story is centred around a woman called Mrs Scott, an old woman living in a Highland village, and follows the change in her personality, religion and the trust between her and the minister. This is shown through Crichton Smith’s effective use of characterisation and novel structure.
In the opening chapters, Mrs Scott is characterised as being very faithful to the church and dependant on it to survive:
“She also liked the silence of the church where she could sit as in a cool well and feel all her troubles and sorrows and tensions unravelling themselves leaving her quite clean and whole.”
This image shows how Mrs Scott uses the church to solve all her problems. Crichton Smith compares the church to a cool well which is relaxing and cleansing. This shows that Mrs Scott goes to church to relax and feels when she goes there that it cleans her soul. Crichton Smith continues this idea as he says Mrs Scott wouldn’t know what to do if there was no church, which shows that she needs it for survival.
However, Mrs Scott is told she is going to lose the church and her house when she receives a visitor called Patrick Sellar who was sent by the Duke of Sutherland:
“’I came to tell you that you’ll have to leave the house.’//Of course the words made no sense. What should she leave the house for?”
This shows that Mrs Scott is very naïve about the fact that she will have to leave her house and doesn’t believe it at first. Crichton Smith uses a rhetorical question to show that Mrs Scott doesn’t understand why she should leave her house. This portrays her as very stubborn and she immediately says the man is not talking sense. This brings up the theme of the Highland Clearances, which is why Mrs Scott is being evicted, which shows how Crichton Smith is using this one example to show what happened to everyone who was evicted from their homes.
After Mrs Scott is told she is to be evicted, she goes to the minister to seek help and guidance. However, Crichton Smith shows how she begins to question her religion when she does not receive the advice she sought:
“Leaving the manse she felt completely desolate. She heard the door shut behind her. The heady scent of the flowers was in her nostrils like an obscene perfume.”
This shows that now she has left the ministers house, she feels alone and betrayed. This is because the minister agreed with Patrick Sellar that the people should be put out of their houses. The door shutting behind her symbolizes that has been rejected by the minister and has now been left on her own again. Crichton Smith shows how she can’t stand being around the minister’s house as he says that she hates the smell of his flowers. This shows that she no longer trusts or likes the minister like she used to and doesn’t want to have anything to do with him, which signifies a change beginning in Mrs Scott.
Soon after Mrs Scott’s meeting with the minister, Crichton Smith continues to show a change in Mrs Scott when she arrives in Donald Macleod’s house after being injured:
“’That’s a Highlander, isn’t it?’//’Answer Mrs Scott Norman.’//’Yes, it’s a Highlander Mrs Scott.’//’Yes, my husband used to have a uniform like that. It’s very pretty.’”
This shows Mrs Scott is interacting with Donald Macleod’s children. She used to dislike Donald because he is an atheist, but now her opinions have changed. Before her own son, Iain, left she never had proper conversations with him and only ever told him what was right or wrong. However, here she is conversing with Donald’s children and encouraging their creativity, which she never did with Iain. This shows that the way Mrs Scott interacts with people has now changed.
During Mrs Scott’s time at Mr Macleod’s house, she writes a letter to her own son in Canada. Crichton Smith shows a complete change in Mrs Scott as she has turned her back on religion:
“Not a word about God in it from beginning to end, not a word about ministers.”
This shows Mrs Scott no longer has faith in the church or the minister and has stopped enforcing it on her son. She now also doesn’t judge Donald Macleod as he is not religious, but trusts him as he also disagrees to them being evicted. This again highlights the change in Mrs Scott as in the beginning she used to trust the minister whereas now she trusts Donald. Crichton Smith also goes on to show how Mrs Scott appreciates things more as when she is given food by Mrs Macleod, she enjoys the taste of it and says it’s the best food she had ever tasted. This shows that she is now living life for pleasure and enjoying it, rather than living it purely for religion.
In conclusion, Crichton Smith effectively portrays a change in Mrs Scott throughout the novel and shows the effects that the Highland Clearances had on communities. At the beginning of the novel Mrs Scott is characterised as being very religious and dependant on the church. When she is told she is going to be put out of her house, she is very stubborn and refuses to believe it, but trusts that the minister will help her. After she meets the minister however, she loses faith in him as he doesn’t give her the help she wanted. Instead, she finds help from Donald Macleod, a person whom she used to dislike as he is an atheist. At the end of the novel, Mrs Scott has changed completely and has lost her faith in the church. She now interacts with people, especially children, and appreciates things more. The overall message of the story is don’t place false trust in people or religions as you might be abandoned when you need help most.