Frederick Fairlie Character Analysis

By Stephen Bray

Whilst Frederick Fairlie, the Squire of Limmeridge presents as a most disagreeable character today we would say that he suffers with an 'Avoidant Personality Disorder', (APD). The evidence for this is clear. In his 'witness statement' he says:

"Why ~ I ask everyone ~ why worry me? Nobody answers that question, and nobody lets me alone. Relatives, friends, and strangers all combine to annoy me. What have I done? I ask myself. I ask my servant, Louis, fifty times a day ~ what have I done? Neither of us can tell. Most extraordinary!"

DSMIV, (A Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published by the American Psychiatric Association), the standard guide for psychiatrists and other therapists, describes APD thus:

"A pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy & hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood & present ín a variety of contexts, as indicated by 4 (or more) of the following:

1. avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact because of fears of criticism, disapproval or rejection
2. ís unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked
3. shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed
4. ís preoccupied with being criticized or rejected ín social situations
5. ís inhibited ín new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy
6. views self as socially inept, personally unappealing or inferior to others
7. ís unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage ín any new activities because they may prove embarrassing"
     
   Squire Fairlie meets most, if not all, of these traits.

• He avoids all contact with others, with the exception of a servant Louis with whom his relationship is strictly boundaried since firstly, he is a servant, and secondly, he is not a native of England, and therefore its customs and language.
• His sole public involvement, that we know of, if the display of photographs of the works of art in his possession, which are prominently marked with his name, and credentials in an attempt to guarantee approval.
• He is unable to 'recognise' Laura Fairlie after her incarceration in the asylum either:
• a) because he fears being seen as wrong and will be shamed or ridiculed, or
  b) because in fact she really is Anne Catherick, (see the critique).
• He avoids all social situations, eschewing his neighbours on the basis of their being reactionaries, and seldom meeting with tenants or servants other than Louis.
• He writes: "Shattered by my miserable health and family troubles, I am incapable of resistance. If you insist, you take your unjust advantage over me, and I give way immediately . . . and what I can't remember I can't write."
• When he is visited by Count Fosco who asks that he write inviting Laura to return to Limmeridge he does so, in the knowledge that Laura Fairlie will not leave Blackwater Park whilst Marian Halcombe is lying there ill. In short he assesses the risk to his solitude, and is only willing to take action when satisfied that he won't be disturbed.

<< Previous    [1]  2    Next >>