preview

Rosemary Character Analysis

Decent Essays
Open Document

It’s quite clear that Lily grew up to be disciplined and methodical in her ways, however Rosemary was the complete opposite – she was much more of a “free spirit”. Lily birthed her with the help of a midwife called Granny Combs who said that Rosemary “will have a long life, and it will be eventful”. When asked if she would be happy, Granny Combs responded “I see a wanderer”. This prediction came to be true in Rosemary’s adult life when she married her husband.
Rosemary would much rather have her mother teach her at home on the ranch than go to boarding school. Jim and Lily had enrolled her in a Catholic girls’ school in Prescott when she was nine years old. However she didn’t share her mother’s love of education and stood out chiamongst the other girls at the school. Rosemary “played with her pocketknife, yodeled in the choir, peed in the yard, and caught scorpions she kept in a jar under her bed”. She enjoyed dancing and piano classes much more than she did embroidery and etiquette. Lily would receive letters from her saying that she missed the ranch and all aspects of it – horses, cattle, range, stars at night, etc. Towards the end of her first year at the school, Lily received a letter from The Mother Superior saying that she did not think Rosemary was a …show more content…

Lily and Jim (against the wishes of Rosemary and Little Jim) decided to move the family to Phoenix. She was enrolled into a Catholic school a few blocks from the house, however, she only had an interest in art and not her actual studies. Lily reluctantly enrolled her in lessons with a French artist who really helped Rosemary paint “what she was feeling, not what was around her”. However, the family collectively never really liked city life like they did the ranch and once again moved to a smaller town called Horse Mesa which, including the Smith family, had a grand total of thirteen

Get Access