![]() Sybylla however is a wilful girl, “utterly different” to other girls her age and instead of viewing him as a highly attractive partner, she leads him a merry dance. But she reckons without the wealthy young landowner Harry Beecham. Not that any man would want someone “so very plain” and “as ugly” as her, she reasons. ![]() Marriage to her is a degradation, a result of social laws arranged so that it’s “a woman’s only sphere” in which she would have to suppress her inherent nature. Nor does she envisage a life shackled in marriage. Sybylla believes she is destined for “a brilliant career”, one that will offer more than a life rearing cattle and sheep. ![]() Hers is a passionate nature, a force that will not be suppressed or controlled and in whom ambition is ablaze. The boldness of the girl’s look combined with her wild, unkempt appearance also perfectly matched the character of Miles Franklin’s protagonist, Sybylla Melvyn. ![]() Maybe I’m making far too much of this but I certainly found the image mesmerising. Other times it seemed more that she was asking me a question, inviting a response. At times it felt as if she was glaring at me, almost daring me to judge her behaviour and her attitudes. Every time I picked up my copy of My Brilliant Career, instead of delving straight into the narrative, I found myself simply staring at the cover image. ![]()
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