Binchy's reviewers often refer to her books as "fairy tales" or "melodramas."

While these terms can have negative connotations (implying simplistic plots and stereotyped characters), the same reviewers often credit Binchy with holding a mirror up to human nature. Try to resolve this apparent contradiction between the belittled genres from which Binchy borrows and her best-selling status as you discuss Evening Class.

1. In an interview with Hibernia magazine, Binchy dismissed the fairytale nature of her stories by saying: "I don't have ugly ducklings turning into swans in my stories. I have ugly ducklings turning into confident ducks." How does she use the following characters to illustrate her principle? Are there other characters whose development follows this pattern?