Beryl

Beryl is Linda Burnell’s sister and Stanley Burnell’s sister-in-law. In the morning, Beryl tends to Stanley Burnell’s needs, but when Stanley leaves for work, Beryl spends her day on the beach with her friends and fellow residents of Crescent Bay. To the other residents of Crescent Bay, Beryl is prudish and old fashioned. However, internally, she enjoys more modern tastes. Beryl has no romantic partner, but she secretly wants one. Regardless, she knows enough to ensure that she does not choose the wrong person.

The reader’s introduction to Beryl is a scene that demonstrates Beryl’s newfound opposition to her role as being subservient to males in her household. When Stanley Burnell tries the porridge Beryl made and claims that she forgot the sugar, Beryl nonchalantly “pushed the basin across to him,” but “even then Beryl didn’t help him” (15). This caused Stanley to...