Silent Characters

I've always been intrigued by the role of silent characters in novels. That's why I decided to put one in my novel, in the form of Alan Bell's former girlfriend, Louise. She appears again in silent form in the prequel to 'Beneath the Perfect World' which I'm currently writing. Although you hardly see them in their own right, they strongly influence the main plot; they mainly appear in the flashbacks, memories or thoughts of the main characters. They are like an omnipotent force driving the story line. Eva Smith in 'An Inspector Calls' changes the whole political outlook of the younger characters in the play. Fanny Robin in 'Far From the Madding Crowd' does more harm dead,despite being pathetic when she's alive. She determines the fate of Bathsheba and Francis Troy. She has the trait of someone who will inherit the earth. She's meek. Hardy's religious statements are embedded in her role and it's interesting how, rather than damn a sinner, like he does in his other novels, he gives her power in the afterlife. In all three texts, the silent character is dead. Each one testifies to the old saying, 'You can't fight a ghost.'