Sybylla Melyvn is a familiar character in the literature, films, and television shows about adolescence: She is hyper-sensitive yet honest to the point of rudeness. She is also rebellious, unhappy with anything but unlimited horizons, and uneasy with any attempts to control or contain her fiercely independent spirit. Certain that she is special and destined for an extraordinary life, Sybylla is nevertheless profoundly discontented with who she is and how others see her.

Sybylla is a character easy to dislike—and Franklin understands that. The character reveals an insufferable ego, much like any adolescent: “I am afflicted with the power of thought, which is a heavy curse” (77). This is the story of the maturation of an artist and writer. What defines Sybylla’s character and puts her egotism into relief is the novel’s frame. The story is told by Sybylla looking back on her tempestuous and emotional adolescence and trying to stay honest to that naïve and adolescent tone in the writing.

Thus, Sybylla can seem dramatic as she moves emotionally toward the novel’s closing epiphany. She is determined she will find in writing the contentment and emotional depth she does not find in her life.