Flora Poste Overview Flora Poste is the 19

Flora Poste

Overview Flora Poste is the 19 year old heroine of the novel. She parodies female characters such as Jane Austen’s Emma who was known for meddling in the affairs of other characters. Flora is from a wealthy background and Gibbons mocks her lack of social and financial independence early on in the novel. After her parents’ death, Flora firstly stays with her friend Mrs Smiling, before deciding to take up the offer of staying at Cold Comfort Farm with the Starkadders.

Overview 2 Flora finds the Farm a culture shock but soon settles into the matriarchal world by throwing herself into her ‘quest’ - to solve the problems she perceives to be troubling each character. When she has tackled each of these problems she moves onto the largest problem at the Farm: Aunt Ada Doom. Refusing to be beaten, Flora succeeds in her task and soon the Farm is unrecognisable. Her work now done, Flora receives her own happy ending when Charles ‘rescues’ her from the Farm and the two get married.

Flora’s Solutions The novel ends when Flora, with the aid of her handbook The Higher Common Sense, has solved each character's problem. These solutions are: ■Meriam: Flora introduces her to the concept of contraception. ■Seth: Flora introduces him to a Hollywood film director, Earl P. Neck, who hires him as a screen idol. ■Amos: Flora persuades him to buy a Ford van and become a travelling preacher. He loses interest in running the farm and hands it over to Reuben. ■Elfine: Flora teaches her some social graces and dress sense so that Richard Hawk-Monitor falls in love with her.

Flora’s Solutions ■ Judith: Flora hires a psychoanalyst, Dr Müdel, who, over lunch, transfers Judith's obsession from Seth to himself until he can set her interest on old churches instead. ■ Ada: Flora uses a copy of Vogue magazine to tempt her to join the 20 th century, and spend some of her fortune on living the high life in Paris. ■ Adam: is given a job as cow-herd at Hautcouture Hall. ■ Rueben: inherits the farm after Amos leaves to preach, and in the 1995 movie, gets together with Rennet. ■ Flora: marries Charles.

• • Flora’s Solutions Urk: forgets his desire for Elfine and marries Meriam. Mr Mybug: falls in love with and marries Rennet. Graceless, Aimless, Feckless, and Pointless: go with Adam to Hautcouture Hall Big Business: Flora lets him out into the sunlight.

Key Themes • Social Class • Friendship / Relationships / Marriage • Power/Influence • Gender • Family • Loneliness • Work

Key Quotes • • • ‘The education bestowed on Flora Poste by her parents had been expensive, athletic and prolonged. ’ (p 9) ‘My marriage, Mary, will be arranged into Heaven. ’ (p 14) ‘I cannot endure messes. ’ (p 19) ‘She had her way. ’ (p 50) ‘Robert Poste’s child. ’ (various page references) ‘…who was prepared to hear anything at Cold Comfort, even that all the family was kept in order by a domineering ghost. ’ (p 56)

• • • Key Quotes ‘If she intended to tidy up life at Cold Comfort, she would find herself opposed at every turn by the influence of Aunt Ada. ’ (p 57) ‘She will be taken in hand at once, ’ (p 61) ‘…a feeling of gloom which was as unusual as it was disagreeable. ’ (p 74) ‘She-woman. Young, soft-coloured, insolent. ’ (p 78) ‘I have not met my aunt yet, ’ (p 85) ‘She knew that intellectuals always made a great fuss about the titles of their books. ’ (p 104)

• • • Key Quotes ‘As for Flora, she was quite enjoying herself. She was mixed up in a good many plots. ’ (p 109) ‘Ay you. ’ She patiently dropped into Starkadder. ’ (p 118) ‘This was the first sign of humanity she had encountered among the Starkadders, and she was moved by it. She felt like stout Cortez…’ (p 120) ‘Flora was justly indignant, but concealed her nasty temper. ’ (p 125) ‘She stood there, idly waving the teapot, and trying to remember all she had ever read about the habits of bulls. ’ (p 138)

Key Quotes • • • ‘Flora knew that she did not look so beautiful as Elfine, but, then, she did not want to. She knew that she looked distinguished, elegant and interesting. She asked for nothing more. ’ (p 159) ‘Seth obeyed Flora without a word. ’ (p 185) ‘That would be delightful, ’ agreed Flora, thinking how nasty and boring it would be. ’ (p 190) ‘But Flora was not satisfied. ’ (p 198) ‘Goodnight, Cousin Flora. ‘Twere a good day for Cold Comfort when first ‘ee came here, ’ he said, looking down at her. ’ (p 211)

• • Key Quotes ‘Wreaths of cottage flowers, like chains of little gems, hung from the rafters. ’ (p 214) ‘And I really am rather tired. I would like to be fetched…if you could…’ (p 228) ‘It was purest happiness to see him. It was like meeting again a dearest friend whom one has loved for long years, and missed in silence. ’ (p 232) ‘Tomorrow would be a beautiful day. ’ (p 233)