About Gwendolen
Gwendolen’s a tricky one. She’s not evil, exactly, because she’s been told all her life that she’s exceptional, and who is she to argue with the people who ought to know? As someone insanely gifted and magical, it’s no surprise that Gwendolen exerts all possible efforts to expand her knowledge and further herself in her chosen field. She’s charming, she’s charismatic, and she’s absolutely determined to get her way. There’s nothing inherently wrong with her ambition; the problem is more with the fact that she does not appear to have any qualms whatsoever about using everyone and everything around her, even at the cost of their lives.
Gwendolen begins the story by being very attentive and motherly toward Cat--but there is a definite question of whether she actually feels anything for him, or is just trying to look good so that the Mayor, who is looking after the recently-orphaned kids, will let Gwendolen decide where they ought to live and what they ought to do. She manipulates the people around her perfectly: first the Mayor, whom she gets to let Cat and her live with Mrs. Sharp; then Mrs. Sharp, whose contacts she uses to be set up with magic lessons from Mr. Nostrum. Ironically, Gwendolen’s coup de grace is actually writing to Chrestomanci and "convincing" him to let Cat and her live at the Castle; as we learn later, Chrestomanci had planned this all along, and not for the reasons Gwendolen might have hoped. In any event, the move to the Castle pleases Gwendolen to no end, as she’s confident it will lead to all sorts of fame and fortune for her.
But Chrestomanci puts a huge damper on Gwendolen’s plans: he refuses to have her learn magic, and seems completely uninterested in her talents. Furious, Gwendolen comes up with a long list of schemes to gain Chrestomanci’s attention and admiration--all of which fail to do anything more than annoy him and, ultimately, force him to have the children’s tutor, Michael Saunders, remove Gwendolen’s magic entirely.
About Jumping Worlds
At this point Gwendolen gets so fed up with her treatment that she is forced to do what any petulant child would: completely remove herself from this world and go to one where she can be treated like the queen she is. It is a tribute to Gwendolen’s total self-involvement that she doesn’t give a hoot about the other "Gwendolens," or versions of herself in other worlds, who will all be displaced by her world-romping. All that matters is that Gwendolen gets the appreciation and power she is due.
So Gwendolen disappears for a good third of the book, presumably living it up in her new world as queen, only returning to the world of her birth just before the climax to help the other hedge wizarding folk put Chrestomanci out of power. And in the end, realizing that her plans have all gone to waste, Gwendolen seals herself in her queen world, permanently displacing the other "Gwendolens."
About Gwendolen and Cat
Does Gwendolen care about Cat at all? I find it hard to believe she has absolutely no feeling for him, particularly as he’s her only living immediate relative; however, if she does care about him at all, she has a horrible way of showing it. For Cat’s entire life, Gwendolen has used him and his powers to her own end and without his permission. She is the direct cause for three of his deaths. She even ends up selling him as a sacrifice for the other hedge wizards to use against Chrestomanci. What kind of sister does that to her brother?!
Gwendolen is a huge reason Charmed Life ends up coming across as a rather dark story. That a little girl could so completely and cruelly use the people around her--not just as a petulant child, but as a powerful, life-threatening witch--is pretty darn scary. It’s easy to be frustrated with Cat for letting Gwendolen use him so completely, but it’s also hard to entirely hate Gwendolen; after all, she’s only trying to make her way in the world, never mind that she’s doing it in all the wrong ways. That Gwendolen’s fate is so up in the air at the end of the story is very intriguing to me and yet another reason I hope Jones writes more about the post-Charmed Life world.
About Gwendolen's Pranks
The things that Gwendolen does to get Chrestomanci’s attention and admiration are quite rude and even a bit mean, but they are also clever, and therefore ought to be given their due. Here’s a list, in chronological order, of all the havoc Gwendolen wreaks on the Castle and its inhabitants:
1. ruins Castle grounds with mole holes
2. calls revenant apparition during dinner
3. timed blackouts twice every half hour
4. charms bread to turn into things
5. charms milk to taste horrible
6. turns Julia’s dress to snakes
7. brings church stained glass windows to life during sermon
8. surrounds Castle with all the trees in the area
9. lets cows loose to trample flower beds
10. enchants bugs and other nasties to invade dinner party
11. same party: calls up Cat’s used lives as apparitions
I’m particularly fond of the stained glass window prank myself, mostly because I when I was younger I spent some time trying to live through boring sermons and wishing something so exciting would happen at church. ^^;;
About Gwendolen's World
Here’s a horrible (yet intriguing) thought which occurred to me after reading The Lives of Christopher Chant: What if the world Gwendolen seals herself into is actually the world Milly comes from, where she was once the Goddess? That would mean that Gwendolen will certainly be decked out in gold and worshipped and obeyed--until she grows up, and is consequently killed to make room for the next Goddess. I’m not at all sure that’s what Jones was going for, but it certainly makes for some interesting ruminations on Gwendolen’s future….
