The Virgin in the Garden

Bill Potter who is a reputed magic teacher, but is seen as a dogmatic liberal, who at all times terrorizes his family in the process of promoting his views on education as his favorite, and religion which he tends to be against. His wife Winfred, defer and caters, of what is necessary, and she has become in real sense the form of a woman he deplores and, and whose life and her daughters (Frederica and Stephanie) seek to escape, (Byatt, 1978).

Frederica is Frederica Potter, who is the middle child of an eccentric and difficult schoolmaster. Her family is from Yorkshire. Frederica is literary sharp and highly talkative, awkward characters for a girl in 1950s. However, her young brother Marcus is a math genius with severe mystic propensities the torment him. This is on the basis that he is inner-directed, and even spiritual, awkward with around everybody, he appears to be the observant of the world phenomenon. This always makes him the prey for disturbed teacher of science. Marcus is the youngest and the favorite of his mother. The rest of the family looks at the world in the angel of poetry, politics and science. On the other hand Marcus pictures a physical environment of numbers and geometry. Stephanie, who is the older sister, is a scholar who is gifted. In spite of brilliant career at Cambridge University, she has chosen the comfort of a good marriage and beloved children. As an effect, she feels her own identity is muffled, (Byatt, 1978).

Federica Potter is a creation that is marvelous; freakishly intelligent and hardened to unpopularity at school. She has the capability of combining an overwhelming confidence in her own class capacities with late adolescent gawkiness. This tends to be a very winning combination that the reader gets from Frederica Potter. The two scenes concerns Federica's usual attempts to lose her virginity whilst staring in a verse drama about the virgin Queen, that is being put on for the coronation of the Elizabeth the second. According to these scenes, I could not call Federica a heroine, in real sense, her traits are all true in life, has a mixture of both good and bad, that the heroism notion is not appropriate. She is tough and able to withstand her father, fierce and full of energy. Stephanie has been shown to be an atheist; the Christian kindness is fully in her. She chooses marriage and domesticity over her academic career, (Byatt, 1978).

In the book, The Virgin in the Garden, the father-mother relation is the defining factor of parental role in life. Father is naturally supportive responsible and protective and usually provide many things to himself, his communities and children. Increased father-child relationship increases children's social skills, education achievement and even having a solid marriage as adults. Father is also seen as the figure of authority. The mother's role is important. What mothers give to children and the extent she gives relays on what she is receiving from her husband? If she receives support, peace and joy from that relationship, then she will pass the same to children. If she receives only frustrations, false expectations and empty promises, she will pass on the same.

The sibling relations provide vital context for development for the development of a child understands of their emotional, social, cognitive and moral world. Siblings play a vital role in the development child's understanding of the minds of others, namely; thoughts, emotions, beliefs and intentions. These understanding are revealed during pretend play, teasing, conflict resolution among others. Sibling relations are identified by geographical and biological criteria and are less significant than the spouse or parent-child relations, (Byatt, 1978).