Mrs. Hayward is portrayed as a contrasting character by Frayn in the book. This enigmatic lady is shown to be founded in the fractured memories of another actor, Stephen so that she can represent both a laughing and beautiful character as well as a broken woman character. Stephen, on the other hand, is a character who believes everything Keith says: "He was the king, and I was the led." Stephen and Mrs. Hayward's relationship is based on a contradictory incident. Mrs. Hayward continues to mature less as the book progresses, while Stephen appears to mature further. Changing relationship between Stephen and Mrs. Hayward is built around a contradicting event. Mrs. Hayward appears to become less mature while Stephen matures through the novel.
Changing relationship between Stephen and Mrs. Hayward is based on Stephen’s understanding of events.
At the beginning, Frayn portrays a relationship where Stephen adores and idolizes Mrs. Hayward. The aspect of “laughing and “weeping shows the reader how Mrs. Howard as a character awakens the feeling of shame as well as happiness in Stephen considering her respective actions and emotions. According to the way the author portrays it, Mrs. Hayward can be described as a fragmented character who to the audience seems incomplete due to a series of present memories, making her action, and subsequent responses of Stephen appear to be of the present tense and yet continual. She arouses the emotional response in Stephen regardless of the amount of time that has passed. This relationship as portrayed by the author depends on what Stephen understands.
Stephen relationship with Mrs. Hayward is based on uncertainty. This again takes us back to what Stephen knows. Stephen’s best friend, who also happens to be Mrs. Hayward’s son believes that her mother is a German spy. Stephen is also convinced about this and the only reason that the reader knows it is because Frayn brings us to Stephen’s mind and reveals to us his deepest feeling. Stephen didn’t even ask how Keith came about this information (Frayn, pg. 16). He only embarked on spying on her so that he can prove it. When she realizes that the boys are following her moves, she points an imaginary gun at them. It only triggered his anxiety and believed they were men enough considering his words “as if we were children”. It shows that relationship kept on deepening since he wanted to know more about Mrs. Hayward. This relationship clearly relates to what Stephen understands about Mrs. Hayward.
In a different event, Frayn depicts a change in the relationship when events unfold. It is clearly seen that she tries to distance herself from the children so that he can be above them and protect her secret. However, when the truth starts to come out, Mrs. Hayward addresses Stephen completely differently from the way he used to address him before. She does not distance herself from him anymore but talks to him directly with an aim of preventing him from spilling the beans. “Do you see I’m putting you on your honor” “Let’s pretend all this never happened” “You won’t tell anyone will you?” This creates a new relationship between them when since she has to act like a child so as to manipulate Stephen to guard her dark secret. The relationship again depends on what Stephen knows.
In conclusion, it is clear that the changing relationship between Stephen and Mrs. Hayward depends entirely on what Stephen knows. To some extent, the relationship is influenced by the way Mrs. Howard behaves in accordance to the prevailing events. The author portrays all these events that change their relationship in a way that clearly shows these character’s significance in the novel.
Work Cited
Frayn, Michael. Spies: With IGCSE and A Level study guide. Faber & Faber, 2017.
We will email this sample to you with pleasure!
Type your email