Character Interview
Valerie Anthrope from the novel The Fall of the Misanthrope: I bitch
therefore I am
Welcome, Valerie. How are you
today?
I’m here aren’t I? *Looks at watch* Can we get on with it. I haven’t
all day.
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Er, sure. Tell us about
yourself? Where were you born/grew up? Your background?
I’m twenty-six and I was born in North Finchley in London. I grew up
there too. I lived with my parents and brother until—
Until?
Until things started to go wrong. Oh, I suppose I should tell you. They
say it’s therapeutic talking about ones problems, don’t they? I was eight years
old, and Mum had always been neurotic, guess that’s where I get it from, and
when I was eight she had a baby. All was fine until we went to that funfair and
I met a witch *embarrassed cough*. Oh, I know she wasn’t a witch now, but tell that to an eight year old
kid.
Go on.
The witch told me that everyone I loved would die. I’d have forgotten
about it in time, I suppose, only that night Sean, my brother, died. My mum, as
I’d said, was already over-anxious and became obsessed with my heath after his
death. Dad had withdrawn, so I felt I was on my own. Imagine having your health
analysed all the time and vitamin tables wrapped up so they looked like sweet,
and then not being about to discuss it with anyone. That’s what it was like. But,
anyway, she committed suicide when I was sixteen, so—
