The Foundations of Fiction: Character Development Profile – Celeste Wright, “Big Little Lies”
As writers, part of our mandate is to develop strong, multidimensional characters. Studying traits of other characters can provide inspiration and ideas in the development of our own creations.
Today, we’re shining a light on Celeste Wright from “Big Little Lies,” by Liane Moriarty.
Name: Celeste Wright
Occupation: Non-practicing attorney, stay-at-home mom
Current Residence: Pirriwee Beach, a fictional Australian suburb.
Marital Status: Married
Allies: Madeline McKenzie, Jane Chapman
Enemies/Antagonists: Perry Wright (husband)
Children: Twin boys Max and Josh
Appearance: Madeline describes her as “tall, blond, beautiful and flustered,” Celeste is the kind of stunning woman who stops people in their tracks. However, Celeste seems wholly unaware of the effect her physical appearance has on others – in fact, she’s embarrassed by her looks. She never wears jewelry and is wholly “uninterested in clothes, skin care, shoes, perfume, jewelry, accessories . . . she keeps her long red-gold hair pulled back any-old-how.”
Like Jane, the much more stylish Madeline, “longed to grab her and play with her like she was one of Chloe’s Barbie dolls.”
Accent: Australian
Quotable Quotes:
Gabrielle: “I’ve personally witnessed her eating carbs like there’s no tomorrow, so don’t tell me there’s any justice in this world.”
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“Strangers gave Celeste the same furtive looks they gave to people with missing limbs.”
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“She couldn’t imagine Celeste running in a race. She’d probably run in the wrong direction, or not even notice the starter gun had gone off. She was always so distracted.”
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Overview: Beautiful, statuesque Celeste is much like her friend, Jane (and very unlike their friend, Madeleine) – quiet and unassuming. She’s married to the wealthy, charming, handsome, Perry and mother to twin boys conceived through in-vitro. She considers that she married up with Perry and likes being in the dark about their wealth. She grew up in a small family and was a tomboy.
She is often distracted and forgetful, lost in her own private world. The reason for Celeste’s absentmindedness is that she is preoccupied with her crumbling marriage and the domestic violence that dominates it.
Strengths: Celeste is a genuinely nice person. She loves to give exquisite and expensive gifts tailored to the recipient, for example giving Jane a healing crystal, sensing she needs it. She eats carbs, doesn’t exercise and hates waste. She always does her homework, as evidenced by dutifully reading the book and taking notes for Madeline’s new book club, wanting to be prepared. She’s dismayed and mortified to realize the book club is a cover for Happy Hour.
She always helps Madeline clean up the kitchen, leaving it nicer than when Madeline started. Celeste is exceedingly generous, particularly financially. She sponsors several children from Third World countries and unbeknownst to Abigail, stops the girl from auctioning off her virginity via a website in a misguided attempt to help victims of sex trafficking by posing as a donor and giving the girl far more money than she was asking for in exchange for shutting down her website.
She enjoys the puzzle of untangling a legal challenge and when Madeline’s shoes and dress are ruined at a local pool, she doesn’t hesitate to fire off an irate letter demanding the management make proper restitution to her friend.
Vulnerabilities/Tics/Quirks/Flaws: Celeste is skittish, jumpy, and distracted, perpetually off in fairyland. She’s embarrassed by any attention anyone pays to her, convinced it’s because she’s said or done something stupid. She constantly oversleeps, is always running late and is unable to keep her spirited boys to a schedule, as she can’t follow one herself. She terms herself a “lazy mother,” and gives into her boys because that seems easier than fighting with them. Jane observes that she’s never seen Celeste angry with either of her sons; rather, she seems, “startled by the existence of her children. . . “
Celeste’s greatest shame is the domestic violence of her marriage and how she remains hopelessly attracted to her “gorgeous,” charming husband despite his brutality against her. She observes “marriage and motherhood have made her a soft, spongy version of the girl she used to be,” but feels stuck because of her young twins, determining she will leave Perry when they turn eighteen. She feels undermined by her husband, as he frequently belittles her regarding her personal taste, the money she spends (or doesn’t spend), her forgetfulness, and lack of assertiveness with their sons.
Takeaways:
- Although Celeste is beautiful, she has problems.
- She’s earnest, down-to-earth and eager to help her friends in their time of need, particularly with her money.
- Celeste could easily be one-dimensional, but her skittish, conflicted personality gives her depth.
Hints for Character Development:
One of the biggest pitfalls to avoid is making our characters perfect without any cares in the world. This is particularly the case with physically attractive characters. What could they have to worry about? They’re beautiful! They’re handsome!
Examine your perfectly beautiful or perfectly handsome characters. Are they self-absorbed by their looks or completely unaffected by them? Have you given them physical flaws/imperfections? How do other characters react to them? What impact does their attractiveness have on their relationships?
What secrets or battles can you give your perfectly beautiful, perfectly handsome characters? Do they have an eating disorder? Struggle with depression? Wrestle with sobriety?
Beautiful people need problems, too. Make sure your characters aren’t so perfect that readers can’t relate to them. Seek out problems big and small that you can give them to make them real.
