Introducing Fuchsia

Illustration of Fuchsia by Mervyn Peake

It is not every day that a star of fiction and film, a daughter of an Earl no less, posts on this meager blog. Her head is in the clouds, she likes to yell it out loud, you may even find a Cure song dedicated to her memory, ooh, but watch out for that windowsill my lady!

So it is with great pleasure that we introduce to you, no need to stand ladies and gents, Miss Fuchsia Groan:

As his lord stared at the door another figure appeared, a girl of about fifteen with long, rather wild black hair. She was gauche in movement and in a sense, ugly of face, but with how small a twist might she not suddenly have become beautiful. Her sullen mouth was full and rich – her eyes smouldered.

A yellow scarf hung loosely around her neck. Her shapeless dress was a flaming red.

For all the straigtness of her back she walked with a slouch. 'Come here', said Lord Groan as she was about to pass him and the doctor.

'Yes father', she said huskily.

'Where have you been for the last fortnight, Fuchsia?'

'Oh, here and there, father' she said, staring at her shoes. She tossed her long hair and it flapped down her back like a pirate's flag. She stood in about as awkward a manner as could be concieved. Utterly un-feminine – no man could have invented it.

"Here and there?" echoed her father in a weary voice. "What does 'here and there' mean? You've been hiding. Where, girl?"

"'N the libr'y and 'n the armoury, 'n walking about a lot", said Lady Fuchsia, and her sullen eyes narrowed. "I just heard silly rumours about mother. They said I've got a brother -- idiots! idiots! I hate them. I havn't, have I? Have I?"

"A little brother", broke in Doctor Prunesquallor. "Yes, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, a minute, infinitesimal, microscopic addition to the famous line is now behind this bedroom door. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, he, he, he, he! Oh yes! Ha ha! Oh yes indeed! Very much so."

"No!" said Fuchsia so loudly that the doctor coughed crisply and his lordship took a step forward with his eyes drawn together and a sad curl at the corner of his mouth.

"It's not true!" shouted Fuchsia, turning from them and twirling a great lock of black hair round and round her wrist. "I don't believe it! Let me go! Let me go!"

As no one was touching her, her cry was unnecessary and she turned and ran with strange bounds along the corridor that led from the landing. Before she was lost to view, Steerpike could hear her voice shouting from the distance, "Oh how I hate people!". - Excerpt from Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan

Fuchsia Groan is the fictional daughter of Sepulchrave, the 76th Earl of Groan, a character in Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan and Gormenghast. Fuchsia is also the subject of The Cure song, The Drowning Man, which is about her death and mentions her by name.

Early Life and Family

Fuchsia is the firstborn child of Lord Sepulchrave and Gertrude. The right of succession in Gormenghast applies only to fathers and their sons, and for her entire life Fuchsia has been largely ignored by both parents due to her gender. Her caretaker is the elderly Nanny Slagg, with whom she spends the majority of her time. While Fuchsia cares deeply about her nanny, she also delights in tormenting the old woman with her childish antics and pranks. Fuchsia's brother, Titus, the future 77th Earl of Groan, is born when Fuchsia herself is about fifteen.

Before Titus' birth, Fuchsia is angry that her parents are having another baby, and she is determined to hate her brother. After the baby's naming ceremony, Fuchsia expresses delight that Titus was dropped on his head. Over time, however, the two grow very close, and when a 12-year-old Titus is imprisoned by his mother and schoolmaster for repeated questioning and disobedience, Fuchsia is the only one to visit or talk to him.

Appearance and Personality

On a personal level, Fuchsia is a dreamer and a romantic who escapes the dull pace of life in Gormenghast by reading fantasy tales. She is also a spoiled brat who disappears for long periods into her secret attic rooms to fantasize and to sulk, scrawls on walls with charcoal, and makes wild claims that upset the aged Nannie Slagg, such as, "When I am Queen, I am going to burn down the castle!" This is, of course, completely untrue, as Fuchsia will never become Queen.

Fuchsia's fantasies of romance and adventure seem to keep her forever young; throughout Peake's series, until the time of her death, she responds with childlike innocence to everything. Beneath her callous and bratty exterior, she is actually quite sweet and loving. She loves her father, though she barely knows him, and during Sepulchrave's slow descent into madness she often expresses that she "cannot bear" to see him this way. She also has an enduring friendship with Dr. Alfred Prunesquallor.

What Fuchsia seems to want most out of life is for someone to love her in return. Neve McIntosh said of the character, "She locks herself in her attic where she lives in her imagination. All she wants is a knight in shining armor to come up to the castle tower and carry her off.[1]" Fuchsia's favorite drink is elderberry wine [2]. - Wikipedia