Fuchsia Groan
| Lady Fuchsia Groan | |
|---|---|
| Gormenghast character | |
| First appearance | Titus Groan |
| Last appearance | Gormenghast |
| Created by | Mervyn Peake |
| Portrayed by | Neve McIntosh |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Family | Sepulchrave (father), Gertrude (mother) |
| Significant other(s) | Steerpike |
| Relatives | Titus Groan (brother), Lady Cora and Lady Clarice Groan (aunts) |
Lady Fuchsia Groan is a fictional character: The daughter of Sepulchrave, 76th Earl of Groan, in Mervyn Peake's novels Titus Groan (1946) and Gormenghast (1950). In the BBC film adaptation (2000), Fuchsia is portrayed by Scottish actress Neve McIntosh. Fuchsia is also the subject of The Cure song, The Drowning Man, which is about her death and mentions her by name.
Fuchsia is the first child of the Earl of Groan and his Countess; but the earldom of Groan and the family seat Gormenghast can only be inherited by a son. Consequently, Fuchsia has been largely ignored by both parents; and she spends most of her time with Nannie Slagg. While Fuchsia cares for Nannie Slagg deeply, she also delights in tormenting the old woman with childish antics and pranks. When Fuchsia is about fifteen, an heir-apparent is finally born. Like many firstborns, Fuchsia is angry that her parents are having another baby and determines to hate her brother or sister. After his naming ceremony, Fuchsia expresses delight that Titus was dropped on his head. Over time, however, the two grow very close. When Titus is twelve, he is imprisoned by his mother and his schoolmaster for repeated questioning and disobedience; and Fuchsia is the only one to visit or talk to him.
The novel describes Fuchsia as "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 smoldered."
Fuchsia is a dreamer and a romantic, who escapes the dull pace of life in Gormenghast by reading fantasy tales. She frequently disappears into her secret attic rooms to fantasize and sulk. She scrawls on walls with charcoal and makes such wild claims as, "When I am Queen, I am going to burn down the castle!", which upsets the aged Nannie Slagg. Lady Fuchsia Groan will never become Queen; but her fantasies of romance and adventure seem to keep her forever young. She responds to everything with childlike enthusiasm; and, beneath her callous and bratty exterior, she is sweet and loving. She loves her father, though she barely knows him; and, during his slow descent into madness, she often says she "cannot bear" to see him this way. She also has an enduring friendship with Dr. Alfred Prunesquallor, the Gormenghast physician. What Fuchsia seems to want most is someone to love her. Actress 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. Fuchsia's favorite drink is elderberry wine .
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