As their marriage unravels, the tension between Leanne and Buddy will bring Gloria’s latent attitudes to the surface. Will she have to choose between them?
A young, up-and-coming, professional woman, Gloria embodies the progress of feminism and is determined to make that new consciousness part of her persona and world. Much as she admires the pioneers of the cause, however, she isn’t about to make the advancement of women’s rights her raison d’être. She’ll compromise when she has to, understand if she can, and insist when she must.
She’s a design architect at a firm located in Victoria. Loves her work and respects her colleagues. She was ‘snapped up’ after earning her Master of Architecture degree at UVic. She could have chosen a firm in a more cosmopolitan city as her career launchpad, and would likely have boosted her options and earning potential if she had, but Gloria loves ‘coming home’ to Victoria whenever she travels. Doesn’t want to ‘set roots’ anywhere else.
Closing in on 30, she still hasn’t decided whether or not she wants to ‘someday’ have kids. She does know the responsibilities of family life would conflict with her creative ambitions as an architect… ‘artitect’, she prefers to think of herself. She also likes her hyperactive social life: hiking and biking; partying; going to plays and concerts; travelling; visiting art galleries and museums; reading… Gloria is the definition of earnest and sophisticated joie de vivre.
Gloria’s studio apartment on Wharf Street suits her budget and lifestyle. ‘No room for junk or live-in partners,’ is her motto. ‘Happy as a clam,’ her relaxed, tea-sipping state-of-mind.
Her place in the Hope family matrix is nuanced. She loves her mum and dad, but has an acute sense of where the emotional gravity tends.
Leanne has become a role model for Gloria. As a child she basked in her stay-at-home mother’s devotion; as a teen she became argumentative and resentful of her mother’s traditional role; as a young adult she is immensely proud of Leanne’s hard-earned metamorphosis into a topflight realtor. Her mother is definitely the heroine of the household.
Buddy has ‘been there’ for her. He’s the one she usually turned to when she wanted a ‘soft landing’, dealing with life’s crises. She remembers her dad as a playmate when she was a kid, a wise counsellor as she made important life decisions, and an unabashed, unstinting supporter. But, in a sense, she feels her father hasn’t been judgemental enough – that he’s been too sentimental. She knows he loves her, but suspects his is an idealized love, not the demanding love of someone who takes you seriously. And she hates herself for feeling sorry for him in his retirement.
As their marriage unravels, the tension between Leanne and Buddy will bring Gloria’s latent attitudes to the surface. Will she have to choose between them?
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