A Possibility of Evil Character Sketch – Adela Strangeworth

She is portrayed as an old lady who has too much pride and wants to be in the know of every tiny piece of gossip in town. In the beginning of the story, it gives the readers the impression that she was a sweet old lady who takes much pride in her rose bush and enjoys the town gossip too much. Ms. Strangeworth comes off as prideful, intrusive and blunt. Ms. Strangeworth was portrayed as prideful throughout the story when she took so much pride in her rose bush which had been passed down to her by her family. She explained to everyone, including tourists who just pass through the town about how she inherited this magnificent rose bush and the first house ever built on Pleasant Street by her grandfather. She believed that she deserved much appreciation, honor and gratitude from the people of the small town because of her grandfather. Her when the town decided to put up a statue of Ethan Allen instead of her grandfather, she was disappointed and muttered “ but it should have been a statue of my grandfather.

There wouldn’t be a town here at all if it hadn’t been for my grandfather and the lumber mill.” This shows the readers that she believed that the town was her’s and no one else’s. In the text, it claims that Ms. Strangeworth would not give out or share her flowers with anyone else because she believed that the roses belonged within her household. “.. it bothered Ms. Strangeworth to think of people wanting to carry them away, to take them into strange towns, and down strange streets.” Even when people requested for her beautiful roses for the town’s church, she would refuse. “When the new minister came, and the ladies were gathering flowers to decorate the church, Miss Strangeworth sent over a great basket of gladioli.” This tells us that she is very protective of her roses and would not even spare a basket.”