Lizzie Rose, Parsefall, and Clara may not always get along in Splendors and Glooms, but that doesn't mean that they aren't friends to the end. The three children will do anything for each other, including risking their own lives. Parsefall is willing to do Grisini's bidding in order to save Lizzie Rose, while Clara steals the phoenix-stone—even when she knows it's cursed—in order to save her friends from a terrible fate. Even Cassandra becomes emotional thinking of the one true friendship she had in her life, with a girl named Marguerite.
Questions About Friendship
- Why does Cassandra keep claiming that she wasn't actually attached to Marguerite?
- How do Parsefall and Clara share a connection? Why do they understand each other from the moment they meet? Remember to give evidence from the text.
- How does Lizzie Rose behave like a true friend to everyone that she knows? Pick a few good guys as well as a few bad guys.
- How does Mrs. Pinchbeck step in to care for the children when Grisini goes missing and is presumed dead? Why does she do so?
Chew on This
Because Lizzie Rose and Clara both extend friendship and love to Parsefall, he is eventually able to overcome his horrible past and move on, even learning how to love and accept a new family.
Even though Mrs. Pinchbeck can be annoying and theatrical, she's the one true friend that Lizzie Rose and Parsefall have while they're living with Grisini. She allows them to stay on even though they don't have rent money, and she even protects them from Grisini's rage and violence.