Cold Comfort Farm Essay

Stella Gibbons’ Cold Comfort Farm is a story of a young woman named Flora Poste, and the result of her life after the death of her parents. She begins her new life living with Mary from the rich aristocratic side of London. However, rather than getting a job and working, she decides that she would like to live in the â€Å"real† world for her upcoming novel she plans to write within the next thirty years. In order to do so, Flora Poste decides she wants to live with relatives that are not necessarily wealthy but rather interesting in a literary perspective for experience. Through this decision, she declines marriage, as well as living with wealthy cousins, and leaves for Cold Comfort Farm to live among her first cousin, Judith Starkadder. Cold Comfort Farm is an old cursed farm inhabited by pessimistic hard-working poor individuals. Flora Poste’s arrival is barely welcomed as she learns to understand and adapt to the new miserable culture of Cold Comfort Farm. She learns of how her father had committed a terrible sin that no one speaks of, for which she wants to atone for her father’s wrongdoing. She learns of her Great Aunt Ada Doom, who has secluded herself from society and lives in her room alone due to the sin she had seen Robert Poste commit at youth. However even through all these downfalls, Flora Poste keeps a high head up and attempts to change life on Cold Comfort Farm. Flora Poste’s character is shown through her interaction with the people of Cold Comfort Farm. An example of this is when Flora Poste meets Miriam who is in labor, and explains to her how her situation can be resolved through protection and explains her knowledge of family planning to her. Flora Poste shows her sincerity when she interacts with Rubin. After making tea for him, he angrily tells Flora Poste how she cannot do the jobs that Rubin can. Rubin is worried, however Flora Poste explains how she does not want the farm, and how she would leave the farm to people who know how to handle it, such as Rubin, which makes him think twice. Slowly, Flora Poste is â€Å"tidying up† Cold Comfort Farm. Flora Poste’s interference on Cold Comfort Farm society turns into a positive influence. She grows with her relatives and aids them with their conflicts. Flora Poste aids her preaching cousin through a magazine ad of a Ford vehicle; she aids Adam with his cleaning and helping him with his personal issues. However, the one person she cannot seem to get through to is her Great Aunt Ada Doom, who refuses to listen, and consistently tells Robert Poste’s child that she saw something nasty in the woodshed. At a family meeting, every individual has explained the positive influence and changes in their lives thanks to Flora Poste. The only person that is not happy with this is Great Aunt Ada Doom. Even after a conflict arises, Flora Poste’s positivity brings happiness with everyone. It is learned that every member of the family was miserable and trapped, always aiding Aunt Ada Doom and never being truly happy. Aunt Ada Doom feels that everyone has left her and betrayed her. Flora Poste then aids Seth with becoming a movie star by bringing by Mr. Neck, who is looking for upcoming English movie stars and chooses Seth with no questions asked. Even when Great Aunt Ada forbids Seth from leaving, he leaves anyway. Towards the end of the story, Aunt Ada Doom and Flora Poste have a long conversation together, which results in a new change. At Flora Poste’s cousin’s wedding, Aunt Ada Doom arrives in fancy clothing and explains that although the wedding did not go the way she wanted it to, she has learned to be optimistic and is very happy at the wedding and compliments the bride and groom on how beautiful they look together. Aunt Ada Doom then talks about her great niece, Flora Poste, and how her influence has changed her life. It is essential to say that a smile appears out of Aunt Ada Doom’s lips. The influence that Flora Poste has on Cold Comfort Farm ends up changing the mood of the society. Her relatives end up pursuing their dreams and in return find true happiness. Originally these people, were trapped under the influence of Aunt Ada Doom, who saw something nasty in the woodshed, Whatever it was she had seen ruined the mood of everyone in Cold Comfort Farm, due to her isolation, and lack of respect for anyone, including herself. Flora Poste brings out everyone’s inner respect by giving respect primarily, she never brought herself down and always kept her head up, making her influence that much stronger.