Character Analysis of Evelyn Nesbit
When we are first introduced to Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime , we learn “she had grown up playing in the streets of a Pennsylvania coal town” (Doctorow, 26), and by marrying Thaw, her mother’s “greediest dreams of connived wealth [Evelyn] had surpassed” (22). Historically, we also know that she was only about 16 when she met Stanford White and later married Henry Thaw. So, Evelyn Nesbit has never truly been independent, she has always had some external force controlling her. Nesbit has grown to appreciate being reliant, which has been greatly determined by her constant subjugation. When Mother’s Younger Brother was following her, she was “not intimidated by his attention but protected.” (46). She has been so mistreated by both White and Thaw that although she loves Mother’s Younger Brother, “she wanted someone who would treat her badly and whom she could treat badly” (89), indicating, she would prefer an abusive relationship to a healthy, boring relationship. Nesbit’s connections with...