Garden Spells

Sydney Waverley is the second major protagonist and point-of-view character in the book. She is Claire’s younger sister by six years and serves as her foil. Where Claire longs to be identified as a Waverley and feels attached to their home in Bascom, relating more to their grandmother, Sydney identifies more with their mother and admires that wild, carefree lifestyle. Sydney felt excluded as a child because of her reputation as a Waverley, which made other children stay away from her, and she took solace in her friendship with Henry Hopkins. Later, in high school, when she fell in love with Hunter John and was accepted into his circle of popular friends, Sydney thought she had found a place to belong. Hunter John’s telling her that she wasn’t good enough to plan a future with hurt and humiliated Sydney. She left town after her graduation from high school and moved around, using the false name of Cindy Watkins, dating men who provided an emotional thrill, and stealing money from those boyfriends to support herself.

Sydney is not entirely like her mother, however, in that she felt it necessary to stay in a relationship with David after she gave birth to Bay. She wanted to give Bay a stable home, and this is her motivation for escaping David a second time and driving across the country to North Carolina, highlighting both her strength and determination. Her fear that David might find them, or that Claire will disapprove of her, keeps Sydney initially from saying much about her life in the 10 years she was away. As she returns to Bascom, Sydney proves that she is a nurturing parent to Bay, that she has healed and moved on from the heartbreak over Hunter John, and that she is ready to form stable relationships with both Henry and Claire.

Sydney’s transformation shows in her physical appearance as well. When Sydney first arrives, Claire thinks she looks “small, frail, with unwashed light-brown hair and deep circles under her eyes. She seemed to be holding herself to keep from trembling” (38). As she relaxes and begins to feel safe, Sydney’s good looks emerge. Claire notices that her hair has a bit of natural curl that makes it “look like waves of caramel icing on a cake” (80). She has lightly tanned skin with freckles on her face and a petite figure, and, just as in middle school, she strikes Henry Hopkins speechless when he sees her again.

Part of Sydney’s character arc involves coming to terms with her identity as a Waverley and how her unique ability to style hair might connect her to traditions of Waverley magic. As the narrator observes, “Hair said more about people than they knew, and Sydney understood the language naturally” (45). Sydney’s haircut for Claire is a generous move, one of her first overtures of trust and affection, as she puts aside her jealousy and mockery of her youth and instead accepts who Claire is as an adult and makes an effort to bring out her best features with her hairstyle. When David is defeated by the apple tree, and Sydney is truly safe in Bascom, with a partner, a family, and a job she loves, Sydney has also found where she belongs.

Evanelle Franklin is a supporting character who serves as a foil to the Waverley sisters and plays the role of a mentor and guide for them. Evanelle is 79 at the time the story opens and has lived in Bascom all her life. She is part of the Waverley family and so, in the family tradition, possesses a unique, magical gift. Hers is the compulsion to give people very specific items, even if she doesn’t know the purpose. She describes this compulsion as an itch that won’t let her rest until she’s delivered the item.

Evanelle discovered this aspect of herself and came to terms with it very early, as revealed in a story she tells about informing her husband-to-be, when she first met him as a child, that this was part of her identity. They were married for over 30 years, and Evanelle was happy with him. Evanelle also made peace with her reputation around town after her interaction with Luella Clark, which turned out to be embarrassing for Luella, caused others to treat Evanelle with suspicion. Evanelle knows that her true friends accept her.

Evanelle’s role lies in offering information and backstory that the Waverley sisters don’t have, such as the information that their mother’s wildness was possibly inspired, or accentuated, by whatever she saw when she ate an apple from the family tree. Evanelle also serves as a parallel to Claire in the way she takes in Fred after he is left bereft following his breakup with James. Evanelle is also mischievous, as evidenced by her enjoyment of admiring well-shaped male posteriors, but on the whole, her role is to support and connect. She offers further evidence that the reputation of the Waverleys says more about the townspeople who believe that reputation rather than the Waverleys themselves, and she offers a model of self-acceptance for Sydney and Claire.