"She was gentle, soft-spoken, and always comforted you when you needed it, even when you'd done something bad, or been told off by another guardian. If she ever had to tell you off herself, then for days afterwards she'd give you lots of extra attention,like she owed you something." (Page 19)
Miss Geraldine had only just been introduced to the reader when this description was provided. Of course, that is fitting. The best time to directly characterize someone is when they are fresh in the reader's mind. However, one must ask oneself why Ishiguro chose to tell the reader about Miss Geraldine in such a forthcoming manner. Why didn't he let us figure it out for ourselves? Well, the true of the matter is that Miss Geraldine isn't that important. I'm sorry that I have to be the one to break it to you, but it's true. She is a, shall we say, flat character? There is a possibility that she will enter the novel at other points in the story, but her main purpose is to make the transitions throughout the book smoother. She helps the flow of the story. Not only will she most likely never change, but she will probably not be allowed this much consecutive space on a page again. Therefore, Ishiguro had to describe her directly to the reader so that we may continue our reading unimpeded. She aided the explanation of the story, but she is not worth taking the time to develop. So, thank you, Miss Geraldine, for being a wallflower in the main scheme of events. Much appreciation.
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