““Worms,” said Miss Brady. “You could fetch me a bucket of worms and soil.” This brings her closer to her dad who helps her dig the worms up. Still she is glad about meeting Miss Brady as it gives her something to do and gets her away from the uncomfortable atmosphere in her home.
“Suddenly Helen felt very glad she had met old Miss Brady. At least there was somewhere to go today, and something to do.”
Miss Brady doesn’t look very well when Helen comes to visit, and she is very unwelcoming,
“Oh, it’s you.” Miss Brady pushed open the cabin door.” However Helen and Miss Brady find that they are both interested in animals, namely Miss Brady’s badger bad Bill. This is what brings the pair closer together. The badger makes Miss Brady more sociable, and as Helen is interested she talks a lot about him.
“Same family as polecats, you know. They’re all a bit smelly. Usually he lives in a big pen down the canal, but I had to bring him with me when I hurt my ankle. Had to go to the hospital, you see, for stitches. Couldn’t just leave him. But it’s no good, a badger on a boat, even if we are old friends.” This passage shows that Miss Brady’s conversations are getting longer with Helen and she enjoys telling Helen about her badger as she offers Helen a cup of tea, “If she wants to stay a mo.” During this meeting Miss Brady shows she cares about Helen when she drags her out of the barge when the badger wakes up.
““Sorry,” called Miss Brady. “Didn’t mean to frighten you-it’s just that he’s a bad tempered old devil at the moment. Might just bight you know.” Here Miss Brady shows that she cares for Helen, she’s worried the badger might bite the girl. As the 2nd visit progresses Miss Brady begins to reveal things to Helen. She admits that she doesn’t like asking for help. This shows that she is beginning to trust Helen even though she is still very honest to Helen in telling her that she thinks children are “brats” and that she “probably doesn’t like Helen.”
In this visit Miss Brady helps bring Helen’s family closer together by allowing Helen to bring her parents to see the badger. For a while her dad forgets about Peter and the silence in the house is gone for the evening.
“And until bed-time that night, the silence had gone from the house.”
The 3rd visit, although very short is extremely important. Miss Brady gives Helen the keys to the barge.
““Then you’d better have a key.” Miss Brady reached into the pocket of her tweed jacket. “Here.”” This shows that there is trust growing between Helen and Miss Brady, even if there is no friendship yet. This trust makes Helen feel confident and in control, something which is lacking at her own home. Because of this burst of confidence given to her she puts the photos of Peter back on the shelf.
“She went to the piano and, very carefully, put the framed photographs back where they had always been.”
The 4th visit is when Helen and Miss Brady’s friendship begins to develop. Helen doesn’t like the doctor’s joke about the Female geriatrics being a ward for “batty old bags.” I have noticed in this visit that Helen and Miss Brady have some very similar characteristics, in that they are both honest with each other. Miss Brady says that Helen “will do” when she the girl says she wishes Miss Brady would like her. Helen admits honestly that she “didn’t want to come tonight.” Miss Brady has helped Helen begin to get over Peter’s death, helping her to speak about him.
“She had not talked to anyone about Peter. It was too hard.” Again there is another similarity in the way Miss Brady and Helen react to this. Both get angry, Helen about Peter.
“Sometimes I could blooming kill him for dying!” And Miss Brady gets angry when Helen calls herself “just a girl.”
“Just a what? Oh Helen Fisher, you’ll not do at all! The devil you won’t, if I hear you say that.”
Helen has learnt to challenge authority like Miss Brady does with the nurse. She challenges her dad about the photos and makes him cry his first real tears for Peter. This shows he’s moving on.
The 6th visit is mainly about Miss Brady altering her entire view of humanity. She says she wants Helen to kidnap her.
“She looked as sly as a pirate. “I want you…to kidnap me,” Miss Brady hissed.” Using her new found confidence Helen lies to her mum and tells her the teachers are on strike again.
This part of the book is also the real turning point for her dad.
“Me dad’s come out of hibernation-I can tell by his eyes.”
The last visit of the book is the height of Miss Brady and Helen’s friendship. When Helen first goes in she sees Miss Brady’s empty bed she goes cold thinking the worst.
“Her stomach went cold as if she had swallowed a lump of ice.” It shows she cares for Miss Brady. Miss Brady also cares for Helen as well as she exclaims that she didn’t want Helen to lie to her parents.
““Oh, I didn’t mean for you to lie to your parents, Helen.” Again I have found another similarity in Helen and Miss Brady’s personality. They both glare at the doctor when he cracks another joke about the Miss Brady. Then there is the real turning point for Miss Brady. She say’s that she might not sail away as she “rather likes it here.”
Miss Brady and Helen had similar problems. Both of them were lonely, they were both interested in the badger. This interest brought them together. It also brought Helen’s family closer. Miss Brady gave Helen trust and self-confidence. She used this to help her dad get over his problems.
