xpected feelings never before experienced by them. For both, the object of their adoration is a man of commanding presence. It is a man who is in control, completely sure of himself, and perhaps it is in this admiration of the male confidence that the girls' find solace. For Yvette, this individual is a self-assured gipsy, a man who does not heed or respect any authority save his own. He is a rebel, he is noble, and he is powerful, "And as he loped slowly past her, on his flexible hips, it seemed to her still that he was stronger than she was. Of all the men she had ever seen, this one was the only one who was stronger than she was, in her own kind of strength, her own kind of understanding." (Virgin, 40). Yvette is entranced by the sophistication she finds in the gipsy and finds that her feelings for him also give her greater power and control over her own life, "She would strangle Granny with one hand. As she would have the same contempt for Daddy and for Uncle Fred, as men, she would have for fat old slobbery Rover, the Newfoundland dog. A great sardonic female contempt, for such domesticated dogs, calling themselves men. And the gipsy man himself! Yvette quivered suddenly, as if she had seen his big, bold eyes upon her, with the naked insinuation of desire in them. The absolutely naked insinuation of desire made her life prone and powerless in the bed, as if a drug had cast her into a new molten mould….The thought of the gipsy had realized the life of her limbs, and crystallized in her heart the hate of the rectory: so that now she felt potent, instead of impotent." (Virgin, 53)For Matilda, the individual in her life from whom she draws on is her music teacher, Mr. Bullen. His commanding authority and his mastery of the art is all-attractive to her, as is the feeling of peace and harmony when she enters his house. In this beloved sanctuary, she explores her fascination of this man, "How funny he is. He doesn't ex...
