Character: Chris Gutherie

Character: Chris Guthrie

Dual Identity

Chris is depicted as a character torn between two worlds, showcasing a dual identity. One part of her is attached to the Scottish countryside, her farming background, and her traditional roots. The other part is drawn towards intellectual pursuits, English culture, and modern urban life.
This internal conflict greatly influences her decisions and actions throughout the book.

Ambitious & Intellectually Curious

Chris possesses a strong thirst for knowledge and an ambitious streak. She is not content with remaining uneducated and strives to improve her lot through education.
She deeply values her teacher, Miss Munro, who recognises and encourages Chris’s potential.

Resilience

Despite experiencing heartbreaking events and personal tragedies, Chris manages to display incredible resilience.
She is forced to deal with the harsh realities of farming, the emotional and physical abuse from her father, and the loss of loved ones, yet she refuses to be broken and continues to move forward.

Relationship with John Guthrie

Chris’s relationship with her father, John Guthrie, is complex and fraught with tension.
While she admires his dedication to farming and his survival skills, she simultaneously harbours resentment and fear towards his violent and unpredictable nature.

Progressive Attitudes

Despite living in a predominately conservative and patriarchal society, Chris showcases progressive attitudes, particularly towards gender roles and education.
She represents Gibbon’s argument of feminism by challenging the stereotypical roles imposed on women, wishing for more than just marriage and domestic life.

Role in the Community

Chris is portrayed as an integral part of her community, deeply connected to the land and the people of the Scottish countryside.
Her journey traces the changes in her community caused by World War I, revealing a larger commentary on the fading rural lifestyle and the cost of modernisation.

Understanding Chris Guthrie’s character is fundamental to grasping the thematic content and narratives of Sunset Song. Her struggles and achievements serve not only as an individual’s journey but also as a reflection of societal changes and dichotomies of the time.