Character Analysis
Another Aptly Named Character
Constance Contraire is, as her name implies, both constant and contrary. When told to bring one pencil to a test, she brings thirty-seven. When asked, "'What is wrong with this statement?'" she replies, "'What is wrong with you?'" (4.57). We learn later that, "Constance hated being asked questions and generally ignored them, or else responded by making rude sounds" (14.7), and that, of course, makes her rather difficult to talk to. About anything.
Her contrary nature is made even more difficult when you add in the fact that she's stubborn as the day is long—and we're talking those days in the Arctic where the sun doesn't go down for weeks at a time.
She Shall Not Be Moved
When the kids first meet her, they notice that she's "almost exactly the same size and shape as a fire hydrant" (4.79). Ever try budging one of those? Getting Constance to budge is pretty much the same thing—and that turns out to be her great strength.
Because what Constance lacks in size and dexterity (and maturity, and compassion, and self-awareness, and intuition, and grace, and… you get the idea), she more than makes up for with her unshakable will. And that is precisely what is needed to wear down the Whisperer and Mr. Curtain in the end. When Mr. Curtain hisses at her, "'Bend you obstinate child'" (37.85), Constance shrieks,
"NEVER!" […] And indeed it seemed she never would. Mr. curtain's face had gone quite purple, and drops of perspiration fell from the tip of his lumpy nose like water from a leaky faucet. It was a fierce battle. The children's admiration soared. This was Constance's great gift—the gift of stubborn independence—and she was bringing it to bear with all her might. (37.86)
We love that scene, and we love it even more when we find out that Constance wasn't a prisoner in the Whisperer's chair, but a willing volunteer—she could have slipped her hands out of the wrist cuffs at any time, but she chose to stay. And that shows us that despite her constancy, Constance has changed over the course of the book.
Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
After she first joins the MBS crew, Constance's primary concerns seem to be where she will sleep and whether or not she can have candy for breakfast (which, we have to say, are completely valid concerns). She makes things difficult for the others, refusing to do simple things like pass the juice pitcher (5.63), composing rude poems about them instead of practicing her Morse code (9.2), and dawdling to look at mildew when the others are in a rush (10.62). Her only interests seem to be eating and sleeping, and when asked to do anything else, she becomes grumpy.
Also, "aside from being easily distracted, Constance was an intolerably slow walker. When they urged her to hurry, she obstinately refused. When they let her fall behind, she was irritated they didn't wait up" (10.62). And when Kate first offers her a piggyback ride? Constance says, "That's stupid" (10.67).
In short, Constance is all about Constance, and when we realize that she's only two-years-old, that makes a lot of sense. But despite her extreme youth and the fact that she isn't quite out of the toddler stage at the end of the book, Constance still manages to grow quite a bit emotionally and become more concerned with and considerate of her fellow MBSers.
The Constance, She Is a-Changin'
Our first indication of this is when Constance asks Sticky to explain one of Mr. Curtain's journal entries "in a nutshell" and adds the word please. "It was perhaps the first time Constance had ever used that word" (21.85), we are told, and we believe it. The rest of the team is appropriately shocked, and so are we.
Later on when Kate is getting ready to set off on her solo mission, Constance tells her, "If you get caught, don't worry. We'll find some way to save you" (30.21), which surprises everyone a second time. Even Constance seems a little surprised—and pleased—by what she's just heard herself say.
And we get yet another indication that Constance is becoming more of a team player when she eats the licorice that was stuck to Kate's shoe and could have implicated her as a spy. "We all have to make sacrifices" (32.71), she comments when Sticky says how disgusting that was, and we get a sense that Constance is beginning to understand the importance of taking one for the team now and again.
Of course, she takes a big hit for the team when she climbs into the Whisperer to spare her friends, and in the end when everyone is back at Mr. Benedict's safe and sound, she takes instruction from Mr. B without so much as a groan. This leads Sticky to comment, "It's almost like she's growing up" (39.25), and indeed, we get the feeling that she has, and she is.
We doubt Constance will ever become a compliant child, and we don't actually want her to, but a little kinder? A little more considerate of others? Yeah, it seems like she's well on her way to achieving those goals.