Character Application

[alicedowntheroad]

Name/Nick; Marion
LJ name: maidm
Character: Alice Cartwright (nee Montgomery)

Abilities: Alice is an accomplished cook and baker. She won her college women’s bake-off two years running for her Raspberry Snowball Cake. She can also sew, and is pretty darn good at it, although she ALWAYS uses a pattern. She can also keep her house spic and span like nobody’s business.

Flaws/weaknesses: Alice has a tendency to let people walk all over her. She lacks the confidence in herself to be able to make her own decisions and stand up for herself, so she usually lets someone else do it for her. It was her parents and friends when she was younger, and her husband after she married.
Alice also has an inability to see the world around her for it’s full potential. She has a very narrow life experience and view of the world, and can’t comprehend that there may be more to it than that. She lives the life people expect her to, and doesn’t understand that it is within her power to change it.

History/background:
Alice Montgomery was born in 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. She was the only child of Edith and John Montgomery. Born at the start of the Great Depression, her family was never particularly well-off, although they survived. Her father was lucky enough to keep a job throughout the 30s, so they never went hungry. Her parents owned a small house near the outskirts of the City, which had been bought for them after their wedding, so Alice was one of the few among her friends who never had to worry about eviction. Despite this, her mother was very financially minded and she grew up in a mend-and-make-do culture, not taking what she had for granted.
When the United States joined the War in 1941, her father instantly signed on and was among the many American solders deployed to France. Her mother began to work as a teacher at a local school and Alice had to share the load with some of the housework. It was at this young age she discovered her joy for cooking and baking.
After two years abroad, her father was shot in the leg and sent home. After a brief period in hospital, John returned home to his family. Alice doted on her father a great deal in this period. She had always been close to her father and missed him greatly in the two years he was away. She took great pride in being the one to help nurse him back to health.
The Montgomery family benefited greatly from the post-war economic boom that started in 1945. John earned a promotion at work, and the family was able to sell their home and move to a large house out in the suburbs, just as Alice was about to attend high school.
Alice was a friendly and spirited teenager. She made friends easily and got along with most people she met. In her sophomore year she joined the cheerleading squad, as well as the girls’ cross-country team.
It was this year that she met Peter Cartwright, her future husband. He was on the basketball team, and they shared a mutual group of friends. They began dating near the end of their junior year, and stayed together until they both graduated high school.
Shortly before graduation, it was clear to Alice and Peter that they would be going separate ways for school. Peter proposed to her on graduation day, stating that he wished them to stay together despite living in different towns. Alice agreed immediately.
A ring on her finger and a new pep in her step, Alice began attending Lincoln College, living in the dormitory while she finished a two-year program in home economics. Peter attended the University of Chicago for a three-year business program, so they were able to meet up on certain weekends, although they became fewer and far between as Peter’s workload increased.
Two years after their engagement, Alice and Peter married in their hometown, surrounded by family and friends. They enjoyed a brief honeymoon to Niagara Falls. Alice had never left Illinois before, and it was one of the greatest weeks of her life.
Now married and finished school, Alice followed Peter back to Chicago and lived with him in the married students housing on campus. She found a part-time job as a receptionist at a local clinic. She found she enjoyed city life a great deal, and made many friends with the wives of other students and those form her work.
It was not to last, however. After Peter’s graduation he immediately found a job at Bell & Howell in their business department, and bought the couple a bungalow home in the village of Lincolnwood. Alice had enjoyed several happy years with her parents in the suburbs of Chicago, so she was thrilled to be moving there. Peter was now making enough money to support them, so Alice agreed to leave working part-time and become a full-time wife.
The first few months spent in Lincolnwood were very enjoyable for Alice. Her knack for making friends served her as well as always, and she soon found herself a member of the local Women’s Association and a regular attendee at the Presbyterian Church. The other wives of the neighbourhood welcomed her with open arms, and were always ready with a home-keeping tip for the newlywed couple.
Starting towards the fall season, however, things began to change for Alice. Peter began working longer and longer hours at the office, coming home cranky and tired. He started to become overly concerned with their image, and would become upset and critical when Alice acted in any way he thought to be inappropriate. He’d always had a short temper, but it became even shorter after long days of work and commuting. Alice had always been desperate to please her husband, and was certain she was doing something wrong to make him act in such a way. She started to become as concerned with their image as he was, studying the way other couples in the neighbourhood behaved and emulating them as closely as possible.
After a year living in Lincolnwood, Alice began to find it stifling, although she was too afraid to let anyone know. From her perspective, all her friends seemed perfectly happy and adjusted, and she did not wish to single herself out by being the only one dissatisfied with her lifestyle. She also felt guilty and selfish for being unhappy, as she knew how hard Peter worked to support them, and make it possible for her to stay home while he worked all day.
At the point I am taking Alice from, it is now 1955. She is 24 years old, has been married for two years, and living in Lincolnwood for almost a year and a half.

Personality:

Background setting: Suburban Chicago area circa 1955

Physical description: Alice is a petite brunette with wide blue eyes and a round, cheerful face. She smiles often and has a gleeful twinkle in her eyes. Her hair is always neatly curled and styled and she has a passion for beautiful dresses. For her PB I will be using Allison Brie

Sample RP:

Sample post:

[The audio feed starts]
Excuse me? Could someone please help me! I’m… I’m not entirely sure where I am, and…
I’m supposed to be home right now. I just went out for a minute to pick up some eggs and then I turned around…
Please. I have to get home.