Simon’s Suspicions and Brat’s Internal Conflict - Discussion on Ch 6~10 of Brat Farrar

Brat, who has a striking resemblance to men of the Ashby family, has a chance meeting with a connection to the family. He is persuaded to impersonate Patrick Ashby, the elder twin of Simon Ashby, who was thought to have committed suicide eight years previously, and whose body was never found. Simon is set to inherit the family estate when he turns twenty one as both parents died in an airplane crash when he and his twin Patrick were young. If Patrick is still alive then he collects the inheritance, so the imposter has a lot to gain.  Brat becomes well coached in the family lore and is able to convince the family that he really is Patrick and that he didn't commit suicide, but ran away to America where he learnt horsemanship. Horses and horsemanship were the Ashby family trade and helped him to be accepted, and Brat finds himself liking Bee, his 'aunt' and Eleanor, his 'sister'.

Brat is an imposter. He's not who he says he is, or at least he takes on the identity of Simon's twin brother Patrick, who apparently committed suicide years ago, but the closer he gets to those who should be permitting him to pass off as the real Patrick, the closer he gets in tension with his deception, especially as he gets closer to family. Brat is afraid of being found out by the family as he gets closer and closer to the information he needs to reveal how Patrick died. The Ashbys are a very intriguing family. The more time they spend with Brat, the more external tension builds, and each character has their own independent goal. Ultimately Brat makes the reader question whether anyone will find him out or if anyone he speaks to has secrets of their own. "She went back to him, took his face lightly in her gloved hand, and kissed his cheek. 'Welcome back, my dear,' she said." (Tey, Chapter 7) In a twist ending, Brat realizes that unlike a doppelganger who is trying to get money from Latchetts, for Brat, having never had a family before, it means something real. He integrates with them—from the good-intentioned Aunt Bee to the struggling, determined siblings—and despite their flaws, he becomes intimately connected with them. This makes him concerned for their well-being. "Brat, walking down the street, was shocked to find himself exhilarated. He had expected to be nervous and a little ashamed. It had been one of the most exciting things he had ever done. He had sat there and lied and not even been conscious that he was lying; it had been so thrilling" (Tey, Chapter 6). Here Brat is conflicted—but only in that he's emotionally attached to all the Ashbys in question. He wrestled with himself—privileged to maintain the ruse of being Patrick Ashby, the long-lost heir on one hand, yet ultimately wanting on the other hand to discover what happened with the real Patrick—which would destroy the life he had barely come to love and appreciate but ultimately what would keep him true to a real identity for which he'd fought for too long without transforming into something new for new identity reasons. But it's also because he feels at home. This is because for the first time, he ever belonged. An orphan, he's been a placeholder for Patrick all his life, and ever since, he's prepared ever since he's enjoyed it but had moral qualms.

Simon is the person who knows that Brat is the fake one but Simon cannot say. Simon cannot just tell everyone he is the killer who killed Partick 10 years ago. Simon has to gradually drag Brat into something bad and then get rid of him. Simon, as the story unfolds, understands that Brat’s deception is not just an inconvenience but a significant threat. He cannot simply announce to the family and others that Brat is a fraud—doing so would raise uncomfortable questions about Simon himself. Specifically, Simon is aware that if the truth about Brat comes out, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Patrick’s death might begin anew, and Simon’s own involvement in Patrick’s death could be uncovered. "Since this seemed to leave Simon without speech, she went on: "And everything he did from then on has been checked."" (Tey, Chapter 8) Simon finds himself to be unable to prove that Brat is an imposter. He resents that Brat's coming brings with it revived sentiment and secrets, and he most likely worries about Brat dislodging family wealth or prestige. Simon's hostility is possibly also caused by the fact that he feels that Brat would be a threat to being shown love from family, and between them there arises tension due to his inner battle. Brat is also suspicious of Simon, thinking that he may be hiding something darker. "And she thought: "If this is Patrick, Patrick will come home again, and I am leaving him like this, as if he were a casual acquaintance——" It was more than she could bear, the thought of the boy's loneliness." (Tey, Chapter 7) Simon’s attitude, as well as his anxiousness and Brat’s efforts to take away doubt about him, leads Brat to question what Simon is truly planning. Brat’s suspicion mounts and he begins noticing little things about Simon’s behavior that don’t quite add up at first and that distrust becomes a major part of the story, one that adds tension to the character interactions and mystery to the overall plot as well. Brat is always concerned that his true identity will be discovered, and Patrick’s probing nature intensifies this fear. Patrick, like other family members, shows some skepticism about Brat’s behavior, which makes Brat feel uncomfortable.

Brat is a complex character that is both intriguing and interesting. He feels a true familial connection by blood to the Ashby family, but also knows that he is merely a doppelganger for the true Patrick. The real Patrick Ashby disappeared years earlier under mysterious circumstances, believed to have committed suicide. At the same time, he feels suspicious of Simon. He thinks that he is concealing something. Patrick's assumption about his actions being undiscovered, his family's riches, and Brat’s immediate appearance in the Ashby family fuel the suspicion and jealousy that breed Brat and Simon’s animosity. As Brat becomes ingrained in the family, friction between him and Simon escalates. Simon resents Brat’s smooth acclimation to the Ashby family and vice versa, and Brat finds out Simon’s dark truths within the family. 

“Brat Farrar.” Brat Farrar, by Josephine Tey, gutenberg.ca/ebooks/tey-brat/tey-brat-00-h.html. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.