In today’s culture, where the word ‘heiress’ brings to mind someone like Paris Hilton and an alarmingly large percentage of the world’s population would do just about anything to be famous, Huguette Clark seems like a throwback to an era long past despite having only passed away two and a half years ago.
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I have been thinking about reading this book, as I find the subject matter so interesting. Question: even though no one can explain the reasoning for her choices, did you feel like you got a full picture of who Huguette actually was? Did she feel like a fully formed “character”?
The best answer I can give is that you feel like you know Huguette as well as it is possible to know her. As well as anyone who knew her in the last couple decades of her life knew or understood her. Through the statements of the people who had contact with her you get a wide variety of impressions and judgements. Some people felt that she was aloof, cold, and indifferent and they typically interpret her behaviour as that which would belong to someone wealthy, indulged, and eccentric. Others describe her as being socially and mentally stunted in some way and feel that she may have had a mental illness or personality disorder. Still others give examples where she is warm, friendly, and generous almost to a fault.
What I mean by “not really getting answers” is that the authors don’t try to determine which of these impressions is correct. They simply provide you with the anecdote, the context in which it was provided, and the type of contact the individual had with Mrs Clark and then leave the reader to make their own conclusions.