The Echoing Grove: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Echoing Grove: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex relationships and emotional struggles of its central figures, set against the backdrop of mid-20th century England. Rickie Masters, a wealthy businessman, embodies charm and vulnerability, entangled in a love triangle with his wife, Madeleine, and her younger sister, Dinah. Madeleine is portrayed as a devoted mother grappling with grief and the complexities of her marital life, while Dinah, an artist and Marxist, battles personal tragedies and the repercussions of her affair with Rickie. The narrative reflects themes of love, loss, and reconciliation, highlighted through the lives of supporting characters such as Jo Hermann, Dinah’s devoted husband, and Dr. Ernest Selbig, a psychiatrist whose troubled past influences his relationships. Other characters, like the rebellious Rob Edwards and the infatuated Georgie Worthington, add layers of societal critique and personal conflict. Ultimately, the story delves into the intricacies of human connection, portraying how love and loyalty intersect with personal despair and societal expectations. This character analysis offers a profound insight into the emotional landscapes of the characters, inviting readers to consider the broader implications of their intertwined lives.
The Echoing Grove: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Rosamond Lehmann
First published: 1953
Genre: Novel
Locale: London and Reading, England
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1930's and 1940's
Rickie Masters, a well-to-do English businessman. A large, handsome man with brown hair and striking blue eyes, he has a boyish quality that makes him attractive to women. After marrying Madeleine Burkett, he falls in love with her younger sister, Dinah Burkett. After he breaks off the affair with Dinah, he feels unable to love anyone. Eventually, he develops ulcers, which cause his death in 1944.
Madeleine Burkett Masters, the wife of Rickie Masters. A graying woman in her early forties when the story begins, shortly after Rickie's death, she has always been considered a beauty. She is tall and slender, with a rather loud voice and a frequently irritable manner. She has been a devoted mother and still grieves for her eldest son, Anthony, who was killed in North Africa during the war. After meeting Dinah at their mother's deathbed, she becomes reconciled with her sister, who consoles Madeleine in the loss of her longtime lover. At the end of the story, Madeleine agrees to leave her daughter Clarissa in Dinah's care so that she can visit her surviving son, Colin, in South Africa.
Dinah Burkett Hermann, an artist and a Marxist, Madeleine's younger sister and Rickie's mistress. A small woman with classic features and large, dark eyes, she strikes men as mysterious. After her child by Rickie dies at birth, Dinah gives up the desire to live and is brought back only by Rickie's devotion. After Rickie breaks off the affair, she marries Jo Hermann, whom she loves deeply but who is killed in the Spanish Civil War. Eventually, she sinks into poverty, into an affair with a former convict, and into self-destroying alcoholism. Robbed and abandoned by her young lover and spurned by Rickie, she finally turns to Dr. Ernest Selbig, who drinks with her, makes love to her, and persuades her to continue living. In her reconciliation with her sister and in their developing friendship, she finds a new peace.
Jo Hermann, a Cockney Jewish intellectual and Marxist. A short, plump man whose bright eyes twinkle behind his horn-rimmed glasses, he gives Dinah both friendship and a secure love during their brief marriage. He is killed in the Spanish Civil War.
Rob Edwards, a former convict and thief who lives with Dinah for a time. A good-looking young man with green eyes, yellow hair, and a long, pale face, he is a rebel against society. When he meets the conventional Madeleine briefly at Dinah's, he cannot forget her and later goes looking for her, ostensibly to get Dinah's address. Instead, he encounters Rickie, who finds himself strangely attracted to Rob. Their intimacy is limited to an evening of conversation, during which they discuss their fear of being destroyed by the women they love. Rob later is killed aboard his navy vessel.
Jocelyn Penrose, a young schoolmaster. Short but strong, he is fair-skinned, with a gentle, quiet manner. Originally introduced into the household as a friend of Colin, he becomes Madeleine's lover during Rickie's absence in 1940. When he breaks off the affair so that he can marry another woman, she is devastated; fortunately, her sister is present to comfort her.
Dr. Ernest Selbig, a psychiatrist. He is a sallow-skinned, heavy, elderly man, elegantly dressed. A Jewish refugee from Germany, he carries with him the memory of killing his mistress in a suicide pact when the Nazis gained power and the guilt of his having failed to die. Befriending the poor and troubled, he takes in Rob and becomes Dinah's friend and lover, even persuading her not to kill herself. Ironically, he poisons himself.
Georgie Enthoven Worthington,anAmerican,thewifeof Jack Worthington and a member of the Masters circle. A quiet, subdued woman with brown hair and large gray eyes, she loves and respects her husband but is infatuated with Rickie. They make love only once, in her basement during a night of bombing. Three days later, Rickie dies. Georgie is killed by a car during a blackout.
Mrs. Burkett, the mother of Madeleine and Dinah. A woman with thin hair and pink cheeks, she has a strong sense of duty, as well as a keen understanding of the limitations of both men and women. She continues to feel close to Rickie, despite his weaknesses, and it is she who arranges for his burial. She urges her daughters to forgive each other, but she sees them estranged for fifteen years before her death brings them together.