The Ham Funeral: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Ham Funeral" is a play that explores complex character dynamics and themes of existentialism through its major characters. At the center is the Young Man, a dreamer and aspiring poet living in a modest boarding house, who grapples with his unfulfilled ambitions and a yearning for connection. His interactions with the Landlady, Alma Lusty, add layers to his character; she is a gregarious woman mourning her lost son while seeking solace in the Young Man, whom she views both as a son and a potential lover. The Landlord, Will Lusty, remains a silent, philosophical figure, whose death catalyzes the events of the play and prompts the Young Man to confront deeper truths about life and death.
Phyllis Pither, the ethereal Girl, serves as the Young Man's muse, embodying his inner conflicts and aspirations, yet her ghostly presence keeps them apart. Through the contrasting experiences of two former prostitutes and the unrefined relatives who gather for the funeral, the play juxtaposes the search for meaning against the backdrop of mundane existence. Collectively, these characters highlight themes of love, loss, and the pursuit of authenticity in a world laden with superficiality and regret. The interplay among them invites audiences to reflect on the complexities of human relationships and the often-painful journey toward self-discovery.
The Ham Funeral: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Patrick White
First published: 1965, in Four Plays
Genre: Play
Locale: London, England
Plot: Expressionism
Time: c. 1919
The Young Man, a tenant in the Lustys' house, a poet and a dreamer. Although his true name is never revealed, the Young Man is called both “Jack” and “Fred” by the Landlady, the former because he reminds her of the infant son she lost and the latter because he brings to mind a lover she once had. The Young Man spends copious amounts of time either lying on his bed staring at the ceiling or with his ear pressed against the door of the room across the hall, waiting to commune with the Girl, who inhabits the room. He is penniless and, despite his pretensions to a literary life, he has written only one poem, which he later discards. Instead, he talks a considerable amount about life and art, using sophisticated vocabulary, until he meets his silent, taciturn Landlord, who jolts the Young Man out of his stagnation with simple, profound truths. The Landlord dies, however, before the Young Man can question him. The Young Man takes on the responsibility for notifying the Lustys'relatives and inviting them to the funeral. When the Landlady attempts to seduce him, the Young Man cruelly spurns her advances in favor of listening to the musings of the ever-unseen, wraithlike Girl. Finally, with the Girl's help, he reconciles the needs of both body and soul and leaves the house in search of wholeness.
The Landlady, Alma Lusty, a blowsy, overripe woman tending to slovenliness. She is a gregarious creature who particularly craves the attention of men. It comes as something of a surprise that she has been married to the grim, stonelike Landlord for almost twenty years. She delights in material comforts and still mourns the death of her son, Jack, in his infancy. Alma feels some guilt for an affair she once had, which may or may not have produced the child she lost. She is attracted to the Young Man, both as a son-substitute and as a lover, but until the Landlord's death she offers him only friendship. She believes her lodger to be a little bit crazy. Although she finds a poem he discarded, she admits she could not read his educated words. After her husband dies, Alma shows real remorse and vows to serve ham following his funeral, ham being the most elegant repast she can think of to honor his memory. After the wake, Alma tries to seduce the Young Man. He rejects her and leaves, but not without first making peace. Alone at the end, as at the beginning, Alma is a survivor.
The Landlord, Will Lusty, a fat, slovenly man who neither moves nor speaks. He harbors resentment toward his wife for her affairs and lives mostly in the past, in a time when he used to run a sweets shop. His occasional pronouncements make it evident that there is much going on inside Will's head. He is the real philosopher of the play, seeing life in things such as tables and reveling in the simple fact of being. Following his silent, unglamorous death, it is his funeral and the echo of his mysterious words that dominate the action.
The Girl, Phyllis Pither, the Young Man's insubstantial anima. She is serious, with her expression remote but radiant. Dressed in white, with long, fair hair, she plays the part of the poet's muse. Although the Young Man yearns to see and touch her, she will not (in fact, cannot) permit him to do either. Instead, they talk through the door to her room. She provides him with moral balance by urging him to reconcile the disparate, conflicting halves of himself. The Girl, however, is a phantom; her real-life counterpart is a drab, mousy woman named Phyllis Pither.
Two ladies, formerly prostitutes, now bag ladies. When the Young Man meets them, they are methodically going through garbage bins, eating rejected scraps of food, reading discarded letters, and chatting about life. The Young Man's affected manner and obvious disgust offend them, as does the sight, once they near the bottom of the bin, of a dead fetus.
Four relatives, all of whom inhabit one house. They are beckoned to the ham funeral by the Young Man. They prove less than sympathetic toward the widow, making vulgar jabs at her character, all the while devouring her ham.