Kepler: Analysis of Major Characters
"Kepler: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex relationships and personalities surrounding Johannes Kepler, a pivotal figure in 17th-century astronomy and mathematics. Kepler himself is portrayed as a brilliant yet impatient man, whose commitment to science is both a reflection of his faith and a challenge to the prevailing philosophical ideas of his time. His first wife, Barbara Muller, is depicted as a burdensome partner whose criticisms of Kepler’s ideals create tension, while his stepdaughter Regina Ehem embodies loyalty and understanding, despite periodic conflicts. The narrative includes significant figures like Dr. Tycho Brahe, a supportive yet troubled mentor, and Emperor Rudolph, who provides Kepler with financial backing yet grows disappointed with his findings.
The character dynamics extend to Kepler’s family, including his mother Katharina, who faces accusations of witchcraft, and his brother Henrich, who presents a childlike innocence amid familial strife. The portrayal of these characters reflects the socio-political complexities of the era and highlights the personal trials that influenced Kepler’s scientific journey. Overall, the analysis provides insight into how personal relationships shaped Kepler's life and work, contributing to his legacy as a transformative figure in the history of science.
Kepler: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: John Banville
First published: 1981
Genre: Novel
Locale: Central Europe
Plot: Historical
Time: 1571–1630
Johannes Kepler (yoh-HAHN-ehs KEHP-lur), a brilliant mathematician and astronomer whose discovery that planetary bodies move in elliptical rather than circular orbits, with the sun as the focus, revolutionized philosophy and science during the seventeenth century. He is a shrewd, suspicious, and sometimes sarcastic man, frequently impatient with stupidity, but he is consistently honest and deeply compassionate toward his family and the helpless. In spite of being a German Protestant persecuted by the Catholic majority, he maintains his faith in God by finding science, especially geometry, to be a mirror of the divine plan. He views human nature optimistically by opposing Aristotle's tabula rasa (clean slate) model of human consciousness and proposes that all knowledge resides within the human mind and is evoked by objects in nature. He dies at the end of the novel, after many trials and setbacks, in a state of deep gratitude.
Barbara Muller Kepler, Kepler's first wife, whom he meets when she is twenty-seven years old. Carping, resentful, plump, and not very bright, she bears him six children during the course of their conjugal life; four die. She had been married twice before and outlived both husbands. She persistently chides him for not cooperating with the political and ecclesiastical authorities and modifying his philosophical principles to secure more lucrative academic positions. She dies before him and leaves him nothing in her considerable will.
Regina Ehem, Kepler's beloved stepdaughter. Of all the children, she seems to understand and love her stepfather more than the rest. She possesses a strong sense of self-sufficiency and feels a familial loyalty that the others do not. Although she and Kepler have a falling-out after her mother's death, over the contents of her will, they later come to terms with their differences.
Dr. Tycho Brahe (TEE-koh BRAH-heh), the great Danish mathematician and astronomer and Kepler's consistent supporter. Middle-aged when Kepler meets him, Brahe is brilliant, stubborn, and alcoholically self-destructive. He becomes the imperial mathematician to Emperor Rudolph and secures Kepler a semipermanent position at the court. More politically astute than Kepler, he is torn between pleasing the emperor with astronomical charts and pursuing his own scientific projects. His major conflict with Kepler is that he cannot adhere to the heliocentric Copernican model of the universe fully and proposes combining the Ptolemaic with the Copernican model, a view that offends no one.
Jobst Muller, Barbara Kepler's father. A Protestant who turned Catholic for political reasons, he is a cheerless, greedy, and well-to-do man who makes little effort to show his disappointment in his daughter's choice of a husband. A bit of a dandy, he claims noble birth and conducts prolonged negotiations in arranging Barbara's marriage and the disposition of her dowry. He dies and leaves his daughter a wealthy woman.
Susana Reuttinger, Kepler's second wife, chosen out of eleven candidates. Twenty-four years old when he meets her, she is tall and attractive but awkward. Although she is from the lower classes, she is a silent but thoughtful wife who truly loves her husband and is selflessly tender toward him. She bears him seven children, but three die in infancy. She makes his later years comfortable and secure.
Emperor Rudolph, a short, dumpy, sad-looking man who combines eagerness with detachment. He urges Kepler to draw astrological charts for him and supports him financially; he permits him to work on his astronomical research unhindered. He confesses to not liking the world and is, finally, disappointed in Kepler's findings. He becomes increasingly reclusive as his empire crumbles into religious and political wars.
Katharina Kepler, Kepler's peasant mother. Silent, cunning, and full of ancient resentments, she is accused of witch-ery and evoking demonic powers that she uses to punish her enemies. Highly manipulative and arrogant, she barely escapes public torture, and only her son's fame saves her from a brutal death.
Henrich Kepler, a forty-year-old epileptic and Johannes' favorite sibling. Illiterate, childlike, and unattractive, he maintains an innocent vision of the world. Having run away from home as a youth because he was brutalized by his alcoholic father, he became a street singer and beggar but finally returned home at the age of thirty-five to care for his troublesome mother.