Point Counter Point: Analysis of Major Characters
"Point Counter Point: Analysis of Major Characters" examines a diverse array of characters, each representing various aspects of human experience and societal roles. Central to the narrative is Walter Bidlake, a literary critic who struggles with his identity and relationships, particularly with his mistress Marjorie Carling, who embodies the conflict between physical needs and emotional fulfillment. Philip Quarles serves as a stark contrast, characterized by his intellectual prowess yet emotional detachment, illustrating the limitations of an overly analytical view of life.
Other notable characters include John Bidlake, a once-great artist grappling with decline, and Hilda Tantamount, a vibrant hostess who thrives on amusement. Lucy Tantamount, their daughter, embodies a reckless disregard for morality, while Everard Webley, a charismatic figure with fascist tendencies, highlights the complex interplay of power and personal relationships. The narrative also touches on themes of nihilism through Maurice Spandrell, whose disdain for life leads to destructive behavior.
Through this intricate web of relationships, the work invites readers to reflect on the interplay between intellect, emotion, and social dynamics, presenting a nuanced commentary on the human condition.
Point Counter Point: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Aldous Huxley
First published: 1928
Genre: Novel
Locale: England
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1920's
Walter Bidlake, a literary critic in London. An essentially weak and confused man, he is unhappy in his extramarital relationship with Marjorie Carling and seeks some kind of better realization in an affair with Lucy Tantamount. The author regards Walter as an example of the emptiness of the intellectual life unsupported by sound instinctual expression.
Marjorie Carling, Walter's unhappy mistress. She has left Carling because of his perversion and yet behaves with Walter, to all effects and purposes, like a nagging wife rather than a cheering companion. Fearful of her pregnancy, she drives Walter from her. Marjorie has difficulty reconciling the needs of her body and of her soul.
Philip Quarles, a writer and diarist. He is the prime example in the novel of a man who understands everything and feels nothing. He has an encyclopedic mind and seldom fails to develop a topic in a startling way.
Mrs. Bidlake, the mother of Walter and Elinor Quarles. She is a gentle and aesthetic elderly woman who is unable to aid any of her children with their personal problems.
John Bidlake, Walter's father. Bidlake, once a successful artist and amorist, is horrified by the decline of his artistic powers and by the onset of disease. He represents the shortcomings of irresponsible sensuality.
Hilda Tantamount, a successful London hostess. Once John Bidlake's mistress and now his friend, she lives for amusement and malice.
Lord Edward Tantamount, Hilda's husband. Lord Edward is a great biologist and a failure in every personal relationship he undertakes. He represents the limitations of the scientific approach to complex human experience.
Lucy Tantamount, the promiscuous daughter of Lord Edward. Malicious and without any kind of conscience, she amuses herself with Walter Bidlake and any other acceptable male who crosses her path.
Frank Illidge, Lord Edward's laboratory assistant. He is a brilliant lower-class person who, out of hatred and socialistic conviction, allows himself to become involved in the murder of Everard Webley.
Everard Webley, a British Fascist and head of the Brotherhood of British Freemen. He is a man of tremendous physical magnetism whose thirst for power and his contempt for the masses make him a likely target for Illidge's hatred. He is also a former friend of Elinor Quarles.
Burlap, the editor of the Literary World. His chief critical stock in trade is religious mysticism; actually, he is a feeble sensualist who has damaged the lives of several naïve women. He is finally involved in a perverse relationship with Beatrice Gilray.
Elinor Quarles, Philip's wife. Her unsatisfactory husband drives her to consider an affair with Everard Webley. She is devastated by the death of her child, Little Philip, from meningitis.
Maurice Spandrell, a nihilist. Spandrell has been shocked into a hatred of life by the remarriage of his mother; there is nothing he can affirm, and he takes delight in destroying the dignity of other people. He pursues violent sensation even to the point of the murder of Everard Webley.
General Knoyle, the stepfather of Spandrell, a pompous military man with no understanding of the world in which he lives.
Mrs. Knoyle, Spandrell's mother. She is, in part, the innocent cause of her son's hatred of the world.
Mark Rampion, an artist. Rampion, risen from the lower class, has developed a life and a style of painting that properly express the interplay of all of life's forces; he is totally unlike Philip Quarles, who understands all of life but cannot live it.
Mary Rampion, Mark's wife. She is an upper-class woman who has married for love and life. In her cheerful enjoyment of her husband's vigor, she is an illustration of all that he preaches about the natural, spontaneous life.
Beatrice Gilray, a literary woman. She is the special friend of Burlap, from whom she learns the mingling of high thinking and sensuality.
Sidney Quarles, the father of Philip. He is engaged in a never-to-be-finished work on democracy. He is also involved with a young woman in London.
Rachel Quarles, his wife. Accepting with dignity the shortcomings of her domestic situation, she is a Christian in her devotion and forbearance.