The Widower's Son: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Widower's Son: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex relationships and emotional struggles of its central figures, primarily set against the backdrop of military life. Colonel William Scorton, the protagonist, embodies the archetype of a disciplined soldier who grapples with deep-seated emotional issues stemming from his cold upbringing. His tumultuous marriage to Georgina Woods, who yearns for a more affectionate connection, highlights their mutual inability to express emotions, ultimately leading to discord and heartbreak.
William's father, Sergeant Charlie Scorton, represents the traditional soldier archetype, marked by strength and stoicism but burdened by a lack of emotional intelligence, which affects his relationship with William. Charlie's journey toward understanding his son's individuality adds depth to the narrative. Meanwhile, Georgina, coming from a military family, struggles with her own dissatisfaction in marriage and seeks solace outside of it, further complicating the dynamics.
Supporting characters, such as Sergeant Harold Oxton, provide a contrast to the main figures with their loyalty and common sense, representing the humanity often overshadowed by the rigid military ethos. The story ultimately navigates themes of love, loss, and the quest for emotional fulfillment, inviting readers to explore the characters' growth and the impact of their choices.
The Widower's Son: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Alan Sillitoe
First published: 1976
Genre: Novel
Locale: Ashfield and elsewhere in England and Europe
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: The early twentieth century to 1976
Colonel William Scorton, the protagonist, a gunner during World War II. A straight-backed career soldier, he is rugged, tall, and authoritative. He is also very self-disciplined and organized, but rather pessimistic and solitary. He was molded into the image of the perfect soldier by a father who never showed him the slightest affection. The military order and discipline of his twenty-five years in the army have carried over into his civilian life, where he attempts to run his marriage and his career as if he were still in the army. Eventually, he realizes that he was never really cut out to be a soldier. Despite the lack of emotion shown to him during his childhood and the blandness of his military career, he is a passionate man who feels things deeply and who yearns for a true, loving relationship. At first glance, he falls head over heels in love with Georgina, but he never really understands that their marriage is doomed because they both are completely unable to express their emotions. Although he truly loves his wife, their marriage leaves them incomplete and yearning for something that neither of them has the emotional experience to comprehend. William's passions rise as he realizes that his wife is having an affair, causing their marriage to become a war zone and climaxing in an intensely emotional scene that results in William's suicide attempt. Rescued once again by his wartime friend Oxton, William finally realizes that there is nothing left of his marriage to save. He returns home to reestablish his relationship with his father and to sort out his thoughts and emotions before beginning his new career as a schoolteacher.
Sergeant Charlie Scorton, the widower of the title and William's father. Every inch the soldier, Charlie is tall, strong, and stubborn, and he has never exhibited any weakness during his eighty-three years. After watching his best friend die in the coal mines, he decides to enter the army, a decision that results in his complete estrangement from his family. Feeling rather bereft of family and friends, he learns to cover his pain with a sort of icy indifference that makes him an excellent soldier. Unfortunately, he carries this coldness into his brief marriage and the rearing of his son. Although he loves his son and wants only the best for him, he has no idea of how to behave with him and so treats William as if he were a child soldier. Never realizing that his son might have needs or desires of his own, Charlie chooses his son's career for him, sending him off to military school as soon as possible. Living vicariously through William and his military career, Charlie does not understand the reasons for William's resentment, nor does he recognize that he might not have done what was really best for his son. Living a rather lonely life, with only his sister Doris as company, he finally learns to accept William as an individual.
Georgina Woods Scorton, William's wife. Tall and fair, with piercing, cold, blue eyes, she too was reared in a military family. Restless in temperament, she attended boarding schools and spent her vacations with her grandmother. Never having seen a good example of married life, she must create her own ideas about marriage. Failing at this, and unhappy with the lack of emotion in her marriage, she is miserable and suffers from an inner despondency. She eventually renews her acquaintance with an old lover as a form of release and rebellion. This, however, only becomes the catalyst for the explosion of her marriage into outright war, and she and William fight almost constantly. Eventually, both she and William run out of passion and anger, and their marriage dissolves.
Sergeant Harold Oxton, William's batman during World War II. An extremely ugly man with false teeth, narrow eyes, a shapeless nose, and a lined face, he is a truly good person. Although he is a menace as a gunner, he is indispensable to William because of his common sense, his infinite stamina, and his blind loyalty. Completely devoted to his mother, he left home only twice, both times to fight against the Germans during the world wars. After his mother's death, he goes to work for William as a bouncer in a bowling alley and eventually meets and marries a nice German lady with whom he lives a happy, well-ordered life.
Brigadier “Jacko” Woods, Georgina's father. Tall, bony, and angular, the white-haired, blue-eyed brigadier is restless, forceful, talented, energetic, and unpredictable. An excellent infantry officer, he is the only soldier in the story who succeeded and became happy by making the army his career.