Amsterdam: Analysis of Major Characters
"Amsterdam: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate lives of several central figures intertwined by love, betrayal, and moral dilemmas. Vernon Halliday is a middle-aged newspaper editor grappling with personal insecurities and the fallout from his relationship with the late Molly Lane. Clive Linley, a perfectionist composer, faces a creative block and a chilling physical ailment that leads him to join Vernon in a troubling euthanasia pact. They both harbor resentment towards each other, fueled by their shared past with Molly and a significant moral disagreement over a scandal involving Julian Garmony, a powerful and arrogant politician with a hidden vice. Garmony, while maneuvering for political power, faces exposure from a scandalous photograph that threatens his career.
The narrative also introduces George Lane, Molly's possessive husband, who exploits the scandal for his own gain, and Frank Dibben, the ambitious deputy editor aiming to rise in the ranks. Molly herself, once vibrant and lively, is remembered through these men's conflicted feelings and actions, her untimely death serving as a catalyst for their moral reflections and decisions. Set against the backdrop of Amsterdam, the characters' choices culminate in a darkly comedic yet poignant examination of life, death, and the complexities of human relationships.
Amsterdam: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Ian Russell McEwan
First published: 1998
Genre: Novel
Locale: London, England; the Lake District, England; Amsterdam, Netherlands
Plot: Dark comedy
Time: Late 1990s
Vernon Halliday, the editor of the newspaper the Judge and a former lover of Molly Lane. Middle-aged and twice divorced, he is a mercenary man who harbors many self-doubts. After attending Molly's funeral, he begins to experience strange feelings that his right hemisphere has atrophied or that he does not exist at all. He makes an immediate connection to the odd neurological disease that killed Molly and enters into a pact with Clive, an old friend: should one of them begin to suffer from a serious brain illness, the other will assist in his euthanasia. With the circulation of his newspaper in rapid decline, Vernon decides to stir up attention by publishing a series of scandalous photographs that Molly once took of Foreign Minister Julian Garmony dressed in drag. Clive clashes with Vernon over the morality of publishing the photos; this creates a rift between the two men. The photo scandal backfires, leading Vernon to resign. His disdain for Clive grows after he finds out that his friend witnessed but failed to report an attack by the Lakeland rapist. He then devises a scheme to take advantage of their euthanasia pact in Amsterdam, where there is an assisted suicide policy. He meets Clive there, where a Dutch physician paid by his friend involuntarily euthanizes them both.
Clive Linley, a successful composer and a former lover of Molly Lane. A perfectionist devoted to his art, he thinks of himself as the next Vaughan Williams. Shortly after Molly's funeral, his left hand becomes icy and numb. Concerned, Clive joins Vernon in the euthanasia pact. He continues working on his new composition, the Millennial Symphony, which the government has commissioned for the upcoming millennial celebration. He hopes it will become his career-defining masterpiece. Suffering from writer's block, Clive leaves London to go hiking in the Lake District. There he witnesses an attempted rape but chooses not to intervene because he has just come up with the final piece of the symphony and needs to put it down on paper. When he returns, he fails to report the attack, an act that Vernon finds despicable. With their mutual hatred now at a boiling point, he and Vernon meet in Amsterdam, where they use a powder procured from a Dutch doctor to poison each other's champagne. Following his death, Clive speaks to Molly in a dream sequence.
Julian Garmony, the right-wing British foreign secretary and a former lover of Molly Lane. He is an arrogant, clever, and powerful man who lives in London's Carlton Gardens area. He has a large head topped by a mound of wavy black hair, very pale skin, and thin lips. Though cowardly at heart, Julian thinks highly of himself. He is maneuvering to become the next prime minister by running on a platform of xenophobia and harsh discipline. Although he enjoys dressing in drag privately, publicly he has denounced alternative sexual expressions. When the media learn of the scandalous photos of him in drag, they storm his house.
George Lane, a wealthy publisher and Molly's controlling and morose husband. He is a needy and dour man who owns 1.5 percent of the Judge. When the newspaper was failing, George put money into saving it. Therefore, he believes that Vernon is in his debt. During Molly's illness, George cared for her himself but maintained a possessive attitude over her, limiting visits from Clive and Vernon and turning others away outright. He refused to hold a memorial service because he did not want to hear her former lovers talk about her. After her funeral, he goes through her belongings and discovers three compromising photographs of Julian in drag. Seeing this as an opportunity to profit and to revenge himself upon his wife's lover by ruining his political career, he sells the photos to Vernon. He is emotionally satisfied at the end of the book.
Molly Lane, a promiscuous restaurant critic, gardener, and fashion photographer. She dies of a rapid-onset brain disease that caused a sharp physical and mental decline. Molly was beautiful, feisty, and witty. She first met Clive in 1968 when they were both students in Hampstead, England. She then met Vernon in 1974 when they lived together in Paris, France. After months of pain and isolation resulting from her illness, Molly dies at age forty-six. She was considered the life of the party; her death shocks everyone who knew her.
Frank Dibben, the deputy foreign editor at the Judge. He is an opportunistic young man with a long, pale face and slim figure, whom Vernon secretly dubs Cassius for his hungry look and obvious aspirations. Although Frank dislikes Vernon, he frequently flatters his superior. He later takes over as editor of the newspaper.
Rose Garmony, Julian's wife. On the night before Vernon is to publish the shocking photographs of her husband, Rose stages a press conference and reveals one of the photos. She denounces Vernon and states that despite his affair with Molly, she will continue to support her husband.