The Blood of the Lamb: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Blood of the Lamb: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate lives of the Wanderhope family and their struggles with faith, loss, and existential dilemmas. Central to the narrative is Don Wanderhope, the son of Dutch immigrants, who grapples with belief and the concept of divine providence, ultimately leaning towards humanistic values over religious faith. His father, Ben, is portrayed as an intelligent yet troubled figure, whose fluctuating beliefs lead to despair and institutionalization, reflecting the burdens of faith and doubt.
Don's brother, Louie, presents a contrasting perspective; despite his scoffing nature, he faces death with a certainty that both reassures and confounds those around him. Don's relationship with Greta Wigbaldy highlights the challenges of love, as her mental decline and infidelity culminate in tragedy, leaving Don with deep emotional scars. Their daughter, Carol, embodies hope and innocence, yet her battle with leukemia underscores the family’s ongoing struggle with loss. Lastly, Rena Baker introduces a glimpse of potential redemption through genuine love, but her untimely death further complicates Don's understanding of life and faith. Together, these characters weave a poignant tapestry of human experience marked by suffering, love, and the search for meaning.
The Blood of the Lamb: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Peter De Vries
First published: 1962
Genre: Novel
Locale: Chicago, Illinois; a sanatorium in the Rockies; and New York City
Plot: Comic realism
Time: The 1920's to the 1950's
Don Wanderhope, the son of pietistic Dutch immigrants in South Chicago. As a youth, he works for his father, who has a garbage-collection business, and attends the University of Chicago. As his name suggests, he can neither believe nor disbelieve in divine providence. Times of hopefulness and happiness in his life invariably are followed by suffering and loss. He decides finally on reason, courage, and grace, but insists that the grace is solely humanity's to give, that there is no God to make all things right in the end.
Ben Wanderhope, Don's father, an intelligent but ill-educated immigrant businessman. He wavers between a variety of Dutch Calvinism that allows grace only to the elect and no belief at all. His faith is rekindled when he thinks that he is drowning in a garbage pit and again when profession of belief will lead to reduced fees for Don's treatment at a church-run sanatorium. Finally, he becomes so depressed that he has to be institutionalized for the remainder of his life.
Louie Wanderhope, Don's older brother and hero, who dies while a medical student at the University of Chicago. Always a scoffer, on his deathbed he assures those in attendance that he has “no doubts” whatsoever as to what is to follow. His smile at Don lets his brother know exactly what he means by his statement, though the others are pleasantly misled.
Greta Wigbaldy, a girl from the same milieu as Don, later his wife. Following their marriage, which takes place after his return from treatment for tuberculosis, her personality becomes increasingly disordered. She already is the mother, with a married man, of a child given up for adoption. She is unfaithful to Don, drinks too much, and eventually kills herself, leaving to Don her daughter by him.
Carol Wanderhope, Don and Greta's beautiful and precocious daughter. Don's love for his daughter is intensified when he learns that she has leukemia. It is only after her death that he discovers—via a tape recording she made—that she knew for some time what was coming.
Rena Baker, a decent Calvinist girl whom Don meets and loves at the tuberculosis sanatorium in the Rockies. Her piety seems as genuine as her love for Don. Two days after the near consummation of that love, she has to undergo an operation and dies.