The Captain with the Whiskers: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Captain with the Whiskers: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex relationships and tragic fates of the Chesney family and their associates, centered around the character of Captain Conway Chesney, a domineering patriarch with a significant impact on his children. The narrative is conveyed through Owen Rodgers, a former medical student turned hotel manager who becomes enmeshed in the lives of the Chesney daughters, Maeve and Greta. Maeve is portrayed as an idealized yet ultimately shallow figure in Owen's life, while Greta's struggles culminate in a tragic end influenced by their father's oppressive legacy.
Other notable characters include Dr. Grierson, a parish priest who offers counsel and bears witness to the moral decline stemming from the captain's actions, and Lucy, Owen's first love whose ordinary life contrasts sharply with the more tumultuous relationships he shares with the Chesneys. The narrative also examines the brothers of the Chesney family who each grapple with the consequences of their father's harsh treatment and societal expectations. Through these characters, the text presents a poignant commentary on themes of love, loss, and the cultural dislocation caused by historical forces.
The Captain with the Whiskers: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Benedict Kiely
First published: 1960
Genre: Novel
Locale: Northern Ireland and Dublin
Plot: Love
Time: The late 1940's to the early 1950's
Owen Rodgers, the narrator, in his twenties, a former medical student who eventually becomes a successful hotel manager. An incurable romantic leaning toward alcoholism, he is obsessed with the fall of the Chesney family and haunted by memories of its patriarch, Captain Conway Chesney. He becomes the chaste lover of Maeve Chesney, who represents to him the idealized queen of his dreams, while he becomes the actual and fatal lover of the other Chesney daughter, Greta. He ends up marrying his first love, Lucy, who dies after bearing him three children. He spends his remaining days in Dublin ruefully singing songs in seedy pubs.
Captain Conway Chesney, the head of the Chesney family and patriarchal commandant of Bingen House. He is a hero of the Boer War and Owen Rodgers' mentor. In spite of his death early in the story, his commanding presence remains and persistently manifests itself in the corrosive crippling of his children, both emotionally and spiritually. He is a small man, virulently anticlerical, and willfully vindictive, not only to his children but also to the entire area. His greatest sin is changing the name of his estate from its original Irish name of Magheracolton to its British name, Bingen House, thus severing the natives from their cultural and linguistic heritage.
Maeve Chesney, one of the captain's two daughters. She is lively, beautiful, and sexually desirable. She becomes Owen Rodgers' idealized beloved but in reality is promiscuous, fun-loving, and rather shallow. Owen runs into her again late in the novel, when she is in Dublin with her teenage son, after she has lost much of her allure and most of her memories.
Dr. Grierson, a sophisticated parish priest of the area who holds a doctorate from Louvain. He tends to his priestly duties conscientiously but suffers under the heavy hand of his ecclesiastical superiors, who have exiled him for his intelligence and compassion. He spends most of his time drinking heavily, recovering, and advising young Owen Rodgers. He considers the captain to be irredeemably wicked and possesses little hope for humanity.
Lucy, Owen Rodgers' first girlfriend. She is in her twenties, plumply attractive but rather unimaginative and ordinary. Owen leaves her to pursue both Chesney women, only to return to marry her and take her to Dublin, where she bears him three children and then dies in middle age.
John Rodgers, Owen's cultivated and highly intelligent father. He is fully conscious of the evil effects of the captain's influence, not only on the Chesney family but also on the entire area. A loving preserver of Irish books and music, he hates the captain principally because he has destroyed the cultural coherence of the local area by replacing its Irish names with English ones. He is Dr. Grierson's closest confidant and most sympathetic listener.
Greta Chesney, the hardworking, practical, and quietly attractive daughter of Captain Chesney. She tries unsuccessfully to escape the life-denying effects of her father and commits suicide following a disastrous affair with Owen Rodgers.
Alfred Chesney, nicknamed Slobber, the captain's oldest son, brutalized by his father for associating with members of the lower classes. Alcoholic, ugly, and desperate for love, he is arrested for the rape of a minor and sent to prison for a year.
Edmund Chesney, the captain's second son. He is soft, corpulent, and loquacious. He manages to escape to England temporarily but returns home after his father's death, blaming the captain for his older brother's sexual misconduct.
Francis Chesney, the captain's third son, pimply faced and sallow. He manages to escape to study for the priesthood, although he is almost disqualified because of his sister's illegitimate child and Greta's suicide. After returning from studies at Louvain, he becomes increasingly alcoholic and disillusioned and holds scrupulously to the rituals and rules of the church.