Charming Billy: Analysis of Major Characters
"Charming Billy: Analysis of Major Characters" provides an in-depth exploration of the key figures in a narrative revolving around themes of love, loss, and alcoholism within an Irish-American context. Central to the story is Billy Lynch, a romantic yet troubled character whose life is marred by the death of his fiancée, Eva, and his struggle with alcoholism. His wife, Maeve Lynch, is portrayed as a long-suffering caregiver, shaped by her own history of familial loss and the burden of looking after both Billy and her alcoholic father, Mr. Kehoe. Dennis Lynch, Billy's cousin and confidant, serves as a stabilizing force amid the turmoil, grappling with his own losses while supporting Billy through his emotional crises.
The character of Eva, whose mysterious marriage in Ireland profoundly affects Billy's perception of love and loss, adds a layer of complexity to the narrative. Other supporting characters, such as Mr. Holtzman, who provides financial assistance to Billy, and Maeve's father, Mr. Kehoe, contribute to the familial dynamics and underscore the impact of addiction and grief on relationships. The interplay of these characters highlights the interconnectedness of their struggles, presenting a poignant examination of how personal histories shape present realities. This overview invites readers to reflect on the intricate character relationships and the emotional depth of the story.
Charming Billy: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Alice McDermott
First published: 1997
Genre: Novel
Locale: Bronx, Queens, and Long Island, New York
Plot: Literary fiction
Time: Post-World War II
Billy Lynch, an alcoholic Irish-American. With a thin face and pale blue eyes, Billy is a romantic at heart, quoting Yeats and sending off spontaneous notes to friends and relatives, often on cocktail napkins and diner paper placemats. (He carried envelopes and stamps at the ready.) Forever scarred by the supposed death of his beloved Eva—the fiancée who went to Ireland, only to die of pneumonia—Billy makes something of a life for himself with Maeve. Billy's alcoholism dominates all of his relationships, though he manages to keep the affection of all who knew him.
Maeve Lynch, Billy's wife. With an ordinary, plain kind of beauty, Maeve has blue eyes, pale skin and her hair is dull brown with faded gray streaks. Maeve is long-suffering, the consummate caregiver, perhaps enabler, for her father and Billy. Her mother died when she was just eight years old. An older sister had died from lead poisoning prior to that. This left Maeve to care for herself and her father, a despairing alcoholic. She is quiet and patient, calling upon the help of friends and relatives (primarily Dennis) to put Billy to bed once he has passed out from drinking.
Dennis Lynch, Billy's cousin. A classic broad-cheeked and ruddy-faced Irish-American, Dennis is an even-tempered, steady presence in Billy's life, a best friend and confidant. Dennis has had many losses in his life. His father died when Dennis was just 18, then his wife and his mother within a few years of each other. He has one daughter—the narrator in the novel. In order to spare Billy's feelings, Dennis tells one huge lie, that Billy's beloved Eva has died from pneumonia, an act that has a profound impact on all of their lives.
Mr. Holtzman, Ellen's second husband. A caring, relatively wealthy, German man who owns a shoe store, he is a stable presence in the lives of Ellen and her children. He loans Billy the money to bring his fiancée, Eva, back from Ireland, allowing him to work in the shoe store to pay off the loan. Billy works there for forty years. Holtzman also owns the small house in the Hamptons that serves as the backdrop for the fateful summer when Billy and Dennis meet the sisters, Eva and Mary.
Mr. Kehoe, Maeve's father. A redheaded, fair-skinned Irish-American, who “wore his heart on his sleeve,” the old man is a retired policeman who never recovers from the loss of his wife and young daughter. He is an alcoholic, leaving his daughter, Maeve, to pick up the pieces when he crumbles. He and Billy share a special kinship based on their use of alcohol to ease the pain of their losses.
Eva, Billy's ex-fiancée. A classic beauty with dark auburn hair and big brown eyes, tall and curvy, (perhaps even pleasantly plump), Eva returns to Ireland after a summer of love with Billy, leaving him to believe she will return so they can marry. However, she marries another man in Ireland, never revealing her wedded state to Billy, who believes she has died. She keeps the money Billy sent to her for her return passage, using it to set up a family business for herself and her new husband.
Mary, Eva's sister. Almost boyish, with dark hair and gray eyes, Mary is less spirited than her sister Eva. She and Dennis date for a time until Mary reveals to Dennis that her sister, Eva, has married an Irishman back home, and will not be returning to the States.
Kate, Billy's sister. The oldest of the three siblings, Kate is married to a lawyer, and is the only one of Billy's siblings to attain any kind of wealth. She lives in the tony town of Rye, New York.
Rosemary, Billy's sister. Rosemary defends Billy and his desire to stop drinking. When Dan Lynch suggests he didn't have any willpower to quit, she argues that Billy had a disease. Her husband's name is Mac.
Ellen Lynch, Billy's mother, who appears only once in the novel, running out with a brown-bag supper for Dennis and Billy as they head out to the Hamptons.
Claire (Donavan) Lynch, Dennis's wife. A pretty blond girl with a small mouth, Claire is engaged to be married when she meets Dennis Lynch. She dies from cancer at a relatively young age, leaving Dennis to raise their daughter alone.
Sheila Lynch, Dennis's mother, Billy's aunt. A tiny woman with a logical, cynical, no-nonsense sensibility, Sheila has no room for sentimentality or a poet's airs. Her philosophy in life is to get to the “plain, unadorned, mostly concrete and colorless bottom of things.” She has no patience for religion, which she considers to be self-delusion. Ironically, she leaves all of her wealth, with the one exception of the house on Long Island, to the church upon her death, as though hedging her bets for the hereafter. Though she remarries after Daniel (her first husband) dies, she stays close with the Lynch family. Her second husband, Mr. Holtzman, plays a key role in much of the family history, employing Billy, giving money to Dennis, and providing a house in the Hamptons that becomes the backdrop for so many key events.
Daniel Lynch, Dennis's father. A gregarious and talkative man, whom fellow commuters go out of their way to bump into, Daniel finds himself uncharacteristically speechless when he first comes upon Sheila on the trolley. Daniel dies from cancer when Dennis is 18.
Dan Lynch, Dennis and Billy's cousin. Although Dan was Billy's best man at his and Maeve's wedding, Dan's place is in the perimeter of the family circle. Maeve is careful to acknowledge all of Dennis's help with Billy, leaving Dan feeling slighted. His forays into reflection about Billy and his drinking skirt close to maudlin. Because Dennis leaves Dan in the dark about the details of Eva's death (or lack thereof), much of Dan's philosophizing comes off as foolish. Dan is a bachelor, and the state of his apartment—dimly lit, a thread-bare rug, numerous stacks of news magazines, and neatly folded newspapers—leaves the image of a lonely man living in isolation.
Bridie, a neighbor from the old neighborhood. Bridie is nearly a member of the family, having known and lived near them for so long. Her husband, Jim, suffers from Alzheimer's disease.
Dorothy, Maeve and Billy's neighbor who comes to help Maeve the night Billy dies.
Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, bakers for whom Sheila works. Sheila's first job is as an assistant to a baker. However, Mr. Dixon is a mean drunk who is violent, always grabbing at Sheila.
Jim Fox, Bridie's husband.
Mr. West, renter of the Long Island house. A tall, well-tanned muscular man slightly older than Dennis Lynch. He is divorced with three sons, one of whom ends up marrying the narrator, Dennis's daughter.
Great-Uncle Robert and Auntie Eileen, Sheila's relatives who, only reluctantly, take her in after both of her parents die. They are neither kind nor generous toward Sheila.
Smitty, Mr. Holtzman's bald-headed assistant in the shoe store.