Elizabeth And After: Analysis of Major Characters

Author: Matt Cohen

First published: 1999

Genre: Novel

Locale: West Gull (a fictional town near Kingston), Ontario, Canada

Plot: Literary fiction

Time: 1980s

Carl McKelvey, Elizabeth and William's son. The 28-year-old son of Elizabeth and William McKelvey has soft green-brown baby eyes and a butterfly tattoo, with wings that expand and contract as his muscles move. After being away from West Gull for several years, Carl returns to face the demons of his past. He has a seven-year-old daughter who needs him, and a father and ex-wife who do not. Carl has never overcome the guilt of having killed his mother in a tragic, late-night car accident, and he has unfinished business with his ex-wife and her live-in boyfriend. He is quick to rage, a fighter; yet, he is methodical in executing his plans.

Elizabeth McKelvey, Carl's mother. While Elizabeth is a woman of great passion, she spends most of her life regretting her choices and unfulfilled dreams. She is slim and attractive, with chestnut hair and blue eyes. Everyone seems to love Elizabeth, the woman “everyone wants to dance with.” But she is under-appreciated by her husband and son. She has a long-term affair with Adam Goldsmith, an accountant whom she acknowledges to herself is the opposite of her coarse and passionless husband. At the time of her death, Elizabeth is 56 years old. Her life has been one of disappointment and unfulfilled dreams.

William McKelvey, Carl's father. An emotionally remote, active alcoholic, William is disconnected from everyone, with the exception of his good friend Gerald Boyce.

Chrissy, Carl's ex-wife. Chrissy gives off the air of a woman resigned to her position in life, living with a overbearing, controlling man who occasionally beats her, and humiliates her by filming their sexual encounters, against her will. She has a failed marriage with Carl, the father of her daughter, Lizzie. While she is clearly unhappy, (she has a tryst with Carl upon his arrival into town), she still tries to play the role of a good politician's “wife.” (She and Fred are not married.)

Lizzy, Carl and Chrissy's daughter. Lizzy is a happy and energetic 7-year-old. She has black, frizzy hair with sun-bronzed highlights and green eyes. She is affectionate with her parents and devoted to her cat.

Adam Goldsmith, an accountant, Carl's real father. Adam is a taciturn, quiet man, tall and slim, with blue eyes. He spends his life in longing and regret. He is deeply in love with Elizabeth, who is married to William McKelvey. The two have a secret, ongoing affair, and they have Carl, their son, though only Adam and Elizabeth know the truth. While his love is requited, Elizabeth doesn't leave her husband nor acknowledge to the world that Adam is Carl's father. Just before her death, Elizabeth arranges to run away with Adam. In ironic tragedy, she dies in a car crash on the eve of their planned elopement, and Adam spends the rest of his life in mourning and regret. Unbeknown to Carl or anyone else, Adam takes revenge on Fred for beating Carl by driving at high speed into a tree, with Fred as his unharnessed passenger.

Fred Verghoers, Chrissy's boyfriend. Fred is a mean, dark character who beats and humiliates his high-school sweetheart, Chrissy, and vows revenge on Carl, Chrissy's first husband. He and Carl share a mutual and violent hatred for each other. Fred nearly kills Carl one night, sneaking up on him from behind. Fred is branching out into politics by campaigning for the town reeve (a councilman), but his malevolence backfires in the end, when Adam, in an act of fatherly vengeance, lures Fred to his death in an act of murder-suicide.

Luke Richardson, a wealthy businessman. Tall with a tendency to stand too close to people so he can look down on them, Luke basically owns the town of West Gull. He is the town reeve (a presiding officer akin to a town mayor or councilman), and has used his wealth to buy numerous town businesses such as the local car dealership, a real estate office, movie rental store, and the retirement home—the Rest & Retirement Villa. He uses his wealth and charisma to fashion the town and its people to his liking.

Ned Richardson, Luke's son. An awkward man, full of adolescent bravado, the 23-year old takes it upon himself to earn the favor of Fred Verghoers, (from whom he seeks a job) by slaughtering Carl's cat (which actually belongs to Lizzy). His scheme backfires in a moment of supreme impotence, when Carl manages to bury Ned in the ground, in a standing position, up to his neck. Again and again, Ned finds himself buried too deep in the very adult life-and-death rivalry between Carl and Fred.

Amy (Amaryllia), Luke's wife. Amy plays the role of a politician's wife, throwing dinner parties and entertaining guests. She overdoes appearances with her streaked blond hair and under-sized satin dresses. In one scene, she is in a tight dress of “unyielding polyester…that stuck out at all angles like a bow tied by a ten-thumbed giant;” in another, she appears in a “tight red satin dress that made her look like an overcooked sausage, left on the barbecue so long that its skin was about to split.” In one odd interlude, she demonstrates her desperation when she tries to seduce Adam with a hot-oil back massage.

Moira, a nurse; Carl's lover. Moira comes to care a great deal for Carl. She first meets him upon his return to West Gull, when he comes to visit his father, for whom Moira is the caretaker. She is William's nurse, but the comfort she offers to Carl blossoms into a physical romance. She is reluctant because she knows Carl is unable to fully give himself to a relationship, especially given his unfinished business with his ex-wife. Still, Moira stays, offering compassion and support to the wounded Carl.

Flora Goldsmith, Adam's mother. Flora is Adam's mother and, after she loses her husband, Hank, in the war, she devotes herself to Adam's care. She creates a “tonic” for Adam (which she calls “Adam's Deep Sleep”) after he starts hearing voices and speaking in tongues. She eventually returns to her work as a nurse.

Ellie Dean, Carl's girlfriend in high school. A petite blond, Ellie was a popular, energetic girl whom Carl dated in high school. She was his first love, whom he took as his date to the school dance, where he ended up sparking a romance with Chrissy and fighting with Fred. Ellie suggested that Chrissy stole Carl from her. Later, he renews his relationship with her after his marriage to Chrissy begins to fail. Upon returning to West Gull, he is overwhelmed when he accidently sees her wrapped in a towel as he peers through her window, and realizes she is not good for him.

Maureen Knight, the physician's daughter. For a while, Adam and Maureen share a passionless relationship, becoming engaged though they never marry.

Arnie Kincaid, insurance salesman. Arnie knows the details of the private lives of most of the town's residents, as well as the businesses, since he's a local insurance salesman. He tries to persuade Carl to enter the business, to take over for him when he retires.

Gerald Boyce, William McKelvey's friend. Gerald Boyce is a recluse whose favorite pasttime is fishing with his friend, William. He is short and wide with a smooth baby face and thick white hair. His eyes are a rich, chocolate brown—“cow eyes” according to McKelvey—with white caterpillar eyebrows. He is also the town gravedigger by default, because he has a front-end loader.