The Hot l Baltimore: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Hot l Baltimore" explores the lives of diverse characters residing in a dilapidated hotel, each with their own unique backgrounds and struggles. The central figure, known simply as The Girl, is a youthful and energetic call girl who cherishes her experiences across the United States, particularly fond of railroads. Bill Lewis, the night clerk, harbors unexpressed feelings for her, while Millie, a retired waitress, reflects on her past with a sense of dignity and spirituality. April Green, an older prostitute with a raucous sense of humor, provides comedic relief and a sense of resilience amid life's challenges. Other characters include Mr. Morse, a retired man consumed by ailments, and Mr. Katz, the pragmatic hotel manager. Jackie, a tough young thief, and her passive brother Jamie navigate their bleak circumstances with ambition and vulnerability. Together, these characters illustrate a tapestry of hope, despair, and the human condition within the transient setting of the hotel, as they confront their realities and aspirations.
The Hot l Baltimore: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Lanford Wilson
First published: 1973
Genre: Play
Locale: Baltimore, Maryland
Plot: Comedy
Time: The 1970's
The Girl, a call girl who resides at the hotel. Blonde, youthful, and attractive despite her professional and other past experiences, she has traveled through all fifty states and is particularly attached to railroads, whose demise she laments greatly. She is extremely talkative and curious, making everybody's business her affair. Energetic and positive, she believes in conviction. She announces that she will not vacate the hotel even though it is scheduled for demolition.
Bill Lewis, the night clerk at the hotel. He is thirty years old and handsome in an ordinary way. Outwardly friendly but quiet, he has a rather clumsy manner with people. He has strong feelings for the Girl that he is unable to communicate. Although he is present through much of the play, his role in the action is minimal.
Millie, a retired waitress. She is an elegant sixty-year-old who maintains a sense of dignity and refinement. Quiet and gentle, she is detached from the present world and seems to experience a rather odd spirituality, believing in ghosts and clinging to her memories of a more satisfactory world.
April Green, a prostitute. No longer young but still attractive in a fleshy way, April views much of life with raucous good humor. She is aggressive, strong, and frequently vulgar. Much of the overt comedy in the play is found in her caustic and witty comments on the situations and characters around her. At the end of the play, it is April who coaxes Jamie to dance with her and gives some sense that things will continue to progress.
Mr. Morse, a retired gentleman. Seventy years old and constantly plagued by both real and imaginary ailments, Mr. Morse is a complainer who manages to give meaning to life only through conflict.
Mr. Katz, the hotel manager. Only thirty-five years old, he distances himself from his surroundings with a gruff and no-nonsense attitude that makes him seem older. He deals with problems in a direct and forceful manner but only when it is absolutely necessary.
Jackie, a young thief. Although she is a pretty, twenty-four-year-old woman, she hides under a masculine appearance and dress. Tough on the exterior, she is blunt, aggressive, and ambitious. She has dreams of establishing a home for herself and her younger brother, and she will go to any ends to fulfill that dream. Her loss of her dream at the end of the play and her abandonment of her brother are forceful elements in establishing the melancholy mood of the piece.
Jamie, her younger brother. He is nineteen years old, small, and physically weak. Passive and withdrawn, he is submissive to his sister. Although not mentally quick, he is alert to the activity that surrounds him. His final moments dancing with April lend a sense of hope that perhaps he will find himself.
Suzy, a prostitute. Flashy and hard, she is thirty years old and well-dressed for her profession. She is outgoing and talkative and refuses to give in to despair, desperately clinging to her belief that things will be better in the future. Rather than mourning the hotel's closing, she brings champagne to celebrate her new future, even though her prospects are far from glowing.
Paul Granger, a student. He is an outsider at the hotel, as is clear from his twenty-year-old, blond, tanned good looks. He is intense and somewhat gruff. He comes to the hotel in search of his long-lost grandfather. His entrance provides a stimulus for action, particularly on the part of the Girl, who immediately adopts his cause as her own.
Mrs. Oxenham, the day desk clerk. Forty-five years old, she is all business and wants nothing to interrupt her orderly day.
Mrs. Bellotti, the mother of a former tenant. A wheedler and a whiner, she has come to persuade Mr. Katz to let her son move back into the hotel. She is the victim of countless catastrophes, which she does not hesitate to describe.