Love and Salt Water: Analysis of Major Characters
"Love and Salt Water: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics and development of key figures in the narrative. At the center is Ellen "Gypsy" Cuppy, a young woman who navigates personal growth and resilience following her mother’s death. Ellen's journey takes her from a strained relationship with her father, Frank, to a career in the Canadian navy and complex romantic entanglements, including a painful engagement with Huw Peake and a deep love for George Gordon, despite a life-altering accident. In contrast, her older sister Nora appears more passive, marrying the older Morgan Peake and facing the challenges of motherhood, including the trials of raising sons with significant health issues. Frank Cuppy, absorbed in his oil business, struggles with his role as an absentee parent, while Susan, their imaginative mother, shares a close bond with Ellen. The narrative also delves into the emotional landscapes of secondary characters, like the devoted yet enigmatic Morgan Peake and the innocent but honest Johnny, whose actions inadvertently shape Ellen's fate. Through these characters, the exploration of love, loss, and familial bonds speaks to broader themes of identity and resilience in the face of adversity.
Love and Salt Water: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Ethel Wilson
First published: 1956
Genre: Novel
Locale: British Columbia, at sea, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Plot: Social realism
Time: 1930–1950
Ellen “Gypsy” Cuppy, a young woman who grows to maturity in the course of the novel. The small, dark, bright-eyed younger daughter of the Cuppy family, Ellen possesses an intelligence, imagination, and independence that allow her to look critically at society and the people with whom she comes in contact. At the age of sixteen, after her mother's sudden death, she takes a cruise to London with her father, which strains their relationship. Ellen then returns to Canada, joins the Canadian navy as a Wren, and, after the war, works at an office job in Vancouver. During this time, she breaks off an engagement to Huw Peake, the stepbrother of Morgan Peake, who she finally realizes is bad-tempered. Later, in Saskatoon, she falls in love with George Gordon, a Montreal businessman whose love for her perseveres even after a boating accident, for which she is primarily responsible, severely disfigures her face.
Nora Cuppy, Ellen's older sister, tall, fair, and beautiful. The unimaginative and passive Nora marries Morgan Peake, who is nineteen years her senior, and gives birth to three sons; the first dies in infancy and the second is born with Down syndrome and is institutionalized. The third son, Johnny, is smothered by his overbearing and possessive mother. When Nora does allow her son out of her sight, he nearly drowns in Active Pass, and Ellen, who tries to save him, receives the disfigurement that changes her life.
Frank Cuppy, Ellen and Nora's father, employed in the oil business. Tall, good-looking, and successful, Frank is an absentee husband and father whose work often takes him to Mexico and Persia. Although he prefers the world of business and is often distracted in the company of his family, he loves his wife and daughters and is continuously focusing on a future when the girls will be grown and Susan can accompany him on his business travels. After Susan's death, Frank marries Nicola Gracey, whom he meets on a cruise taken to help him get over the death of his wife.
Susan Cuppy, Ellen and Nora's mother, Frank's wife. A small, imaginative woman, Susan is happy with her family, although she longs to accompany her husband on his travels. Because Frank is apart from her for nearly two-thirds of their married life, she becomes close to Ellen, who has her same dreamy personality. Susan dies early in the novel, on her younger daughter's birthday.
Morgan Peake, a well-known lawyer and member of Parliament. Less attractive than the members of the Cuppy family, Morgan is dark and plump and only a few years younger than Frank Cuppy. Although his superb mind and judgment are emphasized over his enigmatic and unemotional personality, Morgan is devoted to Nora and to their second son, whom he continues to visit after everyone else in the family has forgotten him.
Johnny Peake, Nora and Morgan's small son. Although Johnny has been sheltered from life by his mother, he still possesses a childlike joy and independence when under his Aunt Ellen's care. His desire to see a seal causes Ellen to take the boat into dangerous waters, the result of which is nearly fatal for both of them. Johnny is honest to the point of cruelty at the novel's end, when he comments on the ugliness of Ellen's scarred face.
George Gordon, a Montreal businessman who is a suitor to Ellen. A kind, proud man who diverted his energies into business and books after his first wife left him, George initially sees Ellen once a year when he goes to Saskatoon on business. After falling in love, he continues to court her, even after Ellen states her refusal to marry, and thus be controlled by, anyone.
Huw Peake, Ellen's fiancé, an apprentice in his stepbrother's office. A bad-tempered and morose young man, Huw is finally recognized by Ellen and Morgan as having a faulty character; they both initially think that his behavior is the result of having been a prisoner of war for more than three years.
Nicola Gracey, an agreeable woman on the cruise ship whom Frank Cuppy later marries.