Mr. Beluncle: Analysis of Major Characters
"Mr. Beluncle: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics among the characters surrounding Philip Beluncle, a self-indulgent businessman known for his extravagant lifestyle and poor financial decisions. Beluncle’s personality is characterized by a blend of optimism and autocracy, often leading to tension within his relationships, particularly with his business partner, Linda Truslove, who embodies a practical counterbalance to his excesses. Despite her long-standing affection for him, Linda's disillusionment grows as she navigates the challenges posed by their financial struggles and her personal burdens, including caring for her sister, Judy.
Philip’s wife, Ethel, provides a contrasting persona; her frustrations are often expressed through outbursts that reflect the chaos surrounding their family life. The couple’s three sons—Henry, George, and Leslie—each grapple with their father’s influence in unique ways. Henry seeks independence and harbors literary aspirations, while George, who loves his father despite feeling belittled, struggles with self-worth. Leslie, the youngest, is viewed with a mix of humor and disdain within the family dynamic.
The narrative also introduces secondary characters like Mary Phibbs, Henry's girlfriend, and Judy Dykes, Linda's sister, whose experiences further enrich the story's exploration of love, family loyalty, and the quest for identity amid dysfunction. David Vogg, a street preacher, adds another layer by challenging Beluncle’s life choices and beliefs, ultimately linking back to the broader themes of morality and redemption woven throughout the character interactions. This analysis reveals a complex portrait of how individual aspirations collide with familial obligations and societal expectations.
Mr. Beluncle: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: V. S. Pritchett
First published: 1951
Genre: Novel
Locale: London, England
Plot: Satire
Time: c. 1935
Philip Beluncle, a businessman in partnership with Linda Truslove. He is chubby, flamboyant, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, autocratic, optimistic to the point of madness, and an appropriator of other people's money. His petty tyranny and business impracticality are shown early in the novel in his relationship with his partner in their small furniture manufacturing firm. Being informed by her that the firm is on the verge of bankruptcy does not deter him from planning to purchase a large, expensive house, “Marbella”—acquiring houses is an obsession with him. His petty tyranny and house mania also figure early in the novel in scenes with his family: He bullies his wife, Ethel (who usually pays him back), and his sons, Henry, George, and Leslie (who usually cannot). His economic follies and his obsession with houses have meant many disruptive moves for the family, usually only a jump ahead of his creditors. Beluncle has gone through, or “invested,” large amounts of other people's money in his business and personal extravagancies. Despite all this, he somehow inspires love: Linda Truslove was in love with him for years, his wife defends him against all comers, and tears of thwarted love roll down George's cheek. Beluncle is a member of the Church of the Last Purification; its “Divine Mind” tells him what he wants to hear and gives him room to “breathe.”
Linda Truslove, Beluncle's business partner. She is a sensible and rather plain, but not unattractive, widow who has struggled against Beluncle's extravagancies over the years of their partnership. She had been in love with him but now is thoroughly disillusioned. Added to her frustrations are those arising from the care of her demanding, crippled sister, Judy Dykes. At the end of the novel, it is apparent that she is bringing legal action to recover some of her money through liquidation of the firm's assets.
Ethel Beluncle, Philip's wife. She is the perfect foil for her husband, matching his fastidiousness with deliberate sloppiness and his order with disorder. Originally an attractive, high-spirited young woman, she now takes out her frustrations on her husband and his senile mother. Meals are the usual occasions for her outbursts. When nothing else is going on, she rages against Linda Truslove, of whom she is understandably jealous.
Henry Beluncle, the oldest son, nineteen years of age. He is in most ways a typical young man trying to break away from the family. He has literary aspirations and wants to distance himself from the petty family quarrels and his father's “religion.” The added pull of a love affair with Mary Phibbs makes his rebellion more painful; it is complicated further by his doubt that he is really in love with Mary.
George Beluncle, the middle son. He is a bit dull-witted. Unlike the other two sons, he deeply loves his father, who puts him down at every opportunity. Beluncle is contemptuous of him for not having a job but blocks him whenever a job seems to materialize.
Leslie Beluncle, the youngest son. He is treated by the family as a kind of court jester, his shrewd and often cutting remarks being good-naturedly tolerated even by his father.
Mary Phibbs, Henry's girlfriend. She is a reasonably attractive, immature, rather ordinary girl with whom Henry thinks he is in love. Although the affair comes to nothing, it is a source of animosity between Henry and his father.
Judy Dykes, Linda Truslove's unmarried, crippled sister. She is an ardent though scarcely love-filled member of the Church of the Last Purification. When she suddenly becomes able (barely) to walk, the church members regard it as a miracle. Actually, the cure seems to have been brought about by the half-mad streetcorner “witness,” David Vogg, who had gone to the Truslove home to denounce her as a heretic. In the ensuing turmoil, she fell, and the shock seems to have brought movement back to her legs. She soon dies, dulling the brightness of the “miracle.”
David Vogg, a misanthropic, half-mad newspaper vendor and street preacher who sniffs out sin and heresy at every corner. He has utter contempt for the bland theology of the Church of the Last Purification, prompting the visit to Judy Dykes that results in her “miraculous” cure.