Mrs. Bridge: Analysis of Major Characters
"Mrs. Bridge: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex dynamics of the titular character, India Bridge, and her family within the context of 1940s American society. India is portrayed as a discontented woman, trapped in a life of privilege yet devoid of fulfillment. Her relationships, particularly with her husband Walter, reinforce her feelings of inadequacy and isolation, as he prioritizes work over familial bonds. The narrative explores the generational gap between India and her children—Ruth, Carolyn, and Douglas—who reject her traditional values, leading to increasing estrangement.
Ruth embodies rebellion against maternal expectations, opting for a bohemian lifestyle, while Carolyn initially conforms but later asserts her independence in her troubled marriage. Douglas, on the other hand, resists societal norms, further complicating his relationship with India. The story also features supporting characters like Grace, whose quest for individuality contrasts with India's resignation, and Harriet, the family's black housekeeper, whose presence highlights racial and class tensions. Through these characters, the narrative examines themes of identity, societal expectations, and the search for meaning within a constricted domestic sphere.
Mrs. Bridge: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Evan S. Connell, Jr.
First published: 1959
Genre: Novel
Locale: Kansas City, Missouri; Southampton, England; Paris; Monte Carlo; and Rome
Plot: Satire
Time: The early 1920's to the early 1940's, chiefly during the last ten years of that period
India Bridge, who is married to a successful lawyer; she is the mother of three children and is a member of the Kansas City, Missouri, country club society. She is a desperately unhappy woman trapped in a domestic existence that she neither understands nor is able to alter. Her husband, Walter, a workaholic who is almost never home, gives India little love or companionship, instead treating her as incompetent and destroying her self-esteem. Her growing children are a constant source of frustration. A believer in strict racial and class lines and in Victorian pieties, which dictate that proper dress, manners, language, and chaste behavior mark the respectable person, she discovers that her children, members of a different generation, reject her views. When she insists that they conform to her standards, they distance themselves. Her affluence bedevils her. She need not work, and hired workers take care of the household, leaving her bored and feeling useless. Sex also haunts India. Uncertain of her own attitude toward physical desire, apparently unable to realize a mutually satisfying intimate life with Walter, and abnormally worried about her children's emerging sexual awareness, she is emotionally crippled by sexual anxiety. As India enters middle age, she becomes neurotic, seeing no purpose in her life. She wants psychiatric help, but Walter forbids it. When Walter dies of a heart attack at the end of the story, she is completely adrift. Her children, now adults, have left home, and all she can find for solace are memories of earlier days, when she still had hopes and expectations.
Walter Bridge, India's husband, a narrow-minded and selfish man obsessed by the work ethic. A dominating figure, he makes all the crucial decisions in his home but otherwise cannot be bothered by the ongoing life of the family. When he is stricken, he dies as he lived, in his office in the midst of work.
Ruth Bridge, India's firstborn. Of all the children, she most objects to her mother's standards. Secretive, wild, and promiscuous as a teenager, she quickly departs after high school to work and lead a bohemian life in New York. She is not happy, yet she will not change. She has chosen to be totally different from her mother.
Carolyn Bridge, the second daughter. Seemingly the “good” child, she causes few problems until she marries. When she chooses a plumber's son, India feels humiliated. When Carolyn's husband demands that she be an obedient wife, she rebels. After having watched Walter order India around, she will not let any man tell her what to do. Carolyn's marriage, in constant ferment, remains doubtful.
Douglas Bridge, India's son. From early childhood, Douglas refuses to be the type of young man that India wishes him to be. Rarely communicating, he dresses sloppily, fights, plays in junkyards, swears, and as an adolescent develops a harmless interest in girls and sex. Although he is a normal boy, India keeps trying to change him. Her opposition eventually drives him into active hostility. Not until his father's death does Douglas, now mature and in the Army, achieve some reconciliation with his mother.
Grace Barron, a close friend of India. A banker's wife, Grace experiences the same futility in her life as does India, but Grace refuses to accept her situation. Seeking to be recognized as an individual, rather than as a rich man's wife, she reads widely and challenges others over large issues in politics, religion, and art. The people of her set, however, dismiss her as eccentric. In despair, Grace finally kills herself.
Harriet, the Bridges' longtime black cook and housekeeper. Indispensable to the family, Harriet receives no special affection or consideration from the Bridges. She nevertheless continues to serve them.
Mabel Ong, a poet and liberated woman who unsuccessfully urges India to be more her own person.
Dr. Foster, the pastor of India's church, a vacuous hypocrite. Despite Foster's shortcomings, he remains a model of spiritual guidance for India.
Alice Jones, a young black woman, a childhood playmate of Carolyn who stirs India's racial and class fears, causing India to end the friendship.
Paquita de las Torres, a coarse, sensual girl of dubious background, Douglas' first real flame. She provokes a bitter confrontation between India and Douglas over the relationship.
Jay Duchesne, a one-armed veteran of World War II. He once dated Carolyn and wants to see her again if her marriage fails.