A Quality of Mercy: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Quality of Mercy: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricate lives of its central figures, exploring themes of isolation, despair, and the pursuit of understanding. The protagonist, Camden Smeaton, is a retired schoolmaster in Connecticut who grapples with a tumultuous past marked by the deaths of his loved ones. His articulate yet cynical nature leads him to express his thoughts through dramatic monologues, often feeling superior yet profoundly disconnected from those around him. Brenda Smeaton, Camden's unmarried niece, embodies resentment and bitterness stemming from a thwarted desire for intimacy, resulting in tragic actions that heighten her sense of despair. Merula Smeaton, Brenda's elderly mother, is a domineering presence, frequently complaining and enforcing her will upon her daughter. In contrast, Huntley Fisher and his wife Wendy represent a more carefree, albeit shallow, perspective on life, which ultimately clashes with Brenda's turmoil. The narrative also touches on Camden's past relationships, including his marriage to Linda Panton and the impacts of wartime experiences. Together, these characters navigate a landscape filled with emotional complexity, illustrating a poignant commentary on human connections and the weight of personal history.
A Quality of Mercy: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Paul West
First published: 1961
Genre: Novel
Locale: Rural Connecticut, England, Italy, and Manhattan
Plot: Black humor
Time: The late 1950's, with flashbacks to World War II and earlier
Camden Smeaton, a retired schoolmaster and writer of textbooks. Articulate and cynical, he is prone to poetic tirades, which are delivered to anyone who will listen, including trees, to which he offers a passionate monologue while flailing madly at their limbs. He is fifty-seven years old and views himself as a romantic figure who utilizes his superior knowledge to remain aloof from other people. He is obsessed with incidents from his past, including the deaths of his parents and spouse. He lives in rural Connecticut, in constant turmoil, with his sister, Merula, and her unmarried daughter, Brenda. Finally, he takes his own life with a Winchester rifle.
Brenda Smeaton, a forty-seven-year-old, unmarried woman. Spurned in her attempt to consummate a sexual experience at the age of twenty-seven in a New York hotel, she is bitter and resentful toward life in general, and particularly toward men. Looking haggard beyond her years, she engages Camden in conversation but feels inferior, self-conscious, and unloved. Driven to despair by her self-loathing, Brenda murders her dog and her mother, then attempts suicide by swimming into the middle of a lake.
Merula Smeaton, the eighty-one-year-old mother of Brenda and a son who died at the age of three. Embittered and cranky, she sits in her chair and complains incessantly while delivering platitudes to Camden and Brenda. She continues to dominate her daughter's life, even to the point of disciplining her by spanking.
Huntley Fisher, a magna cum laude graduate in electrical engineering from Cornell. He is honeymooning with his wife, Wendy, in a house next door to the Smeatons. Vain and simpleminded, he is a foil to Camden's introspective brooding.
Wendy Fisher, a voluptuous blonde who becomes enraged when Brenda makes advances to her husband at a dinner party. The incident ignites Brenda's murder spree.
Linda Panton, a nurse who attends Camden during the war and, after becoming pregnant by him, becomes his wife. She dies of disease shortly thereafter, in 1946. Camden muses about whether he had ever loved her.
Camden's father, a coal miner who wanted a better future for his son. He was killed in a mining accident when Camden was a boy.
Camden's mother, who used the insurance money from the accident to send Camden to boarding school. She died shortly thereafter.
Cuthbert “Guppy” Harrison, Camden's childhood friend and fellow prankster, one year younger than Camden.
Tobacco shop girl, a seductress to whom both Camden and Guppy surrendered their innocence.
Karen, a woman with whom Camden has an ill-fated love affair that causes him to become cynical about love.
Pietro, a young Italian boy who visits Camden in the hospital. His sister is killed in a random attack by German Messerschmitts.