Rates of Exchange: Analysis of Major Characters
"Rates of Exchange: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the dynamics and complexities of interpersonal relationships against the backdrop of an imaginary Eastern European country, Slaka. The protagonist, Angus Petworth, is a British linguistics professor who embarks on a cultural visit that reveals his internal struggles and his hesitance in navigating an unfamiliar environment. He is accompanied by Marisja Lubijova, his official guide, who exhibits a mix of sarcasm and protectiveness, indicating a deeper emotional investment in Petworth. The narrative also features Katya Princip, a spirited novelist whose adventurous nature leads her into a brief affair with Petworth, highlighting themes of self-interest and emotional risk.
Supporting characters like Felix Steadiman, a hapless cultural attaché, and his sexually adventurous wife Budgie provide comedic relief and further illustrate the tension between personal desires and societal expectations. Doctor Plitplov, a pompous academic, adds an air of intrigue with his connections to other characters and his enigmatic demeanor. The narrative hints at the complexity of marriage and fulfillment through Petworth's thoughts on his wife, Lottie, who remains a distant but significant presence. Overall, the interplay of these characters encapsulates themes of communication, cultural dislocation, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment amidst the constraints of established relationships and societal norms.
Rates of Exchange: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Malcolm Bradbury
First published: 1983
Genre: Novel
Locale: Eastern Europe
Plot: Parody
Time: 1981
Angus Petworth, a British professor of linguistics on a cultural visit to Slaka (the capital of an imaginary Eastern European country), where he is to give a series of lectures on the English language. Middle-aged, somewhat lonely, and vaguely dissatisfied with his staid life, Petworth is a hesitant adventurer in the overwhelmingly foreign world of Slaka. Pensive and observant, he interprets much of what befalls him in terms of the theories of communication, which are his field. Partly because of his difficulty with the constantly changing language of Slaka, Petworth is taciturn and passive under the direction of his several guides.
Marisja Lubijova, Petworth's official guide. Tense and white-faced in a mohair hat, Marisja studies at the university in Slaka. Humorous, sarcastic, efficient, and knowledgeable, she is also extremely protective and (it appears) somewhat infatuated with Petworth. She is frequently outspoken and opinionated and is suspicious of the other Slakans who vie for Petworth's attention.
Katya Princip, a free-spirited, confident, and uninhibited magical-realist novelist with whom Petworth has a brief affair. Adventurous and emotional, beautiful Katya lives life to the fullest. Beneath her charming and exuberant exterior, there is a certain hard-edged and practical self-interest. She is aware of the risks that she takes in getting involved with Pet-worth, and there is a suggestion that she has used her several husbands and lovers for her own advancement. Impulsive and strong-willed, she effectively whisks away a willing but passive Petworth on her escapades.
Felix Steadiman, the meticulously attired British cultural attaché in Slaka. With a stammer that seems to result mostly in puns of a sexual nature and a careless disregard for the various restrictions placed on him by the Slakan government, Steadiman seems singularly unsuited to a diplomatic career. An atrocious driver, he runs over and kills a peasant while traveling through a part of the country that is off-limits to foreigners, thereby effecting his expulsion from Slaka. Rather inclined to stray himself, he is unconcerned by his wife's nymphomania.
Budgie Steadiman, Felix's wife. She seeks to alleviate the oppressive boredom and monotony of life in Slaka with a kind of determined sexual adventurism. Sexually aggressive and incredibly indiscreet, she virtually attacks Petworth on several occasions, necessitating some rough if good-natured manhandling by Felix to separate them.
Doctor Plitplov, a small, tidy, bird-eyed man with a neatly trimmed beard and a large, curving pipe. He is vague and obsequious, and he seems to turn up everywhere that Petworth goes. Connected with the university, Plitplov is pompous and always insists that he is correct in everything, from his English usage to his opinions on Ernest Hemingway to his assessment of the workings of the Slakan political and social machine. He hints at a connection with Petworth's wife while he was a summer student at the University of Cambridge, and he may be Katya Princip's current “useful” lover. Sly, suggestive, and always appearing to know more than he tells, Plitplov subtly claims responsibility for many of the events of Petworth's visit.
Lottie Petworth, Petworth's small, dark wife. She does not actually appear in the novel but is spoken of often enough to afford some insight into Petworth. He senses that she is unhappy and longs for some sort of fulfillment that he cannot provide, but he understands little more than this. The impression is of a loveless yet comfortably secure marriage that leaves both members seeking satisfaction elsewhere but not willing to give up an established domesticity that provides a measure of secure regularity in an uncertain world.
Professor Rom Rum, a respected Slakan academic. He writes articles in the state-run newspaper on literary subjects, specializing in Anthony Trollope. He is possibly Katya Princip's lover and “protector.”
Tankic, a high official in the Ministry of Culture. He speaks very little English. By the end of the novel, after an undefined coup or shift of power, he appears to have become the minister of culture.