The Rebel Angels: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Rebel Angels" is a novel that explores the lives and complexities of its major characters, primarily through the lens of Maria Magdalena Theotoky, a graduate student grappling with her dual identity as a Gypsy and an academic. Maria's journey is shaped by her relationships with several influential figures in her life, including Professor Clement Hollier, her dissertation director, whose obsession with a stolen manuscript leads to his downfall. The Reverend Simon Darcourt, a professor who loves Maria, serves as a source of wisdom and affection, calling her his "Sophia," which underscores the theme of divine femininity. John Parlabane, a failed monk and skeptic, introduces darker themes of existential doubt and tragedy, ultimately leading to his own demise and that of Urquhart McVarish, a narcissistic colleague whose unpleasant nature contributes to the novel's dramatic tension. Arthur Cornish, Maria's husband, represents stability and confidence, while her mother, Oraga "Mamusia" Laoutaro, embodies traditional Gypsy wisdom, bridging Maria's heritage with her contemporary academic pursuits. Together, these characters navigate themes of love, identity, and the clash between personal roots and societal expectations, creating a rich tapestry that invites deeper examination of their intertwined lives.
The Rebel Angels: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Robertson Davies
First published: 1981
Genre: Novel
Locale: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Plot: Psychological
Time: The early 1980's
Maria Magdalena Theotoky, a graduate student. The beautiful Maria is studying the works of François Rabelais in preparation for her doctoral thesis under the direction of Professor Clement Hollier, whom she loves. Maria comes to understand that her Gypsy heritage, her “root,” is as important as her university persona, her “crown” (as of a tree). She marries Arthur Cornish. She narrates the chapters collected under the title “The Second Paradise,” which form approximately half of the novel.
The Reverend Simon Darcourt, a professor of classics. He is one of the three faculty members who are executors of Francis Cornish's will. The kind, somewhat overweight Darcourt narrates the chapters titled “The New Aubrey,” so called because he wants to limn the personalities of those at the university, following the spirit of John Aubrey's Brief Lives (1898). He loves Maria and proposes marriage to her, telling her that she is his Sophia, a feminine personification of God's wisdom. Maria in turn calls him her “Rebel Angel,” a teacher of some of the secrets of heaven.
Clement Hollier, Maria's dissertation director and the second of the three executors from the university. Hollier's field is paleopsychology, which examines folk beliefs and customs to understand the thought processes of people of the Middle Ages. His special area of research is filth therapy: He examines such beliefs as the one that binding a child's legs with camel dung will cure rickets. Hollier is another of Maria's rebel angels. Hollier becomes obsessed with a manuscript that he believes Urquhart McVarish to have stolen; he begins to hate McVarish and cannot see that his obsession and hatred are destructive to himself.
John Parlabane, a skeptic philosopher and failed monk. Parlabane, an old friend of Hollier and a former star at the university, cadges money and favors from virtually everyone. He tries to live life by the code of his skeptical philosophy, which postulates that nothing is certain, yet he appears to believe in God. Hollier warns Maria that Parlabane is an evil man. Parlabane murders McVarish and commits suicide in the hope that the sensation will help get his (unreadable) novel published. He, too, is one of Maria's rebel angels, teaching her to pay attention to her “root.”
Urquhart McVarish, a professor of Renaissance history and the third executor of Francis Cornish's will. A narcissist and a braggart, McVarish is a very unpleasant man who is fascinated by pornography. He is always trying to bait people. McVarish employs Parlabane to satisfy his unorthodox sexual tastes; Parlabane murders him at the end of one encounter.
Arthur Cornish, a banker. Not yet thirty, Arthur is self-composed and confident. He is the overall executor of his uncle's will. He knows quite a bit about music, art, and literature, yet has not attended a university; his goal is to become a patron. He asks Maria to marry him because she is the most splendid friend whom he has ever had.
Oraga “Mamusia” Laoutaro, Maria's mother. A luthier, Mamusia fixes stringed instruments using the bomari,anold procedure involving horse dung that fascinates Hollier. Mamusia, after the death of her non-Gypsy husband, has reverted to her Gypsy ways and wisdom. She reads the tarot cards for both Darcourt and Hollier. She has a very strong personality.
Yerko Laoutaro, Maria's uncle and Mamusia's brother. He is a skilled smith and also follows Gypsy ways.
Ozias (Ozy) Froats, a biology professor. Froats is, in the spirit of pure science, examining human excrement for clues to health, personality, and physical type. He is a possible contender for a Nobel Prize. Maria calls him a magus, a man who serves the forces of nature.