The Shipping News: Analysis of Major Characters

Author: Edna Ann Proulx

First published: 1993

Genre: Novel

Locale: Killick-Claw, Newfoundland, Canada

Plot: Regional

Time: Unspecified

R. G. Quoyle, a journalist and widower. A large and awkward man, Quoyle, whose full name remains unknown throughout the novel, coasts along through a variety of menial jobs for years, until a friend helps him find a position covering town meetings for a small local newspaper. Quoyle subsequently drifts into an unhappy marriage and fatherhood and is still allowing himself to be pulled along by others when his unfaithful wife dies. Plagued by inertia, Quoyle allows his aunt to convince him to move to her childhood home in Killick-Claw, Newfoundland, where he begins a job covering car accidents and the shipping news at a quirky little newspaper called the Gammy Bird. Quoyle is as surprised as those around him to find that he actually has some affinity for the work, which gives him the courage to start putting more effort into the rest of his life.

Agnis Hamm, Quoyle's aunt. A practical woman who works as an upholsterer, Agnis realizes that Quoyle needs help moving on after his wife's death and convinces him to bring his two daughters to the family home in Newfoundland for a fresh start. Quoyle eventually learns that Agnis is herself mourning a dead female lover, as well as recovering from the childhood trauma of being molested repeatedly and impregnated by her brother. Although Agnis occasionally becomes impatient with Quoyle's passivity, she remains kind and serves as his role model in terms of emotional resilience and courage.

Petal Bear, Quoyle's wife. A sex addict, Petal marries Quoyle based solely on her initial physical attraction to him, but she quickly learns to detest his submissiveness, which becomes apparent when he does not object to her repeated infidelity. Petal remains with Quoyle for several years out of convenience but eventually runs away, selling their two small daughters to a sex trafficker. Fortunately, the girls are recovered before they are harmed, but Petal and her lover are killed in a car crash, leaving Quoyle a bereaved and befuddled widower.

Bunny Quoyle, Quoyle's older daughter. A homely and somewhat odd child, Bunny is initially excited about moving to Newfoundland, but before long, she begins asking incessantly when Petal will “wake up” and come back to her family. She also begins having nightmares, but the kindness of a widow named Wavey Prowse helps Bunny begin to recover. She has a more difficult time than her pretty, cheerful younger sister, Sunshine, making friends in their new home.

Jack Buggit, Quoyle's boss. In addition to maintaining a lobster-fishing license, Buggit owns the Gammy Bird, running the newspaper with an odd combination of bluster, competence, and an uncanny understanding of people's deepest fears. He assigns Quoyle to cover car accidents, which frightens Quoyle due to the manner of Petal's death, and the shipping news, about which Quoyle initially knows nothing, in part due to his fear of the sea. Buggit's supervision turns out to be wise, however, as the first assignment helps Quoyle move on from Petal's death, and the second helps him grow as a journalist. Buggit similarly assigns the other newspaper beats to those who will most benefit from them, even if they do not understand their boss's reasoning.

Wavey Prowse, Quoyle's eventual love interest. A widow and the devoted mother of a boy with Down syndrome, Wavey also applies her natural maternal instinct to Bunny, who has become anxious and obsessed with death after Petal's accident. Wavey and Quoyle's slow-building friendship gradually develops into something more, in part because they both understand what it is like to mourn an unfaithful spouse.

Dennis Buggit, Jack Buggit's son. Resentful that his father has prevented him from working at sea due to his brother's death years before, Dennis works as a carpenter, getting to know Quoyle while helping to restore Agnis's house. Dennis's relationship with his wife and children provides Quoyle with a valuable example of a functional and loving family.

Beety Buggit, Dennis Buggit's wife. With two similarly aged children of her own, Beety regularly babysits Bunny and Sunshine, teaching them new skills such as knitting and helping them through the adjustment period following their move to Killick-Claw.

Tertius “Tert” Card, the managing editor of the Gammy Bird. An opinionated fellow, Tert freely rewrites many of the newspaper's stories, deliberately introducing typos to add “character” and even changing the political slant of others' editorial pieces at his own whim.

Billy Pretty, a columnist for the Gammy Bird. A bachelor and retired fisherman who writes the homemaking column, the wise Billy is the first to point out that Wavey may be the kind of quiet, supportive woman that Quoyle needs.

Nolan Quoyle, a distant cousin of Quoyle. Observed by Billy Pretty lurking around the house that Quoyle and Agnis have been refurbishing, Nolan represents a possible threat to the new life Quoyle is trying to build. Nolan is ultimately revealed to be to be mentally ill, and Quoyle makes arrangements for him to be cared for in an institutional setting, which seems to allay both Quoyle's fears and Bunny's nightmares.

Bayonet Melville, a yacht owner. Coowner of a yacht once owned by Adolf Hitler, Bayonet allows Quoyle to interview him upon his arrival in Killick-Claw, providing the basis of Quoyle's first journalistic piece of any significance. Melville also hires Agnis to reupholster his yacht. He is later murdered by his wife, Silver.

Silver Melville, Bayonet's wife and coowner of his yacht. An odd woman who seems to revel in sharing the yacht's violent history with Quoyle, Silver later murders her husband.