The Spire: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Spire: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricate dynamics between various pivotal figures in a narrative centered around Jocelin, the dean of a cathedral in England, who is driven by a divine vision to construct a grand tower and spire. Jocelin's character embodies a complex interplay of faith and obsession, initially inspiring others but ultimately becoming indifferent to the consequences of his unwavering ambition. In stark contrast, Roger Mason, the master builder, struggles with both Jocelin's grand vision and his own personal demons, leading to his unraveling under pressure. The character of Rachel, Roger's wife, adds another layer of complexity, as her relationship with Roger is fraught with tension and power struggles.
Pangall, the church caretaker, serves as a tragic figure whose pleas for protection go unheard, cementing his role as a scapegoat within the community, while his wife, Goody Pangall, faces her own tragic end, caught in the fallout of Jocelin's ambitions and Roger's desires. Father Anselm represents the bitterness of rivalry and lost status, feeling resentful towards Jocelin’s ascent, while Father Adam provides a patient but ultimately ineffective presence, unable to grasp the deeper motivations at play. Through these characters, the narrative explores themes of ambition, sacrifice, and the often tragic consequences of unwavering faith.
The Spire: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Golding
First published: 1964
Genre: Novel
Locale: An English city resembling Salisbury
Plot: Symbolism
Time: The fourteenth century
Jocelin, the dean of the Cathedral Church of Our Lady, somewhere in England. He obtained the position through the influence of his aunt, who was mistress to a previous king. Despite this connection, Jocelin appears a spiritual man, full of visionary faith, feeling called by God to construct a tower and spire for the cathedral. At first, the vision is seen by Jocelin as an act of faith over material impossibilities, such as inadequate foundations. He feels tremendous joy and love as this act of faith begins to take shape. He sees his vision as providing the willpower to motivate those who doubt the feasibility of the project. As opposition and difficulties mount, however, he finds that his will becomes more naked. He realizes that self-sacrifice may not be cost enough; he starts to “sacrifice” those around him, for example, making no move to protect Goody Pangall or her husband. Eventually both die. He also learns to shut difficult people and situations out of his consciousness, to become indifferent to them. This enables him to remain totally uncompromising, whatever the consequences. His will becomes all-consuming and obsessive, and he neglects all of his other duties as he drives the workmen.
Roger Mason, the master builder, the only person, as far as Jocelin is concerned, who has the skill and the workers to build so ambitiously. Roger cannot respond to Jocelin's faith. When he discovers how insufficient the foundations are, he tries to compromise with merely a tower. In this battle of wills, Roger loses, undermined by his own infatuation with Goody. He also fears heights. In the end, he is broken by the tensions, becomes alcoholic, walks off the job, and ultimately attempts suicide, unsuccessfully.
Rachel, Roger's wife and one of the four “pillars,” people around him whom Jocelin views as equivalent to the four pillars supporting the new building. Her unconsummated marriage to Roger is a complex affair, full of power struggles yet held together by a brother-and-sister compatibility. Under the growing tensions, she talks incessantly and hysterically. She is left at the end to look after an imbecile husband.
Pangall, another of Jocelin's “pillars.” He is the church caretaker and odd-job man, a position held by members of his family since the first building of the cathedral. He has a limp and is impotent. He is made the workmen's scapegoat to ward off bad luck, is persecuted, and is finally ritually murdered, his pleas to Jocelin for protection having remained unanswered.
Goody Pangall, the last of Jocelin's “pillars.” She was married to Pangall by Jocelin, to keep her nearby. Her youthful innocence and dutifulness are finally destroyed by Roger Mason's lust for her. She may or may not know the manner of her husband's death. She dies in a sordid childbirth, just as Jocelin is bringing her money to go to a convent to have Roger's child. Jocelin has allowed the affair to go on to keep Roger working on his project, and she dies feeling both accused and betrayed by the church.
Father Anselm, the Lord Sacristan of the cathedral and one of its “Principal Persons.” Previously, he was master of novices, one of whom was Jocelin. He is embittered by Jocelin's rise to power and the masterful way in which Jocelin squashed his opposition to the spire. He ceases to be either Jocelin's friend or his confessor, claiming never to have wanted those relationships in the first place.
Father Adam, or Father Anonymous, as Jocelin calls him, a cathedral chaplain. He neither supports nor opposes Jocelin. As Jocelin lies dying, he tries in his patient, orthodox way to minister to him, without ever understanding the complexities of Jocelin's mind or motivation.