An Unsuitable Job for a Woman: Analysis of Major Characters
"An Unsuitable Job for a Woman" centers around Cordelia Gray, a young detective who inherits a detective agency after the suicide of her mentor. At just twenty-one, Cordelia is self-reliant and shaped by her challenging upbringing in foster care and a convent, along with the influence of her estranged father. Tasked with investigating the suicide of Mark Callender, a promising student turned gardener, Cordelia's journey takes her to Cambridge, evoking reflections on her own life choices and aspirations.
Key characters include Sir Ronald Callender, Mark's emotionally distant father who hires Cordelia but appears detached from his son's life; Elizabeth Leaming, Sir Ronald's secretary, who reveals her hidden connections to Mark and collaborates with Cordelia; and Lunn, a resentful lab assistant with a sinister demeanor. The narrative also features Sophia Tilling, Mark's former lover, and others who, while appearing supportive, are reluctant to disclose crucial information about Mark's death.
Cordelia's investigation ultimately fosters her emotional connection to Mark, highlighting themes of loss, identity, and the complexities of human relationships. The interplay between these characters illuminates the tensions between personal ambition and societal expectations, making Cordelia's journey both a detective story and a poignant exploration of self-discovery.
An Unsuitable Job for a Woman: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: P. D. James
First published: 1972
Genre: Novel
Locale: London and Cambridge, England
Plot: Detective and mystery
Time: The 1970'sThe 1970's
Cordelia Gray, the protagonist, a twenty-one-year-old detective on her first case. She inherited Pryde's Detective Agency when her senior partner, Bernie Pryde, committed suicide. Reared in a succession of foster homes and a convent until her father, an itinerant Marxist poet, called her to leave school and assist him as a party organizer, Cordelia has become an extremely self-reliant young woman, accustomed to making her own way in the world. Ironically, this case takes her to Cambridge, the university she was preparing to attend when her father took her from school. This awareness informs her investigation, as does the instruction of her late partner. Most of all, however, she is moved by her increasingly powerful sense of identification with the subject of her investigation, Mark Callender.
Sir Ronald Callender, a noted scientist who directs a private laboratory. He displays a cool demeanor and single-minded interest in his work. Sir Ronald hires Cordelia to investigate the motives for the recent suicide of his son Mark. It quickly becomes clear that he and Mark have shared little contact and less affection, so his concern seems surprising to Mark's friends. At the novel's conclusion, he dies in what seems to be a suicide.
Elizabeth Leaming, Sir Ronald's beautiful secretary and housekeeper. She is obviously unhappy at the prospect of Cordelia's investigation into Mark's death. When her interest in Mark finally is revealed and explained, she conspires with Cordelia to conceal the circumstances of Sir Ronald's death.
Lunn, Sir Ronald's sinister young lab assistant, whom he took from an orphanage and trained. He obviously dislikes Elizabeth and Cordelia.
Sophia Tilling, a Cambridge student, Mark Callender's former lover. She likes Cordelia but—along with her brother Hugo, Hugo's girlfriend Isabelle, and her own current lover Davie Stevens—seems intent on concealing information about Mark's death.
Isabelle de Lingerie, a beautiful but rather stupid exchange student from France. She visited Mark on the night of his death.
Miss Markland, who lives with her brother and her sister-in-law. They employed Mark as a gardener when he suddenly decided to leave Cambridge. Of the three employers, only Miss Markland seems interested in Mark's death and Cordelia's investigation of it. She gives Cordelia permission to stay in Mark's cottage.
Mark Callender, the subject of Cordelia's investigation. A few months before his death, Mark suddenly left Cambridge, where he had been a promising history student, and took a job as a gardener. Although he is not alive during the novel's action, Cordelia comes to feel very close to him while she stays in his cottage. She reads his books, sleeps in his bed, and admires traces of his orderly habits. Her growing attachment to him is instrumental in her understanding of his death and becomes a theme of the novel.