At Weddings and Wakes: Analysis of Major Characters
"At Weddings and Wakes" explores the dynamics of family relationships through the lens of the Dailey children—Robert, Margaret, and Maryanne—who navigate their childhood under the influence of their parents and extended family. Robert, the eldest, is portrayed as a model of virtue and ambition, aspiring to become a priest, while his sisters share a close bond, often emulating him. Their mother, Lucy Towne Dailey, is depicted as a conflicted figure, frequently complaining about her marriage and maintaining strong ties with her own family. Bob Dailey, the father, appears to accept Lucy's familial obligations with patience and support.
The narrative also highlights the complexities of Lucy's family, particularly her sisters, who each represent different paths and challenges. May, a former nun, embodies the struggle between personal happiness and duty, while Agnes, a successful businesswoman, focuses on social events like May's wedding, which serves as a pivotal moment in the story. The character of Veronica, who grapples with social isolation due to her appearance, adds depth to the family’s dynamics. Overall, the work intricately weaves themes of aspiration, familial duty, and the varying roles women play within their families, set against the backdrop of significant life events such as weddings and wakes.
At Weddings and Wakes: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Alice McDermott
First published: 1992
Genre: Novel
Locale: Brooklyn and suburban Long Island
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1960's
Robert Dailey, Margaret Dailey, and Maryanne Dailey, children who are the focus of the narration. Robert, at age twelve, is the oldest. An altar boy, he is well groomed, polite, unselfish, and studious. Margaret, the middle child, identifies more readily with Maryanne. Neither has aspirations to be a nun matching Robert's goal of becoming a priest. Both look up to Robert and try to emulate his behavior. The children are presented more forcefully as a group than as individuals.
Lucy Towne Dailey, the children's mother. She makes twice-weekly trips to Brooklyn to visit her stepmother and sisters, and she spends most of her time complaining about her husband. For about twenty years, she is the only one of the four sisters to be married. She seems never to have broken the ties with her family sufficiently to allow a happy marriage.
Bob Dailey, Lucy's husband and the children's father. He tries to provide the family with at least two weeks of something different from the trips to Brooklyn. A patient man, he does not object to his wife's constant visits “home.” He has come to like the Towne women, and he willingly helps them with such matters as taxes and insurance.
Momma Towne, Lucy's stepmother, who married Lucy's father after the death of Lucy's mother following the birth of Veronica. As a seventeen-year-old recent immigrant from Ireland, she learned quickly how to be a mother to children who missed their birth mother and how to be a wife to a contentious widowed husband. A beautiful woman in her old age, she rules the homes of her daughters and remains the central figure in their lives.
May Towne, one of Lucy's three sisters, a former nun who left the nunnery because she had come to love her life as a nun so much that she could not consider her duties as a sacrifice. Enamored of Lucy's children, she takes them for walks and always has little treats or gifts for them. Her wedding and her wake are the major actions in the novel.
Agnes Towne, another sister, a successful businesswoman with cultivated tastes for music and the arts, for decor, and for personal style. She chooses the church outside their parish for May's wedding because it would make a better setting. Agnes also is in charge of the reception and other social functions.
Veronica Towne, the fourth sister, an “unfortunate” one whose facial lesions were mistreated in her youth, causing a worsening of the problem. After her first and only job (se-cured by Agnes) is terminated, she becomes a kind of hermit, closed up in her room until she comes out for cocktails and dinner. Her solitary drinking is tolerated by Momma Towne.
David Towne, Momma's only birth child, was spoiled in his youth and later summarily dismissed by his mother, whose iron will keeps him away from her home except for brief visits at Christmas. The Dailey children meet David's wife and two children for the first time at May's wedding.
Fred, a middle-aged mail carrier who finds May in her middle age and marries her, only to lose her four days after the wedding.