Grief (novel) - Characters in "Grief"

Characters in "Grief"

Narrator - The novel’s main character is a nameless middle-aged homosexual who has recently lost his mother. He moves to Washington DC to start his life over again and begins teaching a class about AIDS at a local university. During his stay, he examines his surroundings and uses them to provide insight into his own life experience. Throughout his stay in Washington, the narrator reflects on his views on grief. A prevailing thought he seems to cling to is that grief is a way of keeping your loved ones with you and maintaining a connection with them. The narrator fears that if he moves past his grief, he will no longer have a relationship with the dead and will lose the intimacy he developed with the deceased while they were alive.

Landlord - The narrator's landlord is a nameless, handsome, middle-aged homosexual who pointedly maintains a distance between his tenant and himself. Upon meeting him, the narrator states that “he reminded me of an older America that had never changed its values of thrift, cleanliness, and order” (39). The landlord seems to have given up on life and on finding a significant other and often makes discouraging, negative remarks to the narrator when the narrator suggests attending particular social events. At one point, the narrator observes that “at fifty-five things had stopped happening to him... or rather: Everything that did happen to him had happened before--many, many times” (393).

Frank - Frank is a sarcastic yet insightful friend of the narrator. He seeks to help the narrator overcome his grief and move on with his life. While the narrator argues that grief maintains a dead person's “presence on earth” (18), Frank argues that regardless of whether or not you grieve for the deceased, they are gone and there is no bringing them back. He helps the narrator interpret the actions of his landlord and also assists him in understanding the narrator's own emotions, his relationship with his mother, his need to be needed, even his relationship with his landlord's dog. Towards the end of the novel, it is revealed that Frank has cancer, and that his days are numbered.

Nick’s Mother - Nick's mother (nameless) was a mutual friend of the narrator and the narrator’s landlord. She and the narrator trade their individual views on grief and reminisce about her son, who died of AIDS several years prior. While the narrator seems to harbor more romantic views on grief and the dead, Nick's mother entertains a more scientific view, which is illustrated when she states that “when we die, our bodies and brains have stopped. Hence there is no consciousness. Hence we cannot wake up. It's merely a false extrapolation people want to make because they cannot bare the thought of their own extinction” (117).

Nick - Nick is a mutual friend of the narrator and the narrator’s landlord. Nick believed strongly in the power of the mind to alter one’s individual reality and learnt Silva Mind Control and how to walk on hot coals. He put a lot of energy into maintaining a healthy body, for example, he stayed out of the sun and only drank bottled water. Since he died of AIDS at an early age, the narrator views his work on his mind and body as futile.

Narrator’s Mother - The narrator's mother is recently deceased and spent the last part of her life in a nursing home where her son would often visit her. She and the narrator developed an especially intimate relationship during her final years and the narrator continues to actively grieve for her throughout the novel.

Biscuit - Biscuit is the landlord’s neglected dog and is often compared to the narrator’s mother and is later compared to the narrator himself.

♦Mary Todd Lincoln - Throughout the novel, the narrator reads the letters of Mary Todd Lincoln and her story exerts great influence on him and his views on grief. In particular, the narrator is interested in the way Lincoln reacts to the deaths of her loved ones. After her husband died, Lincoln seemed to believe “that any attempt to be happy was beside the point, since she was only waiting to be reunited with her husband and children in the afterlife” (68). At one point the narrator states that “the letters of Mrs. Lincoln were starting to be the reference for everything noticed” (68). He is fascinated with her, and her personal story is an integral part of his.

♦Washington D.C. - The narrator often analyzes the history and character of Washington D.C. throughout the novel. At one point, the narrator remarks that Washington is “the perfect city for grief: like walking through a cemetery” (66). In many ways, he has a more intimate relationship with the city than he does with individuals.