Character guide

Mr. Marble

major

Also known as William Marble, Old Marble, V Mr. Marble, VI Mr. Marble, young Marble

William Marble has climbed from pinched respectability to gilt furniture, gold cigarette cases, and a bowler hat his neighbours resent. But his new money is shadowed by a secret he guards with a jealousy that frightens children and puzzles the street. As Madame Collins circles him and his wife grows anxious, Marble's careful self-control begins to look less like virtue and more like a man holding a door shut.

Annie Marble

major

Also known as Ann Mary Marble, Poor Annie

Winnie has been trained for a household far grander than 53 Malcolm Road and treats her parents' sudden wealth as her natural due. She bullies her mother through Christmas shopping sprees, demands cheques from her whisky-soaked father, and rearranges the house with brisk contempt for its shabbiness. Her cheerful greed sharpens the household's unease and shows how quickly new money curdles into new appetites.

Mrs. Marble

major

Also known as Winnie, Little Mrs. Marble, pale little Mrs. Marble

Annie Marble has spent years as her husband's obedient shadow, and the neighbours pity her for it. When Will thrusts a roll of notes at her, she cannot enjoy it; she peels off one pound guiltily and hides the rest. Her fear, her small vanities, and her hunger to be loved make her both the story's tenderest figure and its most dangerous loose end.

Winnie Medland

supporting

Also known as Mrs. Medland, young Medland

Winnie has left Malcolm Road for the Medland name but returns to extract money from her father with the same persistence she once applied to schoolroom chores. She spends a hundred pounds in an afternoon, bullies her mother into a Christmas feast, and reorganises the house to her own grand standards. Her cheerful rapacity measures how far the Marbles have drifted from their old pinched life.

Saunders

supporting

Also known as Mr. Saunders, the wretched Saunders

Saunders is the man whose entrance at the bar turns Marble's vague dread into a concrete plan he cannot refuse. He drinks at Marble's expense and lends the venture its fatal plausibility. Around him Marble's fear hardens into determination, and the suburban clerk begins the descent that will make his garden a place no child dares enter.

Will

supporting

Also known as Willie, darling Will

Will exists in Annie's private vocabulary as 'darling Will,' a warmth she clings to while her marriage curdles into silence and whisky. He is the proof that she once imagined being loved, and the measure of how little she now receives. His presence in her thoughts makes Marble's anxious watchfulness over his wife both crueller and more precarious.

Collins

minor

Also known as Marguerite Collins, Poor old Collins

A friend or acquaintance of the Marble family.

Dr. Atkinson

minor

Also known as Atkinson

A physician who attends to the Marble household.

Madame Collins

minor

Also known as X Madame Collins

A mysterious woman connected to Collins.

Jim Medland

minor

Also known as James Medland, young Medland

Winnie's husband and a member of the Medland family.

Mr. Henderson

minor

Also known as Henderson

An acquaintance of the Marbles with a minor role.

Netley

minor

Also known as young Netley

A young man who appears briefly in the story.

Evans

minor

Also known as Mr. Evans

A minor character with limited appearances.

Mrs. Summers

minor

Also known as old Mrs. Summers

An elderly woman who appears briefly.

Richards

minor

Also known as Mr. Richards

A minor character with a few mentions.

Crippen

minor

A historical name-drop with no narrative role.