Mr. Waythorn

Mr. Waythorn is the story’s point-of-view character. He is a successful business/financial manager who lives in the New York City area. He is in his late thirties and has recently married Alice, a woman in her mid-thirties who has been married and divorced twice. At first, Mr. Waythorn feels profound happiness in the marriage, but soon, he becomes uncomfortable whenever he encounters Alice’s previous husbands. Mr. Waythorn feels possessive of Alice, and his insecurities become exacerbated by the fact that Alice generally evades questions about her ex-husbands. Mr. Waythorn continues to struggle with these insecurities and possessive habits. The story ends in a fairly abrupt, ambiguous way. It remains possible that Mr. Waythorn and Alice might not be able to overcome these challenges.

Alice

Alice is a woman in her mid-thirties. At the age of 17, she married Mr. Haskett. Alice and Haskett had a...