Eve Hollander

Eve Hollander, Nathan's second wife, was an English travel agent. She had more influence on Nathan than Molly did. Her positive nature eventually prompted Nathan to alter his pessimistic attitude, at least for a while. He admits, “with Eve, I came very close to finding the peace that I had been searching for all my life.” Her patience and determination eventually caused him to see through her eyes and discover that “the world was worth seeing.” Ultimately, though, this marriage fell apart as Eve recognized that Nathan did not “want to be known.”

Herman Hollander

Nathan's uncle, Herman Hollander, became a famous sociologist after the family immigrated to the United States. His death after having sex with a prostitute, which is the first incident of the novel, conjures an image to Nathan of “a warrior fallen in battle and laid in state . . . on this disheveled altar.” He...