Philip

Philip is the main character. The novel is written in first person from his point of view, reflecting on the portion of his life that involved Rachel. Philip is a young man who grows up as the ward of his older cousin Ambrose after his parents die. Ambrose is the only person Philip remembers ever loving until he meets Rachel.

Philip is raised having very little interaction with women, so he is very naïve about them. Philip believes that he will never marry and that women are nuisances who attempt to interfere with the comfortable way he and Ambrose have always lived. However, when Rachel comes to stay at the estate after Ambrose’s death, Philip falls madly and obsessively in love with her.

Philip’s love for Rachel seems to cloud his judgement of her even as he recounts the tale. Before meeting Rachel, he believes...