Edward

Character Analysis

The Effeminate Son

In the play's opening song Edward tells us that, like his mother, he feels that "What [Clive] wants I'd dearly like to be" (1.1.30). The only problem is that Clive wants Edward to be a tough manly man, and Edward is not traditionally boyish. In fact, Edward's two favorite things to do in Act 1 are a) play with his sister's doll and b) have sexual encounters with his father's friend, Harry Bagley. Neither of those things are really what Clive has in mind when he hopes for Edward to be manly.

As you can imagine, neither Clive nor Betty are supportive of the fact that Eddy likes to play with dolls. When Betty catches him with a doll for the third time, she tells him, "You must never let the boys at school know you like dolls. Never, never" (1.3.65-66). When Edward refuses to stop playing with the doll, Clive also smacks him in the head (1.4.295). It just seems like nothing can really work out for Edward. There are brief times when he claims he wants to be manlier but it's clear that Edward is just fighting his true self.

The Doormat

In Act 2, we meet a grownup Edward, who seems to have accepted the fact that he's a gay man. For starters, he's in a sexual relationship with another man named Gerry and the two of them live together. But Edward's problems don't end just because he's accepted his sexuality. In fact, Gerry treats him like dirt most of the time, sleeping at other men's houses and saying things like "I didn't ask you to come" (2.2.23) when Edward wants to join him at the pub.

Edward is kind of like his mother from Act 1. He's totally devoted to Gerry and can't really find the strength to stand up for himself in his relationship. Even when Gerry says that he doesn't want to look at Edward anymore and wants to break up, Edward calmly replies, "I'll always be here, Gerry, if you want to come back" (2.2.604-605). The guy just can't seem to grow a backbone. He must have learned the whole doormat routine from his mom.

It's only at the end of the play that Edward really finds himself and manages to stand up for his rights. And that's when he transforms from a doormat into…

The Loving Partner

By the end of the play, Edward decides that he's going to live with his sister Victoria and her lover, Lin. The three of them have an orgy together and make plans to sleep together in the same bed from now on. When Gerry comes back into the picture and hears this, he actually realizes that Edward won't always be waiting for him with open arms. When Gerry asks if the relationship is sexual, Edward confirms, "We do sleep together, yes" (2.4.95). Finally, it looks like Edward is able to make decisions for himself.

Now with that said, Edward totally says yes when Gerry asks, "Look why don't we go for a meal sometime?" (2.4.105). But that doesn't mean Edward's going to go right back to being stomped on by Gerry. As it turns out, Gerry's not the worst guy in the world. He just has some serious commitment issues. All in all, it looks like things are going to start getting better for Edward, especially now that (like his mom) he's learning to value what he wants in life rather than what other people want from him.