Character Analysis
Bill Atkinson
Bill is Jim's co-conspirator. He and Jim share the same contempt for people in general, and Bill can be called upon to help Jim out by placing a bogus phone call or faking a fainting spell.
Dixon liked and revered him for his air of detesting everything that presented itself to his senses, and of not meaning to let his detestation become staled by custom. (3.53)
Atkinson is described as a physically imposing and ferocious-looking guy. Whenever the landlady sees him, she runs out of the room. For fun, he reads wrestling magazines.
Professor Barclay
Barclay's a Professor in the Music Department. He's helpful to Jim in preparing his lecture, but that doesn't prevent Jim from stealing a taxi that the Barclays call so he can sneak off with Christine.
Alfred Beesley
Another one of Jim's housemates, Beesley's in the English Department. Like Jim, he sends a fair amount of time at the pub, and, like Jim, he can't stand his department and is trying to get a job at another college. He's "notorious for his inability to get to know women" (10.12) but that doesn't stop him from trying.
Miss Cutler
She's Jim's landlady. While she can be pretty strict and formal, she's a conscientious housekeeper (if mediocre cook.)
Cecil Goldsmith
Goldsmith is Jim's colleague and office-mate in the History Department. His only role in the book seems to be married to and cheated on by his wife Carol. He appears to be an ordinary, fairly conservative chap, so it's a surprise when we find out that he's aware of all Carol's affairs and is cool with that. He's had a few of his own.
Carol Goldsmith
Carol is the "other woman" of the story. She hooks up with Bertrand even while Bertrand's seeing Christine Callaghan. In this sense, she's there to give us hope that Jim might be able to steal Christine away from Bertrand.
But despite cheating on her husband, Carol is probably the most honest person in this book. In fact, her husband knows all about the affair and others she's had. She comes across as mature, confident, and outspoken—a little shocking but very refreshing to Jim after all the pretense and hypocrisy he puts up with. In comparison, Margaret is a manipulator and Christine Callaghan a beautiful but naïve girl.
Evan Johns
Just like Bob Atkinson is there to help Jim with his schemes, the musician Evan Johns seems to exist in this book for the sake of ruining them. The first description we ever get of Johns is that he's "a silent mover, a potential eavesdropper, and a friend of the Welches, especially Mrs. Welch" (3.54). Being a good musician buddy of the Welches is enough to make Jim hate Johns.
Every time we think Jim's going to get away with something, Johns acts as an informer. He gets what's coming to him when Jim throws all of his important insurance paperwork into an incinerator.
Mr. Michie
As Jim's student, Michie is about a thousand times more serious about academics than Jim, and is always trying to engage Jim in scholarly discussions. Naturally, Jim does his best to avoid him. Jim thinks it's ironic that he's the superior in this relationship, because during the war, Michie outranked him—he commanded a tank unit. We're never sure if Michie's deference and flattery are genuine or fake, but it has the effect of making Jim want to run the other way. One other difference between Jim and Michie—Michie's got a pretty girlfriend.
Miss O'Shaughnessy, Miss ap Rhys, Miss McCorquodale
Jim's goal for his advanced course the next academic year is to get these three attractive women into his class. Miss O'Shaughnessy is the girlfriend of his student Michie, and Jim uses Michie to get the lowdown on whether they're interested in the class. They're not. And they're not interested in Jim, either. When they see him at the bar, they turn back to Michie and laugh among themselves.
The Principal
We never learn this guy's name, but he's the head of the college and is present at all the grand events at the college, hanging out with other academic elites and important townspeople. Everything about him irritates Jim. Even though he's described as a bald, silly little man, he has a scary laugh that sends people running from the room. During Jim's drunken lecture, he unintentionally mocks the Principal's accent. The Principal is not amused.
Mrs. Welch
Jim dislikes Mrs. Welch just on general principles—she's married to his nemesis, the Professor, and the mother of Bertrand, whom he detests. Her primary role seems to be as an obstacle Jim has to get past in order to reach the Professor, Bertrand or Christine, since she's the one who always answers the phone at their house. She's always suspicious when Jim places one of his fake calls to her house. We're sure Jim's confrontations with Bertrand don't endear him to Mrs. Welch. But in her defense, she does put up with a houseful of weekend guests during her husband's medieval music fest, and she opens her home to Margaret during her convalescence. Jim doesn't like to think about that—he'd prefer to continue to view Mrs. Welch as completely evil.