Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Walter

We never meet Walter, but he (and his drunkenness . . . and then his death . . .) loom large over the text—and he's definitely the person with whom Elizabeth (i.e., the protagonist) has the most conflict. Elizabeth spends the first part of the story absolutely livid with him for missing dinner with the family, convinced that he was out getting hammered (which apparently was a common activity for him). His mama says he was a "good lad" before he "got to be such a trouble" (2.55), and she is hopeful that he can clean up is act . . . that is, until they hear that he is dead.