Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Thea Fenchel

We almost want to put Augie March here as well, as he's usually his own worst enemy, and he's the only figure who stays front and center throughout the novel. The novel doesn't have a villain, and only a handful of very minor characters mean Augie harm. So who's the best candidate for the antagonist role? We pick Thea Fenchel.

Augie and Thea's time together makes up one of the longest episodes in the novel. There's real love between them, arguably, but there's also trouble from the start. Augie never quite buys into Thea's plan to train an eagle to hunt lizards—an endeavor that for a time means the world to her.

Augie keeps Thea at a distance. For her part, she keeps secrets from Augie, one of which is that she really doesn't want to marry him. She lures Augie with her with implied promises she doesn't intend to keep. When their relationship crumbles, it falls hard, and Augie falls hard with it. He has put more energy into this adventure than any others up to this point. He believed himself ready to commit, which is not something Augie can usually say.