Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Lord Mark

Lord Mark definitely doesn't start out this book as an antagonist. Sure, he might be Merton's rival for Kate's affection, since he's Aunt Maud's pick as Kate's fiancé. But it seems like he's a nice enough dude. He might be a little on the dry side, but he means well and treats the people around him decently enough.

It's only in the final stages of the book that Lord Mark turns into a stark raving antagonist. After he gets rejected by Milly and Kate, Lord Mark becomes extremely resentful of the fact that these women both like Merton Densher—a poor nobody—more than him, a British Lord.

Out of pure spite, Lord Mark travels to Italy just to tell Milly Theale that Merton is engaged to Kate Croy. He tells Milly this news just to ruin her relationship with Merton. There's nothing Lord Mark can gain from it but pure revenge. And in the process, he breaks the heart of a dying girl and sends her into a depression that will hasten her death.

Worse yet, we learn after the fact that Lord Mark was fully aware of Milly's illness, which means that he was trying to marry her knowing that he would soon inherit her fortune. This all gets revealed late in the game, but it's enough to make us look back and realize that Lord Mark had really been the villain all along.