Strike the Father Dead (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: John Wain
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: The 1940’s and 1950’s
- Setting: London, Paris, and an unnamed provincial university town
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman
- Subjects: 1950’s, Maturation or coming of age, Freedom, Self-discovery, Parents and children, Music or musicians, 1940’s, Individuality, England or English people, Fathers, Jazz music, London, Ethics
- Locales: Paris, France, London, England
Characters Discussed
Alfred Coleman, a middle-aged professor of the classics. The son of a minister, Alfred has inherited his father’s sense of duty, if not his faith. Except for his wife, Mary, who died after ten years of marriage, Alfred has never permitted himself to become close to anyone. Although he is secretly troubled by the memory of his own wartime weakness, he projects an image of certainty, insisting that everyone accept his values, which are chiefly the suppression of emotion and dedication to learning, particularly to the classics. It is his inflexibility that...
[The entire page is 758 words long]
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