Characters Discussed
Lyman Ward
Lyman Ward, a retired University of California history professor and past winner of the Bancroft Prize. Lyman, in his late fifties and suffering from a degenerative bone disease that confines him to a wheelchair, has been abandoned by his adulterous wife, Ellen Hammond Ward. To pass the time, he begins researching the personal history of his grandparents, Oliver Ward and Susan Burling Ward, who spent most of their adult lives in the American West, his academic specialty. He is extremely opinionated, and his attitudes toward the social experiments of the 1960’s could not be more negative. He begins with a strong bias against his grandmother, who probably also committed adultery. Lyman is a protagonist and also the novel’s narrator; during the telling of the multigenerational saga, he encounters much evidence that exposes his need for self-serving conclusions. He finds that history challenges him to be a more sympathetic and forgiving human being than the subjects of his study: He must consider allowing his estranged wife Ellen to return.
Susan Burling Ward
Susan Burling Ward, an Easterner and a magazine illustrator with ambitions to be an artist. Born in 1848 and reared in a small New York town, she fails to attract an aristocratic New York City husband and so marries Oliver Ward, a mining engineer, and accompanies him to California, Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, and other parts of the West. Her snobbishness and desire to return to the East prevent her from judging her husband by criteria other than those of New York City salons. After her dreams of wealth and gentility clash repeatedly with the realities of their married life, she considers leaving, and at the very least she flirts with Frank Sargent, one of Oliver’s assistants. After several separations, she returns to the marriage, but it has degenerated into a kind of truce, and it never improves.
Oliver Ward
Oliver Ward, an engineer and a practical visionary. Initially, to Lyman, he is the bearer of all virtues, a strong, energetic man too large to tolerate the conventional social scene of the East and not sympathetic to its economics. He is a builder, not an exploiter. He has the knack for thinking “big ideas twenty years ahead of their time,” such as a formula for cement or an irrigation scheme too large for private funding. His principles cost him several jobs, but his skills earn the respect of experts such as John Wesley Powell and Clarence King. His stubbornness, however, does not allow him to be a sufficiently sympathetic husband, and in Lyman’s speculation, the Oliver-Susan marriage was loveless from 1890 until their deaths almost fifty years later.
Shelly Rasmussen
Shelly Rasmussen, a young woman hired for the summer of 1970 to care for Lyman and to act as his scribe. Shelly is a young and candid California woman of the 1960’s, extremely liberal, and a constant foil to Lyman. Her impertinent questions expose many of Lyman’s contradictions and biases, and her politics elicit much preaching from him.
Augusta Drake
Augusta Drake, a New York City socialite and friend of Susan Ward. Augusta is Susan’s ideal: Eastern, wealthy, and polished. The rather stuffy letters she sends Augusta from the West provide Lyman with much evidence for his historical narrative.
Frank Sargent
Frank Sargent, an assistant to Oliver Ward at the Idaho irrigation project. Young and handsome, Frank is for Susan a beautiful compromise between masculine energy and social grace. He kills himself after the drowning of the Wards’ daughter Agnes and confirms for Oliver the suspicion of adultery.
Rodman Ward
Rodman Ward, a sociology professor and the son...
(This entire section contains 731 words.)
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of Lyman and Ellen. A cocky and ironic man, Rodman finds his father hopelessly out of touch. His sociological methods, both personal and academic, define for Lyman the superficiality of the 1960’s.
Ollie Ward
Ollie Ward, Lyman’s father. Born in 1877, he grows up to be a bitter man, alienated by the Eastern education to which Susan sent him. He returns the favor by taking no part in the rearing of Lyman himself.
Ellen Hammond Ward
Ellen Hammond Ward, Lyman’s estranged wife. Ellen, a shadowy presence, has run off with the surgeon who amputated Lyman’s leg. In the end, she seeks a reconciliation and presents Lyman with what he sees as the ultimate test for his moral philosophy: Can he be a better man than his grandfather?
Characters
Angle of Repose revolves around two central figures: Lyman Ward and his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward. Lyman serves as the narrator, weaving together his own story with that of Susan. The novel is rich with his interruptions, reflections, and personal history. Once a college professor, Lyman has suffered the loss of half of one leg and is unable to turn his neck due to a bone disease. Enduring significant pain, he frequently consumes aspirin. After more than two decades of marriage, his wife left him upon discovering his illness. He has since relocated to his grandparents' former residence, where he can examine their letters and documents. His son, Rodman, believes Lyman would be better off in a care facility; although only fifty-eight, Lyman seems aged and frail. Yet, he stubbornly opposes his son's efforts to move him out, convinced that his work in the house is vital to maintaining purpose in his life.
Lyman acknowledges that his perspectives might be considered outdated and that he struggles with contemporary society. He views his grandparents as embodiments of solid virtues that he feels are missing in today's world. He held his grandfather in high regard; as a child, Lyman felt particularly secure in his grandfather's robust presence. He also respected his grandmother, who, despite her genteel upbringing, adapted to the challenges of accompanying her husband across the West and into Mexico. Through examining their marriage, Lyman gains fresh insights into his friends, Shelly, and eventually, even his wife by the novel's conclusion. Lyman's personal growth is fueled by what he learns about his grandparents. They were not perfect examples of the rugged virtues of a legendary old West. Instead, despite their admirable qualities, they also experienced shortcomings, conflicts, and minor squabbles.
According to Lyman's narrative, Susan struggled to comprehend Oliver, who would sometimes become withdrawn and sulk when displeased with her. She was accustomed to engaging in lively, witty conversations, while Oliver was quiet, soft-spoken, and often kept his thoughts to himself. Susan had a passion for the arts and throughout their marriage, she published her drawings and writings in magazines back East. In contrast, Oliver was fascinated by machinery and the movement of water and soil for agriculture and mining. Susan believed they only needed to endure the West temporarily, expecting that once Oliver made their fortune, they would return to the East. However, this dream was never realized. Susan became increasingly resentful as her husband was frequently cheated by employers and claim jumpers. Oliver would simply shrug off these setbacks and move on to a new project instead of fighting for his rights. For example, he invented "hydraulic cement," a type of cement used for building foundations and walls, which at the time had to be imported from Europe. Oliver devised a method to produce cement using local materials, but he couldn't find an investor to build a factory and lost interest without patenting it. This method later became the standard for making hydraulic cement nationwide, yet Oliver never benefitted financially. Susan was infuriated by his nonchalant attitude towards money. After enduring numerous disappointments and years of hardship, she succumbed to her unhappiness. Lyman, who narrates the story, avoids delving into the details of what transpired, while the sexually liberated Shelly finds it absurd that he is hesitant to discuss Oliver and Susan's sexual issues. Lyman consistently avoids these topics when his narrative approaches intimate moments. Near the novel's conclusion, he relies on historical evidence suggesting that Susan and Frank eventually gave in to their attraction, potentially neglecting Agnes during a romantic encounter, which led to her drowning.
Both Lyman and Susan are remarkably crafted fictional characters. Lyman describes himself vividly, and his observations about his surroundings and his grandparents' world reveal a well-rounded personality. He is a staunch supporter of his grandmother, yet he is honest enough to portray her accurately. He has a deep personal interest in her as he hopes to understand why his own father was so bitter and reticent, and how he became the person he is. Lyman emerges as a complex, flawed individual, not a typical hero. However, he displays heroism by overcoming the loss of his wife, his illness, and his anger to seek the truth. By the novel's conclusion, he is honest with himself, acknowledging his grandfather's inability to forgive and, in doing so, admitting his own shortcomings.
Susan represents the East's struggle to reconcile with the West. One of Stegner's remarkable accomplishments is his ability to portray this symbolic character as a fully human figure. He achieves this partly by allowing Susan to express herself through letters to her friends back East, particularly Augusta, who has married into high society. While Susan shares her travels and emotions, she avoids discussing her marriage. Her Victorian sensibilities lead her to keep her marital matters private, although Lyman suggests she might also be embarrassed by her rugged husband, who lacks the sophistication she was taught to value.
As Lyman crafts a fictionalized biography of Susan, he creates dialogue and scenes that he believes reflect what Susan and others likely said and did. He is meticulous in distinguishing his fictional elements from historical facts. The fictional parts of his account of Susan's life are based on what he knows from historical records and his own memories. Susan clings to her youthful dreams and is tormented by her distance from the cultural hubs of the East, which sometimes causes her to be harsh toward her husband, blaming him for her discontent. Nevertheless, her bravery and resolve to share in her husband's life make her a commendable figure.
