Characters Discussed

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Julian

Julian, a modest, shy, and benevolent Roman Catholic lay brother and personal secretary to the Cardinal. In his benevolence and his desire to serve, he is a victim of the Roman Catholic Church’s avarice. After having become disillusioned with other people’s images and uses of God, he loses his faith and commits himself to a mental institution for six years. By the beginning of the play, Julian is Brother Julian, the first lay secretary to a cardinal in church history. He is sent by the Cardinal to Miss Alice to work out the details of the $20 billion grant that the church is to receive from Miss Alice. After frequent meetings with Miss Alice, Julian consents to becoming married to her. After the wedding, he is left alone by all the other characters, including his supposed wife. He discovers that he did not really marry Miss Alice but rather Tiny Alice, the occupant of a miniature replica of the castle in which most of the play’s action takes place. Julian has to learn that Miss Alice is only the physical representation of Tiny Alice. He refuses to remain in the castle all alone as the trophy that Tiny Alice demanded for her large grant, desiring instead to return to a mental institution. In response, the Lawyer shoots him. Julian, bleeding to death beside the castle replica, becomes a Christlike figure in a crucifixion pose, thinking initially that he has been forsaken by God but then accepting the sacrifice asked of him and addressing Tiny Alice as God.

Miss Alice

Miss Alice, a mysterious young woman apparently hired as a representative by Tiny Alice, the occupant of the miniature of Miss Alice’s castle. Although at the beginning of the play Miss Alice seems to be the one giving the grant, and although she likes to order others around, her subordinate role becomes increasingly clear. Like the Lawyer and the Butler, she works for Tiny Alice. She may have had love affairs with the Butler and the Lawyer, whom she seems to be giving up for Julian. Miss Alice likes to joke with Julian and does not want to harm him, but she willingly lures him into marriage to make him a sacrifice for Tiny Alice. Although she seems to care for Julian, she does not try to prevent his death but instead follows the orders of the Lawyer, which are implicitly Tiny Alice’s orders.

The Lawyer

The Lawyer, an aggressive and intimidating man seemingly employed by Miss Alice but ultimately in the service of Tiny Alice. He represents the intelligent and unfeeling leader. He enjoys teasing his former schoolmate, the Cardinal, with whom he starts numerous arguments and whose problematic past he likes to discuss. He plays with the Cardinal’s wish to get the $20 billion grant and delights in catching the Cardinal in failures to use the majestic plural. The Butler is another victim of his witty condescension. The Lawyer seems interested in Miss Alice but ultimately does all that he can to serve Tiny Alice, the occupant of the miniature castle. To provide a sacrifice for her, he shoots Julian and refuses to call a doctor for him.

The Butler

The Butler, a friendly but puzzling servant seemingly working for Miss Alice but ultimately employed by Tiny Alice. He is benevolent and helpful toward Julian and tries to assist him against the Lawyer’s intimidations. Although he presents himself as Julian’s friend, he refuses to take orders from Julian after the wedding and joins all other characters in avoiding Julian. He also does not try to prevent Julian’s murder,...

(This entire section contains 744 words.)

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reasoning that, because Julian had been chosen as the sacrifice, he might be better off dead than alive.

The Cardinal

The Cardinal, the representative of the Roman Catholic Church, who is to receive grant money from Tiny Alice. The Cardinal is used as an illustration of human conduct: The expectation of the grant makes him forget his principles (the use of the majestic plural) and prevents hesitations about sacrificing his secretary, Julian. With the Lawyer, the Cardinal shows his command of the art of argument and insult. He justifies sacrificing Julian by noting the good that this sacrifice would bring to the Roman Catholic Church, but he does not dare to tell Julian what is awaiting him. After Julian is shot, the Cardinal does not attempt to rescue him but asks him to die as a martyr.

Characters

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Miss Alice

Miss Alice embodies a blend of youthful allure and opulence, a woman whose very presence is a tapestry of contradictions. She oscillates unpredictably—one moment she exudes a playful flirtation, the next she adopts a stern business demeanor. Her relationship with Lawyer is equally paradoxical; she despises him yet entertains him as a lover. Her grandiose vision involves bestowing billions upon a myriad of charitable causes, from Jewish organizations and hospitals to universities and the Catholic Church. This generous ambition draws her into the orbit of Cardinal, and subsequently, Julian, his dutiful secretary. Although Miss Alice appears to hold genuine affection for Julian, she, alongside her household, conspires against him. Her seduction culminates in a marriage, orchestrated to offer Julian as a sacrificial pawn to Tiny Alice. Despite her seemingly sincere affection, when the decisive moment arrives, she abandons him without a second thought.

Butler

Butler, the manservant once entwined in romance with Miss Alice, claims his identity from his occupation, embracing his role to serve. Yet beneath his formal exterior, he harbors a sympathetic regard for Julian. An instantaneous camaraderie blooms between the two, and it is to Butler alone that Julian reveals the deeper narrative of his past incarceration in the asylum.

Cardinal

Cardinal, a high-ranking ecclesiastical figure, finds himself approached by Lawyer regarding Miss Alice's munificent gift. Their acquaintance, far from congenial, is rooted in a shared and acrimonious history from their school days. Lawyer, never one to mince words, labels Cardinal as self-important and sanctimonious. Cardinal’s hypocrisy runs deep, as evidenced by his willingness to "sell" his own secretary, Julian, for a handsome reward to Alice's conspirators. His complicity in the scheme against Julian becomes glaringly apparent in Act III, even as he acknowledges the grim possibility of Julian’s demise. Despite Lawyer’s forewarning, Cardinal chooses silence.

Julian

Julian, or Brother Julian, serves as Cardinal’s middle-aged secretary. His path diverged from priesthood due to a profound crisis of faith—shattering revelations that mankind venerates mere symbols of God rather than divinity itself. This existential turmoil led him to seek refuge in a mental asylum for six years, where he grappled with the blurred lines between delusion and reality. Even his memories of intimacy with another patient remain uncertain, possibly the conjurations of a tormented mind. Throughout his existence, Julian's imaginings of martyrdom, all laced with an undercurrent of sensuality, possess an arresting vividness, almost indistinguishable from reality. When the narrative unfolds, Julian is irresistibly drawn to Miss Alice, ultimately succumbing to her allure and agreeing to marriage. However, post-nuptials, he is left to succumb to a mortal wound inflicted by gunfire. In his final moments, through a poignant soliloquy, Julian reconciles with what may be either an illusion or a metaphysical entity, defying the tenets of his own belief system.

Brother Julian

See Julian

Lawyer

Lawyer, the architect of Miss Alice’s financial dealings with the church, is also tangled in her affections, despite her evident disdain for him. He is a man marked by cruelty, a blunt instrument both crude and indifferent. His animosity towards Cardinal is palpable, dismissing him with scornful epithets as the son of a profiting harlot. Jealousy tinges his view of Miss Alice's interest in Julian, culminating in a climactic act of violence—Lawyer fatally shoots Julian as the play draws to a close. Despite Miss Alice's belief in the futility of this murder, Lawyer departs the scene unruffled, leaving the mansion with a chilling indifference to Julian's fate.

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