Paul Wilcox

Character Analysis

We don't really get to know Paul at all (and neither does Helen, really). We gather that he's kind of just a guy – charming in his masculine, Wilcox-ian way, but otherwise not too compelling. He's obviously sort of stuffy, the way his brother Charles is, and the way his father can be at times. We don't see him very often, since he's in Africa dealing with some kind of colonial business, which implicates him in the imperialistic kind of capitalism that all of his family is tainted by. Paul's basically a stock figure for the business class Edwardian young man, and his character really doesn't stand in for anything except convention.