Character Analysis
Husband to Dianna and father to Noah and Jude, Benjamin Sweetwine is a professor—specifically, a scientist who studies parasites. According to Noah, he's "glow-in-the-dark normal" (1.57). Everything that Dianna is—likeable, artistic, loving—Benjamin isn't. At least on the surface.
But he tries. Though Noah's scarred from their "broken umbrella" conversations about masculinity (see Symbols), Benjamin clearly loves his son. When the whole family forgets Benjamin's birthday, he invites Noah out to dinner for some long overdue father-son bonding time. Later, when he and Dianna separate, the only thing he packs in his suitcase (literally) is a drawing that Noah made of the two of them.
Though he's not a major character, our guess is that Benjamin is a secret softie. "He's not really the way he seems sometimes," Dianna tells Noah. "You underestimate him. You always have." (5.401) In any case, he suffers terribly after his wife's death, dropping weight and going on walks by himself all the time.
By the end of the book, though, he seems ready to move on with his life—and accepting of Noah's sexuality. Good for him.