Literary Criticism: Henry And Cato

 

Cato Forbes is walking up and down above Hungerford railway bridge enveloped by fog.

His heart rate is elevated and he feels oppressed; it seems that the fog is freezing his soul. "Behind the grill which separated the railway from the footpath a train leaving Charing Cross station rattled slowly by, the lighted carriages jerkily illuminating the mist."

In my opinion the light represents his slow decline towards a life without faith. 

The grill means a jail with immaterial bars and his impossibility to react to re see the light.

Henry Marshalson is one of the main characters, he is a young academic and art historian.

He is determined to change his lifestyle in order to live a life of goodness.

He is writing a book dedicated to a German painter Max Beckmann.

He loves Stephanie Whitehouse, but he will marry Collette Forbes.

Gerda Marshalson is the mother of Henry and of the deceased Sandy.

She lives with Lucius Lamb, a poet. She disagrees with Henry who wants to marry Stephanie a sex worker. He has decided to sell the estate where the two live.

Cato Forbes is the son of John, his mother is Ruth, his sister is Collette.

He is a Roman Catholic priest, God is at the centre of his life, for unknown reason he has lost his faith in God.

He loves Beautiful Joe, a young teenager who wants to become a gangster. Cato is determined to do everything possible to change his life, giving him all love to fill the lack of good.

Cato will discover that his mission has failed, the evil is not due to a lack of good but it is his integral part.

Beautiful Joe represents a human without good, he will force Cato to write a ransom letter, he will try to rape Collette.

In order to save his daughter Cato will kill Beautiful Joe.

Collette Forbes is a girl with strong ideals; she is determined to remain virgin until she will marry a man. She wrote a very love letter to Henry but he wasn't interested.

Lucius Lamb is a poet, he is hated by Henry, he writes a book on Marxism.

Stephanie Whitehouse, is the enchanter of the novel, he will say to Henry to be a sex worker, but in reality, she is not, it wasn't a joke but a precise intent to put down the mask worn by Henry, writing to him a letter.

In this letter she says to be unhappy for not being loved by Henry, their concept of love is completely different.

Beautiful Joe is a 17 years old boy. He has had a troubled childhood, he is charismatic and manipulative, he is a criminal who ignores the differences between good and evil.

The apex is when Cato kills Beautiful Joe for trying to rape his sister.

The main theme is the Plato's cave

This novel is set in contemporary London.