Foil

Character Role Analysis

Roland Mitchell and Randolph Henry Ash, Maud Bailey and Christabel LaMotte, Val and Blanche Glover

The pairing of Roland and Randolph should come as no surprise, considering how Possession makes it clear that Roland Mitchell and Randolph Henry Ash are spiritual counterparts separated by a century. These two chaps are like two translations of the same poem: essentially the same, but unique in the kinds of particulars that are produced by differences in space and time.

On the other hand, Christabel LaMotte and Maud Bailey not only look alike, and not only share multiple social values and psychological characteristics, but are also great-great-great-grandmother and great-great-great-granddaughter. Like Roland and Randolph, these women are like two versions of the same myth or fairy tale: essentially the same, but unique in the kinds of particulars that come about through differences in space and time.

Finally, both Val and Blanche Glover find themselves confronted by a partner's infidelity, and both react by declaring bitterly that they're "superfluous" human beings (12.94; 18.12). Make no mistake about it, these two women are a pair. Luckily for Val, her life doesn't follow the exact same pattern as Blanche's, and Possession gives her story a much happier ending.