Rex Walls Character Analysis

Rosemary’s boyfriend and later husband, Rex is born in West Virginia and stationed at a nearby air force base. He meets Rosemary in a restaurant and immediately starts a fight when he thinks someone is flirting with her. Rex later visits Lily and Jim at their house in Horse Mesa to see Rosemary’s art, which he praises effusively. Lily believes him to be a slick troublemaker who is full of hot air, but also admits that he is extremely charming. She also admires that after he falls off a horse when riding for the first time, he gets back on. Rex shows early signs of alcoholism when he gets drunk while playing poker with the family; Lily tries to stop him from driving home, but he angrily insults her. By means of apology Rex later takes Lily flying with him. They bond over their shared dismissal of rules and regulations, as well as the fact that they have both sold bootleg alcohol. Lily worries that Rex is too unstable for Rosemary, but cannot stop the two from getting married. In the epilogue of the book, Lily notes that Rex continues to bounce between odd jobs and hatch hair-brained schemes, and the two frequently argue viciously. Rex is the father of the book’s author, Jeannette Walls.