Albert Crundall Character Analysis

The Fitzhuberts’ coachman. A young man not much older than Michael Fitzhubert, Albert is crass yet funny, common yet gentle, and ruddy-faced yet handsome. He represents a stark contrast to the pampered inhabitants of Lake View and Appleyard College. Albert is a deeply practical man who is aware of his relatively low social station yet never wishes to change it. The novel implies that a terrible childhood in an orphanage—and a traumatic separation from his sister—have made Albert grateful just for the small pleasures of daily life, for the company of his beloved horses, and for the sense of possibility and adventure in the landscape all around him. Albert quickly befriends Mike Fitzhubert, finding himself impressed by the young man’s courage even as he scorns his foolhardiness. After Mike’s search for the missing Appleyard College girls up on Hanging Rock ends in disaster, Albert is the one to rescue both Mike and Irma Leopold in two separate acts of great bravery which bring him the respect of his superiors, the offer of a banking job from Irma’s father, and a cheque for 1,000 pounds to do with as he wishes. Albert is given the chance to change his life—and yet decides to put the money away, travel the outback with Mike, and continue to enjoy the simple pleasures of the fate he’s been dealt. Pragmatic, humorous, and loyal, Albert represents the hope for change from the ground up within Australian society.