Gennaro Character Analysis

In Wharfinger’s The Courier’s Tragedy, Gennaro is a “complete nonentity” who takes over the Dukedom of Faggio after Ercole’s army murders the illegitimate Duke Pasquale. (Notably, Gennaro’s claim to the Dukedom is never explained or shown to be legitimate.) On their way to invade Duke Angelo’s Squamuglia, Gennaro’s army discovers the body of Niccolò—the legitimate ruler of Faggio—by the lake that marks the border between the two duchies. Gennaro proclaims that Niccolò has died after a “tryst with Trystero,” and Oedipa (who goes to see the play) realizes that “Trystero” must be the important word that the actors refused to speak throughout the whole play (and replaced with a mysterious silence instead). As if the story were not already complicated enough, the actor who portrays Gennaro happens to be Randolph Driblette, the play’s director. Oedipa thinks that Driblette must know something about this Trystero, so approaches him after the play, but he dismisses her question.