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Sir Archibald
Frank’s character is a complicated metaphor for the way humans use pity and self-loathing to manipulate other people, though he only appears toward the end of the novel. In life Frank knew and was loved by Sarah Smith, and would take advantage of her love by pretending that she’d hurt his feelings. Indeed, Frank has a long history of pretending to be sad in order to make other people feel guilty—even as a child he would do so. In the afterlife, Frank appears as two different ghosts, one small (the Dwarf), the other tall (the Tragedian). The Dwarf represents Frank’s inner life: his self-hatred, and his manipulative tendencies. The Tragedian, on the other hand, represents the “image” of pain and sadness that Frank tries to project in order to make other people feel guilty. Thus, in the afterlife Frank takes on a form that externalizes the psychological processes by which Frank would try to “blackmail” Sarah into feeling sorry for him.
Frank / Dwarf / Tragedian Quotes in The Great Divorce
The The Great Divorce quotes below are all either spoken by Frank / Dwarf / Tragedian or refer to Frank / Dwarf / Tragedian. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12 Quotes
“Don't you see what nonsense it's talking.” Merriment danced in her eyes. She was sharing a joke with the Dwarf, right over the head of the Tragedian. Something not at all unlike a smile struggled to appear on the Dwarf's face. For he was looking at her now. Her laughter was past his first defenses. He was struggling hard to keep it out, bur already with imperfect success. Against his will, he was even growing a little bigger.
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In this passage, the Narrator witnesses a beautiful Spirit named Sarah reunite with a ghost she knew on Earth, Frank. Frank has gone to Hell, but he appears in the Valley of the Shadow of Life in two distinct forms: a Tragedian (an enormous, overly theatrical figure) and a Dwarf (who manipulates the Tragedian with a chain). When “Frank” meets Sarah, he (the Dwarf) manipulates the Tragedian to pretend to be offended and hurt by Sarah’s behavior. Whenever Sarah says or does anything, the Tragedian overreacts and tries to manipulate Sarah into pitying him.In short, “Frank” embodies the artificial, divided Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. Voluptas suscipit alias. In et eveniet. Eaque et repellendus. Dolores aut voluptatibus. Voluptatem qui voluptatum. Voluptatibus sed placeat. Aut tenetur autem. Fugit voluptates in. Quidem impedit sunt. Excepturi ullam nobis. Ducimus odio quo. Ut autem harum. Omnis vel voluptatum. Assumend
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Frank / Dwarf / Tragedian Character Timeline in The Great Divorce
The timeline below shows where the character Frank / Dwarf / Tragedian appears in The Great Divorce. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 12
...gaze, the Narrator sees two old ghosts, one very tall and theatrical looking, like a Tragedian, the other small, like a Dwarf. As the two ghosts approach Sarah, the Narrator notices...
(full context)
As Sarah smiles at the Dwarf, the ghost becomes more solid. The Dwarf asks, “You missed me?” in a small, ugly...
(full context)
Sarah tells the Dwarf that he can be happy now that he’s in the afterlife. The Dwarf becomes more...
(full context)
Sarah tries to explain herself to the Dwarf. She claims that she’s in love with the ghost—and with everything else. She didn’t truly...
(full context)
Chapter 13
Immediately following the events of the previous chapter, the Narrator watches Sarah laughing. The Dwarf tries his hardest to keep from laughing along with Sarah. He can see how absurd...
(full context)
Sarah begs the Dwarf to reconsider. She tells the ghost that pity can be a dangerous weapon. Pity was...
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The Tragedian accuses Sarah of not loving him. Sarah turns to the Tragedian, as if seeing him...
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As Sarah moves away, the Narrator asks MacDonald about Frank—he can’t help but think that it’s wrong for Sarah to be untouched by Frank’s “self-made...
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The Narrator wonders aloud why Sarah didn’t go down to Hell to visit Frank—she could have gone to the bus station to keep him company. In reply, MacDonald lets...
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