The Willoughbys

Jane is the youngest sibling of the Willoughby family and the only girl. Her main goal is to become more self-assured because her older brothers, especially Tim, tend to bully her and control her. Jane is six years old and is described as “a timid, pretty little thing with eyeglasses and bangs” (2). Her name is illustrative of her plainness, but Jane aims to change this aspect of herself as she grows up. She has a kinder spirit than her brothers, but she agrees with them when it comes to the fate of their parents. Jane hates being bossed around and told what to like, and she uses any attempt she can find to practice speaking her mind and disagreeing with Tim. Tim often tells Jane that she will never be important; he asserts that she is not needed because she’s a girl, but Jane aims to prove him wrong. Over time, Jane is allowed to flourish and develop her own distinct identity and agency. Jane is also responsible for revealing that Mr. Melanoff’s son is still alive because she read the letters sent by his wife, not understanding their significance. As an adult, she becomes a “professor of feminist literature” (146), achieving her goal of becoming self-assured.

Barnaby A and Barnaby B are the 10-year-old Willoughby twins. They look exactly alike, and their parents do not bother finding a way to tell them apart even though their siblings have mastered this trick. Most people simply refer to them as “A” and “B.” Barnaby B is highly intelligent, building complex structures and asking critical questions. By contrast, Barnaby A goes along with whatever his brother does. The twins are a less prominently featured duo in the story, but they do serve as a source of irony when Mr. Melanoff’s son reveals that his name is Barnaby as well. Barnaby A and B decide to change their names to Bill and Joe to avoid further confusion, showing adaptability and a relaxed attitude toward life in general. When they grow up, they open a clothing store that offers special deals to parents of twins, inspired by the fact that they always had to share one single, poorly made sweater.

The nanny is a force of light, logic, and understanding in the world of the Willoughby children. Before her arrival, they were left to fend for themselves. Unloved by their parents, they were given no direction on how to live. Although the nanny initially seems unpleasant to the children, they soon grow fond of her. Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby, the nanny shows the children that she cares about their opinions; she listens to them and treats them like human beings. The nanny is honest and forthright, but she also has a slightly dangerous hidden edge. This aspect of her character is revealed when she dresses as a statue to scare away prospective homebuyers and when she suggests selling Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby’s clothes while they are away. The nanny also agrees with the children’s assessment that they would be better off if their parents were to die; she states that in this event, she would care for them and they would be rich. She jokes about the way that she embodies certain stereotypes, such as wearing a blue cape while they all go for a walk. However, in yet another metafictional scene, she explicitly refuses to be compared to characters like Mary Poppins, saying that she is “not one bit like that fly-by-night woman” (91). The nanny also implements a fair system of caretaking, giving the children structure and demonstrating The Importance of Logical Rules. She later asks Mr. Melanoff if she and the children can move in with him, and they all become a family together.

Mr. Melanoff is a dynamic character who experiences a major transformation as a result of the reintroduction of love and family into his life. At the beginning of the story, he is living in a state of squalor, which is explained as having “nothing to do with money. Squalor happens when people are sad” (41). Mr. Melanoff was in a state of grief because he believed that his wife and son were lost forever after an avalanche landed on their rail car and trapped them there. He is unaware that they are still alive and have been writing to him for years. Because he refuses to open the letters he gets, he does not learn this until the end of the novel. Mr. and Ms. Melanoff are foils to one another, for while Ms. Melanoff is highly meticulous, Mr. Melanoff is a chaotic creator. When she is gone, his house falls into a state of chaos and neglect. Mr. Melanoff sees himself as an “old-fashioned gentleman” (64), and when a baby appears on his doorstep, he sees it as just the unconventional change he needs to break free of his dark state of mind. Baby Ruth inspires Mr. Melanoff to start caring for himself and his home, and this change soon invites the nanny and the Willoughby children into his life. Suddenly, Mr. Melanoff is no longer alone; he is surrounded by people and feels inspired to go back to his career of creating candy bars. Mr. Melanoff eventually reunites with his son when Barnaby makes his way back to the United States from Switzerland, and since he never really missed his wife, he can move on and be happy in his new life.

Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby are the main antagonists of the story. Because they detest their children and resent their presence, they do only the bare minimum to provide for them. Mrs. Willoughby does not work, and she only cooks disgusting meals. Otherwise, she does nothing at all to provide for her children. Mr. Willoughby works at a bank, and his whole personality is based on this fact. Both parents have unpredictable tempers and see themselves as invincible. They are not particularly bright, as is implied when they fall for an intentionally dangerous vacation offer. Later, when they arrive in Switzerland, they are improperly dressed and wear crampons on their heads instead of on their feet. These errors, while farcical in nature, emphasize their ignorance and recklessness and foreshadow their inevitable deaths in the Alps. Although Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby never have the chance to learn from their mistakes, their children benefit from their lack of intelligence. In their parents’ absence, they forge a much better life for themselves. From the very outset of the novel, the Willoughby children respond to their parents’ neglect by sending them on a dubious vacation in the hopes that Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby will die along the way. The children’s deep hatred for their parents is indicative of The Impact of Parental Neglect and Abuse, albeit in a hyperbolic form.

Mr. Melanoff’s son, who is named Barnaby like the twins and his father, was trapped in a rail car with his mother in the Alps for several years and retained few memories of his earlier life because he was very young at the time. He and his mother attempt to start a new life in Switzerland after it becomes clear that Mr. Melanoff is not going to answer their letters, but Barnaby cannot adapt to his new surroundings no matter how much his mother and the postmaster try to force him to conform. Barnaby is messy and adventurous like his father, and he is therefore the complete opposite of his mother, so the two clash often. Barnaby complains about the food in Switzerland and does not learn German despite hearing it all around him; instead, he prefers to speak a muddled combination of English and German. Eventually, Barnaby’s mother and the postmaster send him away to live on his own, with no concern about his welfare or future prospects. Although Barnaby’s mother neglects to care for him appropriately, he is savvy enough to find his way back home by remembering his father’s candy bar and tracking down Mr. Melanoff’s address. Upon finding out that his son is alive, Mr. Melanoff realizes his grave error in never reading the letters, thereby emphasizing the theme of Learning From Significant Mistakes. Later in life, Barnaby takes over his father’s company.

Ms. Melanoff is Mr. Melanoff’s ex-wife. She is described as being extremely meticulous, to the point where she used to irritate Mr. Melanoff by cleaning up his work before he was finished. She insists on arranging everything alphabetically, which always made it difficult for Mr. Melanoff to find things. When she and Barnaby are lost in Switzerland, Mr. Melanoff misses his son far more than his wife. Ms. Melanoff sends her husband letters for years but never hears back, so she eventually gives up on him. Although she initially tries to care for Barnaby, he soon starts to remind her of her ex-husband, and she grows irritated with him. She starts a new life with the postmaster and later banishes her son with no concern for his welfare. Although she is not nearly as neglectful as Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby, her behavior reflects a more nuanced version of The Impact of Parental Neglect and Abuse.