Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Dr. Adler

How can Wilhelm's elderly, widowed, and comfortably retired father be an antagonist, you say? Well, according to Wilhelm, Dr. Adler was secretly relieved when his wife died, and he refuses to support his children in their times of trouble and need. Wilhelm imagines confronting his father and saying:

You were set free when Ma died. You wanted to forget her. You'd like to get rid of Catherine, too. Me, too. You're not kidding anyone. (2.21)

The thing is, Wilhelm never does say this to Dr. Adler—not really. Instead, he keeps trying to gain his father's sympathy and help, and Dr. Adler, for his part, isn't having any of it.

So is Wilhelm right? Is Dr. Adler truly an unkind man who would rather disown his own son than get roped into his troubles? Has he abandoned his children, or his he simply trying to teach them to get by on their own?

Dr. Tamkin

Like all of the "antagonists" of Seize the Day, Dr. Tamkin isn't a straightforward villain. Sure, he swindles Wilhelm out of the last of his savings, and fills his head with bogus philosophies, but some of his life lessons really do give Wilhelm something to think about. So, uh, at least there's that?

Of all of the novel's characters, Tamkin is the most mysterious and elusive. Although he is the final cause of Wilhelm's financial ruin, he's also the only person who gives Wilhelm the kind of attention and caring he craves. That's why he has the rare status of being both antagonist and mentor. Think of him as the Scar to our Simba, or the Ursula to our Ariel. Smart, but overall bad news.

Margaret Wilhelm

In the final paragraphs of the novel, Wilhelm prays for someone to protect him against "that devil" who wants his life (7.99). Although he doesn't come right out and say that that devil is Margaret, Wilhelm's thoughts about his ex are pretty grim. He's convinced that Margaret wants to ruin him, and in a moment of passion, he tells Dr. Adler that she is strangling him, and that she has "fixed herself" on him, to kill him at a distance (3.54). What is she, Carrie?

Whether or not any of this is true makes no real difference to Wilhelm. In his mind, Margaret is actively working to ruin his life.