The Beautiful and Damned characters

Appears from the start

A handsome, privileged young New Yorker who expects eventually to inherit his wealthy grandfather's fortune. Educated but without a vocation, he treats taste and self-awareness as substitutes for sustained work and organizes his life around anticipated leisure.

Appears from the start

Anthony's extremely wealthy grandfather, known publicly for moral reform and civic virtue. His fortune shapes Anthony's future plans, while his strict public principles make his approval uncertain rather than automatic.

Also known as Dick Caramel

Appears from the start

Anthony's friend, a young writer working seriously on a novel. Earnest and socially ambitious, he supplies a contrast to Anthony by turning literary aspiration into regular labor, however conventional the result may be.

Appears from the start

Anthony's cultivated friend, admired for an elegant skepticism that initially appears intellectually superior to ordinary ambition. Like Anthony, he is more practiced at conversation and detachment than at committing himself to useful work.

First appears in chapter 2

A celebrated young beauty and Dick Caramel's cousin. Independent, pleasure-loving, and conscious of the effect she has on others, she resists plans that would subordinate the present to work or distant security.

First appears in chapter 2

A film producer who admires Gloria and offers her both attention and contact with the expanding motion-picture business. His practical commercial energy distinguishes him from Anthony's inherited expectations.

First appears in chapter 2

One of Gloria's socially active friends, present in the shifting circles of parties, flirtations, and gossip around her. She shares the assumptions of a life structured by amusement and appearances.

First appears in chapter 2

A friend in Gloria's social circle whose talk and romantic adventures contribute to the atmosphere in which intimacy is repeatedly converted into entertainment and gossip.

First appears in chapter 4

Adam Patch's trusted secretary and attendant. His access to the old man and loyalty to his interests give him a practical importance that Anthony, focused on the eventual inheritance, cannot safely ignore.

First appears in chapter 4

A Japanese servant employed by Anthony and Gloria at their country house. Expected to manage domestic demands amid their irregular parties and finances, he observes the household's instability from a dependent position.

Also known as Dot

First appears in chapter 8

A young Southern woman Anthony meets while serving in the army. Her attachment offers him private excitement during separation from Gloria, while her lack of wealth and social position keeps the relationship outside his established life.