Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Society

There isn’t really a villain in this book at all. Yes, we’re rooting against Cecil, but that doesn’t necessarily make him the antagonist – he’s not a bad guy at heart, he’s just not the right guy for Lucy. The closest thing we get in terms of opposing forces is Society, which fights against the unspoken and unacknowledged other Protagonist, Love. Society doesn’t actively destroy Love, it just makes Love very, very difficult to find. Ultimately, it’s the barriers and regulations of class and gender that make Lucy’s quest such a treacherous one.