Foil

Character Role Analysis

Miriam Leivers

Paul totally knows that Miriam is his foil, and that's exactly what bothers him most about her. He loves to hang around her because she can appreciate all of his greatest qualities; but he also hates to hang around her because she understands his worst qualities equally well.

Paul, is emotionally and intellectually deep, for example, but he can also be really superficial. Like, reality TV superficial. Every time Miriam calls him on this, though, he says that he shouldn't have to be all intellectual and morally grounded with her all the time.

When it comes to ethics, though, Miriam never budges. She never stops exposing Paul's weaknesses to him, even when she's completely silent around him. On more than one occasion, Paul refers to Miriam as his conscience.

You can probably understand, then, how Miriam-the-foil can cause a lot of problems for Paul-the-lover. She's often the angel on his shoulder, when all he wants to listen to is the devil.