Bassett
In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” Bassett is the family gardener who becomes young Paul’s partner in betting on the races. He is a trusted confidante as well as loyal bettor by proxy.
Dr. Jack Fergusson
While visiting her brothers, Fergusson gets hit hard by the thunderbolt and falls instantly head over heels for “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter.” His swift decision to propose to Mabel Pervin means is also a rescue for the family from the approaching financial desperation.
Mr. Bircumshaw
The title character of “Delilah and Mr. Bircumshaw” (there is no actual “Delilah” as that Biblical figure lingers over the narrative as a symbolic figure). In the parlance of the times, he is a brute. He beats his child and terrorizes his wife, but like Samson from the Biblical story, Mr. Bircumshaw has a kryptonite capable of totally disarming his violent tendencies. Let’s just say that though there be no Delilah in this story, there is a Mrs. Gillatt to join forces with Mrs. Bircumshaw.
St. Mawr
This title character of a short novel (or very long short story) is a reddish-gold horse whose refusal to be broken by any rider becomes the symbol of the story’s heroine who goes by far too many different names over the course of the story to pick just one as her singular identity.
Walter Bates
“The Odour of Chrysanthemums” is really about Elizabeth, a Mrs. Bates of a much different color. But tellingly, her story only becomes worth telling on the night that her husband is much later than usual leading her to question whether his tardiness can once again be attributed to stopping by the pub on the way back from the mines. Walter Bates, it turns out, was not late coming home due to drink this particular night, but due to the worst news possible in a mining town.
