48 pages • 1 hour read
James HiltonLost Horizon
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1933A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Hugh Conway
Conway is the protagonist of much of the novel, as it is his story that Rutherford hands over to the narrator in the form of a manuscript. At 37, Conway is a consul, a diplomatic position intended to maintain a government’s interests in a foreign country. Conway’s rank in the British government is indicative of his charisma, and Mallinson frequently notes how impressively Conway performed his role in Baskul, even during the revolution that forced him to flee. Likewise, when Rutherford, Wyland, and the narrator reminisce about Conway, they remember him as a remarkable man, lending him almost superhuman qualities. However, the novel indicates that Conway was psychologically impacted by World War I, though his accounts of the war are often brief and nondescript. The traumatic experience of the war has left him with a dispassionate personality, unable to take special interest in the affairs of the world. Conway’s dispassion makes him a perfect candidate for lama-hood, and he even draws the attention of the High Lama, Perrault, who wants Conway to take over control of Shangri-La upon his death. This theoretical promotion, too, evidences Conway’s charisma and the trust others place in him.
Conway’s role in the novel, much like other protagonists of travel novels, is to report the sights and scenes of Shangri-La. Though Conway is not the manuscript’s narrator, he is presented as the story’s true author, as his oral account of his experience is the basis for Rutherford’s manuscript. He is an arguably unreliable source, as revealed in the final moments of his story at Shangri-La. When Mallinson reveals that he had sex with Lo-Tsen, Conway’s entire perspective on Shangri-La and the Karakal valley is challenged to the point that he reverts to his former personality—pragmatic and action oriented. This personality, in contrast to the relaxed, dispassionate one that Conway maintains throughout the novel, is another compartment of Conway’s psyche. This compartmentalization of Conway’s mind is the result of the trauma and stress of the war, in which Conway reports both violence, fun, death, and sexuality, dominated by a lasting sense of boredom and disinterest. Mallinson’s disapproval of Conway’s dispassionate nature suggests that he views it as a coping mechanism—a way for Conway to maintain emotional equilibrium by pretending that nothing matters. Conway is a dynamic character in that, over the course of the novel, he moves from skepticism to belief and back to skepticism, at times making bold decisions and at other times rejecting the possibility of making any decision at all.
Charles Mallinson
Mallinson is the vice consul under Conway in Baskul, and he is much younger than Conway at only 24. Unlike Conway, who is unmarried, Mallinson is engaged to a woman in England. Mallinson is Conway’s foil, projecting a constant demeanor of agitation and perpetually trying to accomplish tasks, even when no tasks are available. In the plane, Mallinson presses Conway to take action, but, by the end of the novel, Mallinson is the one making plans to leave Shangri-La, only including Conway in those plans at the last minute. In a sense, Mallinson develops as a character because he transitions from expecting Conway, Chang, and others to do everything for him to taking charge of his own fate by contracting with the porters. However, Mallinson’s perspective on himself and his situation does not change, as he is firmly entrenched within English imperial culture, viewing himself as racially superior to the Chinese and Tibetan people and ethically superior to Conway, Brinklow, and Barnard, whom he views as lazy or misguided.
Mallinson’s role in the novel is to show the typical, or even ideal, British mentality, in which ambition supersedes pleasure and British superiority is needed for success in any endeavor. Much like Barnard, Mallinson frequently offers money for whatever he desires, but he always does so with an air of assumed authority. When the group first meets Chang, Mallinson promptly addresses Chang as a servant, demanding assistance in returning to India. Even Lo-Tsen exists for him primarily as an object to be obtained. Distinguishing Mallinson from Barnard, Mallinson advocates bombing Shangri-La rather than trying to profit from it. The fact that Mallinson cannot see any value in Shangri-La’s cultural artifacts and society reflects his rejection of the contemplative and arguably passive lifestyle practiced in the valley. Mallinson is not found after the attempted escape from Shangri-La, meaning he may have died in the attempt.
The High Lama/Perrault
Perrault, the High Lama at Shangri-La when Conway’s group arrives, was a Jesuit missionary in the 18th century who stumbled upon the Karakal valley by accident. Built around the archetype of the sage or mento, he is meant to guide the protagonist, Conway, in adopting the customs and reaping the benefits of Shangri-La. As a European who came to the Indigenous people of the Karakal valley and miraculously improved their lives with his Christian, European beliefs and work ethic, Perrault embodies the trope of the white savior. The proposition of Perrault’s story is that the Karakal valley was in disarray when he arrived, with the temple falling apart and the people lacking spiritual wellness. Through his hard work and dedication, Perrault rallied the Indigenous Tibetan community to restore the lamasery, expanding on it and converting the population to an idiosyncratic version of Christianity. This process is the one by which imperialism functions, assuming that European authority and influence will always result in a positive outcome for Indigenous people. Likewise, the fact that Perrault and other white men seem to be the only ones who can truly capitalize on the life-extending properties of the valley implies that only European sensibilities can truly appreciate the art, beauty, and spirituality of Asia.
Perrault does adopt spiritual beliefs and practices from outside the Christian tradition, such as yoga, which is generally attributed to the broad spectrum of religions known as Hinduism. Perrault’s actual role in the valley society seems to be more as a figurehead than a governing figure, as he notes that the task of governing the valley society consists mainly of existing as a figure for its inhabitants to admire and worship. At Perrault’s death, he transfers the title of High Lama to Conway, choosing him as a successor based on their similar dispositions. This implies that Perrault, too, was wise beyond his years when he first arrived at the Karakal valley, though Rutherford is unable to find any evidence of Perrault’s life outside of Conway’s story.
Chang
A tertiary character in Lost Horizon, Chang embodies the trickster archetype, serving to confuse and subvert the intentions of the other characters. When the group first encounters Chang, he appears to be saving them from the harsh landscape, but the group quickly realizes that Chang is not actively trying to help them get back to India. Instead of explaining the situation to the group, Chang deflects their questions about porters, transportation, and the inhabitants of the lamasery, creating an air of mystery and mysticism around Shangri-La. Even when Conway is initiated by the High Lama, Chang refuses to answer many of Conway’s questions directly, such as Chang’s response regarding Lo-Tsen and physical love, which remains undefined and later leads to Conway’s psychological break from Shangri-La. At the end of the novel, Chang surprisingly does not appear to try to stop Conway, Lo-Tsen, and Mallinson from leaving, supporting the idea that Chang is more of a temporary guide to Shangri-La than any kind of enforcer or governor of its rules.
Chang is older than he appears, being one of the few Asian people who can benefit from Karakal’s mysterious effect on longevity. As a trickster, Chang is able to cross the boundaries that apply rigidly to the other characters—in this case, benefiting from a magical blessing otherwise available only to white Europeans. To Conway, Chang appears as a gentleman, but to the others in the group, who carry more outright prejudices against people of color, he likely appears as a charlatan, trying to trick or trap them into staying at Shangri-La forever. What is most interesting is that their assumption is partially true; Chang does want them to stay at Shangri-La forever, but he likely does not see this as a malicious or even negative decision. Instead, Chang sees himself as promoting the isolation of Shangri-La while sharing the benefit of culture and longevity with the new travelers.
Henry Barnard (Chalmers Bryant)
Barnard, whose real name is Chalmers Bryant, is an American fleeing the authorities following the failure of his trust management fund in the early stages of the Great Depression. Though Mallinson criticizes Barnard for his unethical use of other people’s money, Barnard serves as an entry point for the novel to discuss the developments in the world during the interwar period. The Great Depression plays into Conway’s perception, especially after meeting with the High Lama, that the world is falling apart. Barnard offers two major perspectives to the novel, as he is both the only character focused on money and the only character using Shangri-La as a definitive escape from prosecution. Like Mallinson, Barnard expresses degrees of racism, such as using slurs and treating those around him like butlers or servants. He frequently refers to Shangri-La as a hotel, demeaning the spiritual intention of the refuge and assuming that its purpose is to cater to him.
At the end of the novel, Barnard is speculating on the creation of a gold-mining business in Shangri-La, which the High Lama notes is not a novel idea. Barnard’s motivation for remaining in Shangri-La, then, is twofold, as he wants both to escape his legal troubles and to make money. Barnard’s use of Shangri-La as a sanctuary from prosecution adds another dimension to Shangri-La as an escape. For Conway, Shangri-La is a psychological escape from PTSD, while for Barnard, it is a literal escape from likely incarceration.
Roberta Brinklow
Brinklow is a Christian missionary who was working in Baskul and participated in the evacuation during the revolution. She is essentially a foil to Perrault, who, even when he initially came to Shangri-La, was not entirely dedicated to forcing his Christian beliefs on the valley’s inhabitants. She is characterized by her total rejection of fun and happiness for anyone, which she views as a critical element of the Christian work ethic. When Conway notes that the Karakal valley would be a pleasant place to set up a mission, she replies that the pleasantness of the endeavor would render it useless, emphasizing her perception that happiness is a weakness. Outside of Conway’s affinity for language learning, though, Brinklow is the only character who tries to learn Tibetan during her stay at Shangri-La, which may indicate that her prejudices are not as strong as she occasionally implies. In the end, she decides to remain at Shangri-La to start a mission, which likely implies that she is giving in to the overall sense of peace and contentment of the valley society.
Brinklow is also the only woman who speaks in the novel, as Lo-Tsen is used more as a symbol than a character. Conway consistently thinks of how he needs to make Brinklow more comfortable, even lamenting that she may become a burden while they are on the plane. As such, the undertones of sexism in the novel are mostly directed at Brinklow until Mallinson and Conway take an interest in Lo-Tsen, but Brinklow is consistently shown as a strong woman who does not require their assistance.
