44 pages • 1 hour read
Graeme SimsionThe Rosie Project
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013A 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
Don Tillman
Don is 39 at the beginning of the novel, and he evolves and grows tremendously. His original intention with the Wife Project questionnaire is to eliminate all incompatible women, who would otherwise waste his time. He is extremely confident about what he wants in a partner, but he spends little time thinking seriously about what he has to offer in a relationship.
When Rosie rejects him, he realizes that he has deliberately cultivated the identity and mannerisms of an eccentric person. He originally adopted a clownish persona to head off people laughing at him for things that he couldn’t help. Now that he’s grown socially and matured, through his interactions with Rosie and the world she’s opened up to him, he understands that he can change—the social mannerisms that govern people’s reactions to him are under his control. He can manipulate his behavior to be more acceptable. He does not have to be a fool. This realization is the climax of Don’s character development. Don grows up at this moment, though it took him 39 years.
By the end of the novel, Don is focused on what he wants to give in a relationship, instead of on what characteristics and qualities his partner must have. He demonstrates this shift by altering his appearance and mannerisms, by studying emotion through the movies he believes can teach him about love and relationships, and by modifying his wardrobe and appearance to conform more to what would please his partner. He does not want to embarrass or upset Rosie, and he wants her to love him, so he “reforms” (264) himself.
Rosie Jarman
Rosie Jarman, age 30, is a Ph.D. student of psychology and a bartender. Her character operates as a foil for Don’s. They are opposites in nearly every way.
Rosie finds Don funny, interesting and charming because she is an open-hearted, straight-talking, flexible person. Also brilliantly smart and somewhat eccentric herself, she is more accepting of the weirdness frequently associated with gifted people. Don’s “rude” behaviors do not initially bother her as much as they bother others. As she gets to know him, she is attracted to him, but she clearly does not appreciate Don’s rigid ways or the emotional cues he misses or misconstrues. She values Don’s extreme kindness in helping her with the Father Project, along with his ability to be a good companion.
Rosie enjoys taking Don out of his routine. She is a spontaneous, fun person. The flaw in the novel may be that Rosie’s motivations in accepting Don’s proposal seem less developed and not in keeping with the whole of her personality. Her character does not develop significantly over the course of the novel. Her major realization occurs when she sees that her rejection of Don is cruel and based on unrealistic expectations.
Gene
Head of the Psychology Department, Gene Barrow, age 56, is an aging womanizer, using his research into human sexuality as an excuse for his philandering ways. Gene is also Don’s best friend. Throughout the novel, Gene offers Don advice on how to handle social situations both at work and in his personal life. Though Don admires Gene’s success with women at the beginning of the novel, as he matures, he comes to see Gene differently.
Gene’s womanizing, originally sanctioned by Claudia in an attempt to save their marriage, eventually drives a wedge, not only between Gene and his wife, but also between himself and the world. He is not respected for this behavior. In his own way, he is as immature as Don. Don’s friendship with Gene is upheld and grows to a new level when Don is able to point this out to Gene. For most of the novel, Gene guides, advises, and teaches Don about how to socialize and navigate the world. By the end of the novel, Don has matured enough to offer Gene help in return.
Don’s confrontation with Gene, when Don tells him the truth about how his womanizing affects people’s view of him, marks a turning point in Gene and Don’s relationship. Gene’s response to Don’s critique of his behavior shows that he truly is friends with Don and has the maturity to internalize Don’s comments, reevaluate his behavior, and act to preserve his marriage and his friendship with Don. Without Don’s interference, Gene may not have changed course in time to save his relationship with Claudia.
Claudia Barrow
Claudia, Gene’s wife, is a clinical psychologist and one of Don’s two friends. She repeatedly provides guidance and emotional support for Don as he navigates his search for love. Kind and understanding, Claudia is undemanding of her husband, as she realizes that you cannot change for another person nor can you demand that the other person change for you. Change has to come from within. She points this out to Don.
She helps Don develop his social skills and supports his transformation further by helping him shop for a new wardrobe. She supports Don as he develops a more mature understanding of relationships. She recommends movies, shares her emotional wisdom with Don, and offers him the lessons of her own marriage.
Claudia seems to endure Gene’s philandering because she originally agreed to it, though she has clearly changed her mind. She loves Gene, and her example teaches Don a lot about what marriage can be like. For example, he learns by watching Claudia’s suffering that monogamy and fidelity are central components of a successful relationship. However, Claudia’s patience and wisdom also teach Don that no one can control another person’s behavior. She must endure until Gene decides he wants to change on his own.
Don repays Claudia’s friendship by intervening with Gene. Don believes that he has a responsibility as both Gene’s and Claudia’s friend to try to help them, and he does not want to see his friends break up. Claudia’s patience with Gene pays off when they reconcile at the end of the novel.
