Phil serves as a deuteragonist. His narrative runs parallel to that of his best friend Maggie’s and offers a complementary perspective on queer life, trauma, and identity in contemporary London. A round and dynamic character, Phil’s central conflict stems from the disconnect between his outward persona and his inner turmoil. He carefully cultivates a specific image of masculinity, which he describes as “Action Man,” characterized by physical strength, emotional stoicism, and a fashionable disinterest in monogamy. This performance is a protective shield, masking deep-seated vulnerability rooted in past trauma from the sexual assault he survived years earlier. This event has left him with a “problematic relationship to bottoming” (43), making him flinch from the physical and emotional intimacy he secretly craves from others. His job in a corporate office, with its meaningless jargon and forced camaraderie, further underscores this theme of performance, as he navigates a professional world that feels entirely disconnected from his true self.

Phil’s relationship with his housemate Keith is the primary catalyst for his emotional development. Keith represents a potential for the profound connection Phil has been denying himself. He is drawn to Keith’s gentle nature and their shared working-class background. Their sexual encounters offer a “brief but truly life changing glimpse into just how much pleasure a human body can feel” (18). However, Keith’s existing open relationship with Louis creates a barrier that reinforces Phil’s emotional defenses. He uses the casual nature of their arrangement as an excuse to avoid confronting his true feelings, insisting he is not looking for commitment. This dynamic forces him to grapple with jealousy, desire, and the complex ethics of non-monogamy. His eventual confession to Keith about his sexual assault experience is a pivotal moment of vulnerability, marking the first step toward dismantling his protective façade and allowing for the possibility of a more authentic intimacy.

Beyond his romantic life, Phil’s identity is defined by his significant, albeit complicated, relationships. His bond with Maggie is the story’s emotional core, a friendship so deep that they “begin to feel unlike themselves when they’ve been out of touch for too long” (18). Yet, this bond is tested by Phil’s disapproval of Ed and his struggle over whether to reveal Ed’s secrets. This positions him as a moral arbiter, torn between loyalty to Maggie and a code of silence. His relationship with his family, particularly his mother Rosaleen, is strained by a communication gap born of class and cultural differences. He feels she does not take his life in London seriously, while she worries he lacks stability. Phil’s journey is one of slowly learning to integrate the disparate parts of his identity by embracing vulnerability, both with his friends and his family, moving from a performed self to a more integrated one.

Ed Seymour is a deeply conflicted deuteragonist whose external performance of stability masks a profound identity crisis. He presents himself as a “good man, a normal man, a man with a pregnant girlfriend” (3), embodying a cheerful, uncomplicated masculinity that he believes is expected of him. This façade, however, is a defense mechanism against overwhelming anxiety, repressed desires, and a fear of inadequacy. His frequent experiences of panic attacks and hallucinations, partly connected to the grief over his father’s recent death and the anxiety over Maggie’s pregnancy, reveal the psychological toll of this performance. His precarious work as a gig-economy courier, which leaves him with chronic breathlessness, is a physical manifestation of his struggle. He is literally and figuratively suffocating under the weight of his responsibilities and secrets, a struggle that connects directly to The Pitfalls of Performing for Social Acceptance. Ed’s identity is caught between the man he feels he should be for Maggie and the baby, and the man he secretly is.

Ed’s primary internal conflict is anchored around his repressed sexuality. His desire for men, which he acts upon by cruising in public toilets, is a source of intense personal shame, a secret he has kept from Maggie for the entirety of their relationship. This clandestine behavior is, at the same time, an attempt to access a part of himself that he suppresses in his daily life. The encounter with Phil in the Liverpool Street station toilets is a critical turning point, as it brings his secret life into collision with his public one, forcing him toward a long-avoided confrontation. His past sexual experiences with Phil and Kyle Connolly further complicate his identity, suggesting a history of desire that he has actively worked to erase in order to fit into a life seen as conventional according to heteronormative standards. His inability to perform sexually with Maggie after the party is a physical manifestation of this psychological split; the pressure of maintaining his double life has become unbearable.

Ed’s character arc is a painful but necessary journey toward honesty. While he genuinely loves Maggie and desires a family with her, he comes to realize that their shared future is built on a foundation of denial that is ultimately destructive for them both. His confession to Maggie about his past and present desires for men is a moment of profound vulnerability and collapse. It leads to the end of their romantic relationship and their plans for a family, but it also opens the door for a more authentic connection. By finally abandoning his performance of the “normal man,” Ed begins the difficult process of moving from a life defined by secrets and anxiety toward one of personal honesty and self-acceptance.

Rosaleen, mother to Phil and Callum, is a deuteragonist who represents an older, working-class generation. Her anxieties provide a poignant counterpoint to the crises of the younger characters. As a round, dynamic character, her arc is defined by a belated attempt to reclaim her own desires in the face of her terminal cancer diagnosis. This attempt finds an obstacle, however, in her inability to communicate her deepest feelings, a product of a repressive Irish Catholic upbringing that left her with the sense that she has “bad insides.” Her repression is exacerbated by the trauma of losing her close friend, Pauline, when she was younger, precipitating her self-exile from Ireland and consequently her alienation in England. She hides her fears about her illness behind conversations about trivial matters like biscuits and toilet seats, creating emotional distance between herself and her family. She feels like an “interpreter in this family” (24), a switchboard operator who facilitates connection between others but remains unheard herself. This emotional blockage has defined her life, leading her to suppress her own ambitions, such as her desire to be a singer.

Rosaleen’s journey is marked by small but significant acts of rebellion against her own passivity. Her spontaneous trip with Joan Seymour to see the beached whale pass under the Dartford Crossing is a break from her routine, a conscious choice to pursue a moment of collective wonder. Her most transformative moment comes when she decides to sing karaoke at the pub. Her performance of Cher’s “Believe” is a powerful and public reclamation of a long-suppressed part of herself. It is an act she chooses for herself, rather than for an audience. That choice represents a deeper decision to no longer be a “peripheral figure in her own life” (99). Through these actions, Rosaleen begins to dismantle the lifetime of repression that has kept her from expressing her true self, finally making her own desires a priority in her own life.

Keith functions as a significant secondary character and a primary catalyst for Phil’s emotional development. He is the object of Phil’s affection and represents a form of confident, gentle masculinity that contrasts with Phil’s own insecurities. As a landscape gardener interested in the “deep things” of the city, such as the clay beneath London’s surface, Keith embodies a connection to the world that is both physical and thoughtful. His established open relationship with Louis drives the central romantic conflict for Phil, making Keith both accessible and unavailable. Phil is forced to confront his jealousy, his fear of intimacy, and his passive approach to his own desires in order to better connect with Keith and grow as a person. For his part, Keith is patient and caring, but he also challenges Phil’s emotional distance, stating, “I want you to act like you want me” (204). In this role, he pushes Phil toward the vulnerability necessary for true connection.

Callum, Phil’s older brother and Ed’s best friend, is a secondary character who embodies a self-destructive and erratic form of masculinity. His behavior is often reckless, characterized by heavy drinking, drug dealing, and disappearing for days at a time, causing immense stress for his fiancée, Holly, and his mother, Rosaleen. His actions are largely driven by his grief and inability to process his mother’s cancer diagnosis, which he attempts to manage through avoidance and substance abuse. Despite his often-abrasive exterior, Callum demonstrates a deep, if complicated, loyalty. He is fiercely protective of Phil and acts as a troubled confidant for Ed. He is a narrative foil to his more introspective brother and his more responsible best friend, highlighting the different ways men cope with emotional distress.

Louis is Keith’s primary partner and a direct foil to Phil. As a “rising star academic” from a wealthy family (83), he represents a world of intellectual confidence and financial security that is alien to Phil. Phil initially resents Louis, viewing him as a privileged and pretentious rival for Keith’s affection. However, Louis is also presented as kind, thoughtful, and genuinely committed to Keith, complicating any simple reading of him as an antagonist. His confession of his own insecurities and his admission of fondness for Phil reveal him to be a more complex and vulnerable character than he first appears. Louis’s presence is essential to the novel’s exploration of non-monogamy, forcing Phil to confront his own jealousy and preconceived notions about relationships.

Joan Seymour, Ed’s mother, is a supporting character who embodies grief, eccentricity, and resilience. Since the death of her husband, she has taken to spending her days sitting in an armchair on the pavement outside her house, a peculiar ritual that signals her loss. She is blunt and unsentimental, stating plainly, “He’s dead, you know” (22), yet she continues to drag her late husband’s chair outside with her. Her new obsession with magpies adds to her eccentric characterization. As a neighbor to Rosaleen, she becomes an unlikely friend and catalyst, prompting Rosaleen’s spontaneous trip to see the whale and encouraging her to sing at karaoke.

Holly is Callum’s fiancée and serves to highlight the emotional fallout of his self-destructive behavior. She is a minor character whose primary role is defined by her constant anxiety about Callum’s whereabouts and well-being. Her hen party, a booze cruise on the Thames, provides a surreal backdrop for Maggie’s emotional crisis and the public spectacle of the whale’s rescue. Holly’s persistent attempts to maintain a sense of normalcy in the face of Callum’s instability underscore the strain of loving someone who is grappling with unresolved trauma and grief. Her kindness toward Maggie, offering reassurance about motherhood, reveals a compassionate nature beneath her own stress.