How to Stop Time

Hendrich Pietersen is the head of the Albatross Society and a key player in Tom’s life, providing new identities when required. He is another source of conflict, pushing Tom into uncomfortable situations during assignments. Hendrich also knows Tom’s weakness and uses it to manipulate and control him. This makes him an antagonist. Hendrich controls the setting of the story by sending Tom on assignments or setting up new identities. He sees himself as a mentor or fairy godmother providing new and better opportunities.

Hendrich is from Flanders, made money in tulips, moved to New York, and traded in furs to amass his wealth. Hendrich goes on about how much they have seen and lived through—the printing press, the telescope, photography, billboards, the hot dog. Hendrich says the ultimate goal in life is pleasure. According to Hendrich, they ought to live life to the fullest while not drawing undo attention to themselves. Hendrich creates the rules that Tom and his other followers must adhere to. He compares himself to Daedalus building a labyrinth to protect the society. He built a society to protect his people, and all the members need to follow his instructions; failing to do so ends in death. Ironically, Hendrich becomes Icarus, literally burning and falling off a cliff to his death.

Everything Hendrich does is influenced by his fears, his tragic flaw. He can’t live in fear alone, so he builds on Tom’s existing fears of witchfinders. He fills Tom’s head with stories of scientists eager to study them. Hendrich believes love is an anchor tying one down and preventing true happiness. While he continues promising to find Marion, Hendrich still suggests Tom forget about her and live a more glamorous life. Hendrich represents the opposite of what Tom truly needs. He is the antithesis to Tom’s promises. Hendrich lies to manipulate others. His “Albatross Society ran on secrets and the manipulation of its members, all to serve Hendrich’s increasing paranoia about external threats” (305). Hendrich is the real threat.

Tom’s first romantic interest is Rose. Her main purpose as a character is to help Tom become the man he is meant to be. She gives him a purpose for living. The first time Tom mentions Rose is when he remembers the promise he made on her deathbed, when Rose asks Tom to find their daughter and keep her safe. Rose slips away as Tom sings to her as she requested.

Rose is the first person Tom meets after he loses his mother. She anchors him; her first words to him are “Steady thyself.” Rose is also determined to solve Tom, seeing through his lies. She accepts the truth when he finally shares it. They grow their family with love, bringing Marion into the world. Despite her worries, Rose stands strong in the face of opposition. When she is spit on in the market, she endures. It is only when a witchfinder tells Marion she is the daughter of a witch who that Rose becomes afraid. She sacrifices everything and splits away from Tom.

It is Rose’s kindhearted, caring, and strong nature that attracts Tom and keeps them together. She stays the same, always steady, from the beginning of their relationship to the end. Even in death, she anchors Tom, giving him a reason to keep living. Centuries later, Camille sees Rose’s lasting effect on Tom and wants to honor her by naming their daughter Sophie Rose.

Marion is the daughter of Tom and Rose. While not physically present in most of the narrative, she plays a vital role. The main conflict, and driving force behind Tom’s survival, is the search for Marion, who also has the slow-aging condition and is running from discovery. Tom only agrees to join the Albatross Society to use their resources to find her. Hendrich uses his promise to find her and reunite them as leverage to manipulate Tom. The climax hinges on Marion resurfacing and revealing Hendrich’s deception.

Marion undergoes internal and external changes as she matures and endures her own trauma. As a child, Marion loves reading and quotes Michel de Montaigne. Tom teaches her French. Marion plays the pipe, preferring music “made of breath not formed from fingers” (222). When she earns her first penny, she gives the coin to Tom, and it becomes one of his most valued possessions. As an adult, she looks completely different, with colored hair and tattoos, like the “Under the Greenwood Tree” one on her shoulder. She is angry and has abandonment issues. She believes Hendrich’s lies about her father. Those beliefs pushed her into a depression and gave her a panic disorder.

Like Tom, she spends years searching for him, staying alive with the hope of reconnecting. Hendrich, however, convinces her that Tom doesn’t want her. It is her lucky coin, which Tom has carried around with him, that dispels the lies. Marion’s truth opens Tom’s eyes to his own circumstances. Marion symbolizes hope. She is Tom’s lifeline and hope for future happiness. This is why on sleepless nights Tom Googles her name and why he asks everyone he meets if they know her. She is the one who brings a new perspective to Tom’s life. In the end, Marion is the one who kills Hendrich, ending all the lies and deceit. She even advises Tom to be honest with Camille. She brings about the love and happiness that Tom was missing.

Omai is Tom’s Tahitian friend who has the same slow-aging condition. They share a type of kinship through their mutual experiences with Captain Cook and multiple identities. Tom refers to him several times over the course of his narrative with a tone suggesting brotherhood. Omai acts as Hendrich’s foil. He doesn’t fear witchfinders and scientists like Hendrich and Tom do. Fear for Omai is a prison. Instead of living in fear and worry, Omai embraces his condition, falls in love, and lives happily. Like Marion, Omai brings hope and a change in perspective, encouraging Tom to find his happiness and be free, too. These positive associations emphasize Hendrich’s negative qualities.

Omai remembers a time before Tom was afraid. When they first meet, Tom defends Omai against Captain Wallis, refusing to burn down his hut. Tom takes a stance against injustice no matter the consequences. Now Omai sees Tom living in fear. Omai is against the idea of moving so often; he is tired of running and hiding. He’s been in Australia for 30 years and doesn’t want to leave. Omai confesses to being like Tom before, moving around, getting fake documents, starting again, but love saves him. Omai believes that love is where life gets meaning. Love, past and present, provides hope and salvation. Omai gave up the fearful running and settled in a life of love and happiness.