Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Major Ernest Pettigrew, called the Major throughout the novel, is the protagonist of the novel, and the third-person narration stays close to his point of view. At the time the story opens, he is 68 years old. The Major is a British man who was born in Lahore, India, while his father, Colonel Pettigrew, was stationed there in the service of the British Army. Ernest was the eldest child, while his brother, Bertie, was a couple of years younger. (The narrative suggests that the Major went into the Army because of his pride in the Pettigrew name and in his father’s service.) After his father’s military service was completed, the Pettigrews returned to the family home of Rose Lodge, a cottage dating to the 17th century, which the Major inherited and where he now continues to live.

The Major is a man of staunchly traditional British principles and believes in the values of decorum, tradition, and good sense. He is also reticent by nature. As Grace notes of him, “I’ve always admired you for being a sensible man […] Sometimes you don’t like to speak up, but usually I can tell that you know the right thing to do” (290).