The Iron Heel

Ernest is Avis’s husband and a revolutionist of the Socialist Party. He is characterized by his boldness, intelligence, heroism, and physical strength. He functions as the archetype of the rebel and mentor, and his primary actions in the novel are to raise the consciousness of his fellow citizens and unite their efforts to fight capitalist exploitation and build class solidarity.

Ernest’s name reflects both his genuineness and perseverance, and his last name is a hyperbolic indication of his intellectual and physical prowess. Avis refers to him as “the social philosopher and ex-horseshoer” (5), suggesting that he is the best of both mind and body. Ernest is only depicted through the eyes of his adoring wife, Avis, and her assessment of him is replete with metaphors of eagles, angels, and Gods. When Ernest appears in a suit among the wealthy members of the Philomath Club, Avis observes, “[T]here was that faint and unmistakable touch of awkwardness in his movements. I almost think I could have loved him for that alone” (75). Ernest’s discomfort in the elite surroundings signifies a personality that will never feel at ease with exorbitant wealth. His awkwardness becomes a marker of his incorruptibility and integrity. From his wife’s perspective, Ernest is a figure without flaws and the source of her and countless others’ political awakening. He is the catalyst for social change.

Ernest is often regarded as London’s author surrogate, as Ernest’s upbringing and even his speeches directly correlate with London’s personal and political life. These close parallels to the author may also explain why Anthony Meredith, the scholar from the future, qualifies Avis’s narrative as biased and an aggrandizement of her husband. Meredith’s assertion that other men were more central to the cause than Ernest functions as a meta-narrative humbling of the author.

Finally, Ernest is the representative of the working class. Much of his early descriptions focus on his physical appearance, especially his muscles. Avis introduces him with repeated mentions of his “bulging muscles,” and she describes his neck as “the neck of a prize-fighter, thick and strong” (5). The imagery of his physique evokes comparisons to the materiality of the working class and the value of manual labor. Avis’s idolization of Ernest’s physique parallels Ernest’s own appreciation of the physical strength of the laboring class. As a socialist activist, Ernest criticizes capitalism for its abstraction of labor from the body and the material livelihood of the proletariat.

Dr. Cunningham is Avis’s father and a physics professor at the State University of Berkeley, California. His character functions as a representative of the education system to demonstrate how capitalism legitimizes its authority by controlling the production and dissemination of knowledge. Cunningham fulfills the archetypes of the scholar and the convert, and he represents curiosity, open-mindedness, and optimism. 

Cunningham is first introduced in the novel as the host of dinner parties for eclectic groups from society. Avis refers to the dinners as her father’s “sociological laboratory” (24), a pet project to fulfill his desire to make a difference in the world after his wife’s passing. Avis explains, “He had a strong sense of justice, and he soon became fired with a passion to redress wrong” (23). Cunningham’s guests range from bankers and merchants to socialists and anarchists. The diversity of his gatherings signifies his willingness to learn from various groups and create a forum for the exchange of ideas and mutual understanding. 

Cunningham is also a rare character in the novel who expresses playfulness and joy and is often laughing in the face of misery. Avis describes her widowed father as “a great man” (181), with “the enthusiasm of a boy” in his newfound interest in sociology (24). Neither bitter nor cynical, Cunningham has lived a joyful life. Avis remarks, “His marriage with my mother had been very happy, and in the researches of his own science, physics, he had been very happy” (23). The repetition of “very happy” emphasizes Cunningham’s optimism and motivation, two necessary traits for a revolution to overcome setbacks. When Cunningham is left without his home and savings, he proclaims, “I am doomed to be broken, […] but that is no reason that I should not try to be shattered as little as possible” 180). Cunningham’s attitude demonstrates how resilience and hope may have been key factors in humanity finally reaching a utopian society, in Meredith’s time, after centuries of failed attempts.

Bishop Morehouse is one of Dr. Cunningham’s dinner guests and fulfills the archetype of the convert and martyr. At first skeptical of Ernest’s socialist critiques, the Bishop comes to regard capitalism as a contradiction to the Church’s teachings, and his attempts to merge religion with socialism lead to his tragic downfall. As a representative of the Church, the Bishop’s fate demonstrates how the capitalist system manipulates religion and the press to indoctrinate followers and censor detractors. 

Like Cunningham, the Bishop is an open-minded and curious individual who is intrigued by Ernest’s politics and seeks to learn more in order to do good. Avis introduces the Bishop as a “sweet and serious man of middle age, Christ-like in appearance and goodness, and a scholar as well” (5). Ernest guides the Bishop on “a journey through hell” to see how the working class lives (37). Like Avis and Cunningham, the Bishop’s quest to understand the working class results in class consciousness and a commitment to protest against capitalist exploitation. The Bishop willingly transforms from a wealthy clergyman living in a mansion into a man who sells his possessions to feed the poor. Rather than be rewarded for his radical distribution of wealth, the Bishop is punished and ostracized for challenging the hypocrisy of the capitalist class.

Mr. Wickson is the personification of the Oligarchy, which remains a faceless shadow throughout the novel. He is one of the largest stockholders in the Sierra Mills and is the only titan of industry who does not hide his lust for power. Wickson promises, “We will grind you revolutionists down under our heel, and we shall walk upon your faces” (97). His threats to use military and illegal means to stay in power provide Ernest with the imagery of the capitalist class as an Iron Heel. 

Wickson’s attitudes foreshadow the burgeoning dictatorship of the Oligarchy and the expansive reach of the ruling class in other institutions. He is responsible for destroying the lives of anyone who gets in his way, and the phrase “walk upon your faces” becomes a refrain for his retaliation and the Oligarchy’s brutality. Ernest refers to him as “a sordid money-grabber” (177), and Dr. Cunningham calls him “a damned scoundrel” (179). Mr. Wickson first appears at the Philomath Club, sneering the word “Utopian” during Ernest’s impassioned speech for socialist revolution. The last time he appears in the novel is as a passenger in a cab, cursing at Cunningham as the vehicle drives away. Wickson embodies the ruthlessness and indifference of the capitalist class.