Characters

The most important characters in the short story “The Strong Man” by George Garrett are the wife, the husband - Harry, and the strong man who is a secondary symbolic character. Harry and the strong man are static characters, while the wife develops as a result of the action.

The wife

The wife is an unnamed character in the short story, but the events are rendered by the third-person narrator through her perspective. This gives us access to her thoughts and feelings, creating a more complex portrait of the woman.

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Inner characterization

The woman’s inner characterization results from her interactions with her husband and her attitude and thoughts with regards to her conflict and the strong man.

In her relationship with her husband, she views him like “a perfect stranger” (p. 44, l. 7) most likely because he has constantly cheated on her. The fact that she decided to stay with him before and that she put up with leaving from one place to another after his affairs, suggests the woman either loves the man too much or is too weak to leave him:

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Harry

Harry is the cheating husband in the short story. He is mainly presented directly from his wife’s perspective and indirectly through his actions and attitude.

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Inner characterization

In what his inner characterization is concerned, Harry comes across as an insensitive man with his wife; a womanizer who takes his wife for granted. This is why he does not take his wife seriously when she threatens to leave him and he even tries to impose his views on her:

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The strong man

The strong man is a secondary static character in the short story, who functions as a symbol of the wife. He is a street performer, making money by using his strength.

His outer characterization is done through the woman’s perspective, who is focusing on his “pale” (p. 46, l. 15) look, his “bathing trunks and sneakers” (p. 46, l. 16. ).

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