Herbert and Mabel

Outer characterization

The two other characters in the short story “The Fly-Paper” by Elizabeth Taylor are the man and the woman she meets on the bus, who are instrumental to the development of the story. Although they initially appear to be strangers, at the end it is revealed they live in the same house and are most likely married. We learn at the end that their names are Herbert and Mabel.

Herbert is described as very tall, quite old, with his hair carefully arranged over his bald skull (ll. 28-29). The fact that he tries to hide his baldness hints at the fact that he is hiding his real identity. Since children are not very good at judging the age of adults, Herbert might not be as old as Sylvia thinks. His appearance is described as “neat and natty” (l. 60), but with a nervous tremor in his reedy voice (l. 60). As he talks, he holds an unlighted cigarette in his hand, gesturing with it (l. 61).

Mabel is described as “homely-looking (…) in spite of fair hair going very dark at the roots” (ll. 72-73). The dyed hair might point that, just like Herbert, she too is trying to hide her identity. She holds a shopping basket full of “comforting homely groceries” (ll. 144-145)...