Collins Braithwaite
The author of this novel traffics specifically in meta-fiction. The line between what is pure creative storytelling and what is historical authenticity becomes blurred to the point of invisibility. Braithwaite is the central figure of the story who interacts with both fictional characters and actual historical figures within the narrative. Since he is the intersection at which fiction and fact cross, he inevitably—and purposely—becomes a figure which inspires questions about whether he is real or not. Braithwaite is therefore the book’s central symbol of the authenticity of fiction in which a completely imaginary character can come to seem as real as an actual historical figure.
Paul McCartney
There is an extended quote from Paul McCartney in the novel which is preceded by the narrator writing “Braithwaite’s ideas filtered into the popular culture, too.” He then goes on to tie Braithwaite’s theories to the quote from McCartney describing the philosophy behind the recording of the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in which the former Beatle talks about developing secondary personas and identities which coincides with Braithwaite’s theories. The quote from McCartney is taken verbatim from actual interview he gave about the making of the album but, of course, he was not inspired in any way by Braithwaite since the man never existed. McCartney becomes a symbol of what might be termed, in the vernacular of today, “fake history” in which actual historical quotes are manipulated to make them seem connected to something they have no actual connection to at all.
“Rebecca”
The bulk of the narrative is comprised of notebooks written by a woman who identifies herself only by the pseudonym Rebecca. She believes that Braithwaite murdered her sister and decides to investigate him herself by going undercover as a patient seeking Braithwaite’s services as a therapist. Over time, the investigation into her sister’s death takes a back seat as her Rebecca persona begins to dominate her actual identity. Thus, she becomes the symbolic confirmation of Braithwaite’s theories about how everyone has multiple identities and that there is no core, unchanging concept of the self.
Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde is another historical figure who becomes a player in the fictional narrative of Braithwaite. Unlike McCartney, Bogarde is not limited to a single quote, but is actually show physically interacting with the doctor as a substantially more significant character. His status as a symbol, however, is due to the peculiarities of his real-life position as a major British movie start of the 1960’s forced to live as a closeted homosexual. Bogarde becomes the symbolic center of the idea that all expressions of self-identity is acting. Because Bogarde must deny his homosexuality and play the role of a heterosexual in public, he is performing roles both when he is working and when he is under the scrutiny of the public. Braithwaite’s theories suggest that Bogarde is actually no different from non-actors but is merely a symbol of the reality of existence. Everybody plays a “role” while at their job and then leave to play other “roles” in their private lives.
Case Studies
Braithwaite’s book of case studies, titled Untherapy, is described as “salacious” and “compelling” by the fictional biographer of the doctor, "GWB." In her notebooks, “Rebecca” herself—having already staked out a position as Braithwaite’s opponent—asserts that all indications are that he did not want to write book because of the danger his “visitors” would be viewed as “sideshow freaks.” At every point in the book when case studies are quoted, they are presented as examples of extremities of human nature that definitely lean toward the “salacious” side of behavior. These case studies become the object of symbolic voyeurism on the part of the reader. The title "Case Study" is thus actually forwarding the idea that reading a case study is a symbolic substitute of peeking into the windows of strangers during their most intimate moments.
