Anatomy: A Love Story

Jack Currer, a kind, romantic, risk-taking resurrectionist, serves as the protagonist’s love interest. When Hazel first sees the gray-eyed, dark-haired 17-year-old, she describes him as “a tall boy, all vertical lines and sharp edges” (37). Hazel is initially drawn to Jack because of his striking appearance, but she soon falls in love with his kind heart. Despite the strict social hierarchy that divides them, Jack comes to Hazel’s aid when he sees her sitting outside the Anatomists’ Society looking “more alone than was possible” (57). In addition, Jack is an unabashed romantic. His time in the theater influences his perspective on love, leading him to show his affection through promises of eternal devotion and grand gestures, such as the music box he buys for Isabella with a month’s wages. In his final words to Hazel before his execution, he promises, “My heart is yours [...] Forever. Beating or still” (330). Jack retains an unwavering belief in romance despite the many grim and difficult experiences he faces in his short life. The risks he takes aren’t mere thrill-seeking but rather a calculated response to his precarious socioeconomic situation. He resumes his dirty and dangerous work as a resurrection man because he considers it his best bid for survival. While Jack may look like nothing more than a criminal to society, the young man is guided by love and kindness.

Jack is a dynamic character, and his relationship with Hazel changes them both. He advances the plot and the protagonist’s development by helping her access Beecham’s demonstration and acquire dissection subjects. In addition, he brings Jeanette to the castle, inspiring Hazel’s decision to turn Hawthornden into a teaching college. Jack also introduces Hazel to the wortflower plant she uses to treat the Roman fever. More broadly, Jack’s influence causes Hazel to grow in compassion. He helps her understand the dire circumstances faced by those who do not enjoy her privileges, and they work together to aid the vulnerable. Eventually, Hazel and Jack’s love makes him a target for the novel’s antagonists, who frame him for murder. Jack’s fearful indecision over taking the tonic gives the novel a cliffhanger ending and builds suspense for the sequel. Over the course of the novel, Jack goes from pining over someone who does not share his feelings to finding a love strong enough to defy death.

Dr. William Beecham is the novel’s overambitious, corrupt, and lonely antagonist. When Hazel first sees him at the surgical demonstration, she describes the acclaimed surgeon as “a handsome man who looked to be in his midforties, with just a streak of gray peppering his blondish hair” (59). She also notes the strong resemblance between Dr. Beecham and his celebrated grandfather: “The small nose, the lowered brow, even the deep dimples that revealed themselves with only the hint of a smile. It was uncanny. It was unmistakable.” (63) This description is one of several instances of foreshadowing that hint at Dr. Beecham’s immortality. Despite his appearance, the doctor is 81. Dr. Beecham’s limitless ambition drives him to find the secret of eternal life and to perform groundbreaking surgeries. Beecham sees himself as separate from and above the rest of humanity, claiming that he possesses “the potential to usurp God himself” (302). Dr. Beecham’s success comes at the cost of terrible loneliness. He watches his wife and children die, and the former refuses to join him in immortality. Forced to hide his true identity, he has no one to share his achievements with. Dana Schwartz strongly implies that Beecham attempted to end his supernaturally extended life. Over time, loss and isolation corrupt him. Beecham was born into the working class. However, after gaining wealth and fame, he uses his privilege to exploit lower-class individuals rather than help them. In his famous treatise, Dr. Beecham once wrote that “protecting mankind, and serving as a […] vessel for the betterment of humanity” were a physician’s responsibility (300). He later rejects these values as the words of a young fool and orders the abduction of Edinburgh’s poor and vulnerable citizens. He views the deaths he causes as an acceptable price to pay for his medical advancements. Although Dr. Beecham achieves his greatest ambition, he loses his humanity and those he loves as a result.

As the novel’s main antagonist and a mentor figure to Hazel, Dr. Beecham contributes to the plot, themes, and the protagonist’s motivation. By chasing after his own ambitions and descending into corruption, the doctor develops two of the novel’s major themes. He serves as a foil for the protagonist, Hazel, showing how ambition can lead to corruption if it becomes one’s sole guiding value. He also develops theme of The Duality of Life and Death, as his tonic upsets the balance between the two. Throughout most of the novel, Hazel idolizes Beecham. One of her first goals in the story is to attend his demonstration. Later, Beecham’s lectures and their wager become important opportunities for the protagonist. In addition, the antagonist contributes to the story’s suspense and conflict. He’s behind the mysterious disappearances, and his tonic enables the novel’s cliffhanger ending. Dr. Beecham was once an honorable physician and mentor, but his unchecked ambition turns him into a villain.

Bernard Almont is Hazel’s self-absorbed, possessive, and vindictive cousin and fiancé. Hazel considers Bernard’s merits on her way to visit him in Chapter 2: “There was nothing wrong with Bernard, Hazel told herself. He was nice enough, his skin relatively clear” (25). These lukewarm compliments reflect Hazel’s tepid interest in marrying her cousin. That interest wanes further as she sees more of Bernard’s true character. In Chapter 3, he refuses to accompany Hazel to Beecham’s demonstration, and the vain young man is more concerned about showing off his new attire than about the pain he caused by dashing her hopes: “Bernard was wearing a new top hat in dove gray, and even as he turned away from Hazel, she could tell that he was still mindful of showing it off to the best angle” (34). Bernard shows little regard for Hazel’s emotions, takes their future marriage for granted, and behaves towards her in a presumptuous, possessive manner. This is particularly evident when he announces their engagement at the Almonts’ Ball without bothering to propose to her first. Bernard’s possessive attitude rankles into vengeance when he realizes that Hazel is in love with another man. She doesn’t see the jealousy “like smoking coals behind Bernard’s eyes” (309), so she and Jack are taken by surprise when Bernard tells the police that Jack is a murderer. Bernard has his revenge, but he loses Hazel; she calls off the engagement after Jack’s arrest.

Bernard’s gradual transformation develops the novel’s conflicts and themes. One of the main conflicts the protagonist experiences is person vs. society. Specifically, she struggles with the expectation that young noblewomen like her should focus on becoming dutiful wives and mothers rather than pursuing careers. Bernard contributes to this conflict because their families want them to marry and because he wants Hazel to abandon her medical ambitions. Over the course of the novel, Bernard goes from a vain and self-important young man to a vengeful villain. The future viscount develops the theme of The Brutality of Corruption because he abuses his privilege for petty, personal reasons with deadly results. His decision to accuse Jack of murder leads to the novel’s suspenseful ending. Although he is a minor character, Bernard creates major obstacles for the protagonist and her love interest.