Characterisations

In “The Model Millionaire” by Oscar Wilde, we can identify several characters: Hughie Erskine – the protagonist, Alan Trevor, Baron Hausberg, Colonel Merton, the baron’s employee and Laura. However, Laura is more like an absent character; apart from being beautiful and in love with Hughie we do not know much about her.

Hughie Erskine

Hughie is the main character in the story. The narrator paints a detailed portrait of him and occasionally adopts his perspective on the events.

Physically, Hughie is attractive and charming. His looks and attitude get him a lot of friends even if he is neither wealthy nor very intelligent: “But then he was wonderfully good-looking, with his crisp brown hair, his clear-cut profile, and his grey eyes.” (p. 99, ll. 8-11)

The narrator describes his lack of intelligence with sympathetic irony: “Poor Hughie! Intellectually, we must admit, he was not of much importance. He never said a brilliant or even an ill-natured thing in his life.” (p. 99, ll. 6-8)

Hughie also lacks a true profession and could be defined as a dandy. The young man has tried working on the stock market, being a merchant or selling sherry, yet none of these jobs brought him any money: “Ultimat...