45 pages • 1 hour read
Elizabeth GilbertCity of Girls
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Vivian Morris
As the story begins in 1940, Vivian appears as a nineteen-year-old college dropout from a wealthy family in upstate New York. She is tall, pretty, and lanky. Vivian rebels against the constraints of her family and their social class. After being shipped off to New York by her parents, Vivian goes to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns the Lily Theater. She immediately feels at home in the big city among Peg’s crowd, who are as free-spirited as Vivian is. The girl’s talent for sewing develops into a career in costume design.
Vivian’s liking for adventure leads to a sexual escapade that sends her home in disgrace, where she briefly becomes engaged to Jim Larsen. When World War II intervenes, the engagement is broken, and Vivian is free to return to New York. There she meets a traumatized veteran named Frank Grecco, who becomes the love of her life. At the age of eighty-nine, Vivian recounts her life story to Frank’s daughter, Angela.
Angela Grecco
Angela is an independent woman with a doctorate in psychology. In 2010, after her mother dies, she writes to ask what Vivian meant to her father, Frank. The novel is Vivian’s response to Angela’s question. Angela, herself, only appears in one chapter of the book when she asks Vivian to design her wedding gown.
Frank Grecco
Frank is a tall, thin, high-strung man who served on the same aircraft carrier with Vivian’s brother during the war. His experiences during the attack on the USS Franklin have left him with post-traumatic stress disorder. He can’t sit still or bear enclosed spaces, dislikes being touched, and keeps a distance between himself and his family, including his daughter, Angela. His only confidante is Vivian during their late-night walks around New York City. They maintain a continuous friendship for twelve years until his death in 1977.
Vivian’s Family
- Grandmother Morris — Like Vivian, Grandmother Morris is an eccentric embarrassment to her family. She loves drama and dresses in bold and outlandish outfits. She also teaches Vivian to sew and gives the girl her first sewing machine.
- Mr. Morris — Vivian’s father is an industrialist who owns a mining operation. He is proud of his son but doesn’t know how to deal with his unusual daughter. Morris hates the government and spends much of his time in later years nursing his grievances against it.
- Mrs. Morris — Vivian’s mother is also proud of her son and dismissive of her daughter. She is a keen horsewoman and takes far more interest in her animals than in her family.
- Walter Morris — Vivian’s older brother is competent and reliable. He takes an authoritarian approach toward his little sister and is furious about her scandalous behavior in New York. Walter is killed during the Japanese attack on the USS Franklin.
- Jim Larsen — Jim is a tall, handsome, dull employee at Mr. Morris’s company. He proposes marriage to Vivian. When he learns she isn’t a virgin, he uses his enlistment as an excuse to break the engagement.
Theater Folk
- Peg Buell — Peg is Vivian’s aunt and the free-spirited sister of Mr. Morris. She owns the rundown Lily Theater in Manhattan and produces modest plays for the surrounding immigrant community. Peg drinks too much and is involved in a long-term lesbian relationship with Olive, although she remains married to Billy.
- Billy Buell — Billy comes from old money. He is a charming wastrel who never keeps his promises, but he is also a brilliant writer and show promoter. He pens the script for the hit play, City of Girls, but cuts Peg out of the proceeds. Despite his shortcomings, he loves Peg as much as she loves him.
- Olive Thompson — Olive is Peg’s dumpy, British, no-nonsense office manager. Olive always worries about money and points out the shortcomings of every plan that Peg and Billy make. Despite her prickly manner, she is devoted to Peg and protects Vivian from being implicated in a sex scandal.
- Celia Ray — Celia is a statuesque brunette showgirl who impresses Vivian with her glamour. The two girls become hedonists who go prowling nightly for liquor and sex. After being fired from Peg’s cast because of a scandal, Celia lands on her feet. Vivian sees her starring in a TV commercial twenty years later.
- Mr. Herbert — Herbert is the hangdog playwright for Peg’s mediocre theatrical offerings. He is completely out of his depth after being told to write the script for City of Girls, so Billy takes over, much to Herbert’s relief. Herbert is happier being cast as the blind pickpocket in the play.
- Benjamin Wilson — Benjamin is the black composer and musician at the Lily Theater. He comes from a prominent family in Harlem, and his parents are scandalized when he chooses a life in the theater. After the war, Benjamin settles in France and marries a nightclub owner there.
- Anthony Roccella — Anthony is a scrappy young man from Hell’s Kitchen who captures one of the lead roles in City of Girls. He also becomes Vivian’s first significant love interest and teaches her the pleasures of sex. After Vivian cheats on him with Arthur, he refuses to ever speak to her again.
- Edna Parker Watson — Edna is a prominent British actress forced to flee to America when her home is bombed during the war. She and her husband take refuge at the Lily Theater. Billy writes City of Girls with Edna in mind as its leading lady. The show brings her Broadway fame though Vivian’s betrayal with Arthur destroys their friendship.
- Arthur Watson — Arthur is Edna’s handsome but dim husband. He is a terrible actor and is only tolerated as part of the cast for Edna’s sake. In a jealous pique after Edna and Anthony go out together to perform at a charity function, he has a ménage à trois with Celia and Vivian that makes headlines in New York papers. Although Celia and Vivian are punished for their indiscretion, Arthur faces no consequences.
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