An Experiment with an Air Pump: Character Analysis and their Motivations
Joseph Fenwick
- Joseph Fenwick, the central male figure in the 1799 settings, is a man caught between the ideals ofthe Enlightenment and Romanticism.
- His main motivation is the pursuit of scientific knowledge and the development of the philosophy of the Enlightenment.
- Fenwick's character is arguably a criticism of scientific rationalism and the notion of progress at any cost.
- He is willing to sacrifice his daughter's happiness for the sake of his own ambition, which indicates his moral blindness.
Susannah Fenwick
- Susannah, Joseph's wife, straddles the divide between intellect and emotion.
- Her main concern is the wellbeing and happiness of her family. Despite not completely, she understands and challenges Joseph's scientific pursuits.
- Susannah values empathy, compassion, and personal connection, contrasting dramatically with her husband’s values. Hence, she is a symbol of Romantic sensibility.
Thomas Armstrong
- Armstrong is Fenwick's protégé and represents an unprincipled side of the Enlightenment.
- He is driven by social climbing and personal gain rather than a genuine love for science or philosophy.
- His proposal to Maria is calculated, revealing him as ruthlessly ambitious and willing to exploit others for his own benefit.
Maria
- Maria, the Fenwick's eldest daughter, is portrayed as curious and intelligent, showing interest in her father's experiments.
- She is torn between her duty to her family (marriage to Armstrong) and her interest in science, resembling a conflict between Enlightenment values and patriarchal societal expectations.
- Her emotional turmoil and personal struggle are central to the plot.
Harriet
- Harriet is the younger Fenwick daughter who wishes to break free from the societal constraints of her gender.
- Her character represents the early feminist critique of women's limited roles.
- Her motivation lies in her desire for freedom and self-expression in a world that expects silence and obedience from women.
Isobel Bird
- Bird, a servant at the Fenwick household, is an embodiment of a working-class perspective on the developments of the time.
- Her experiences underscore the brutal reality of progress's cost, sharply contrasting with the middle-class intellectuals' abstract debates.
Eleanor Laidlaw
- In 1999, Eleanor is a geneticist facing ethical questions about her work, similar to Fenwick in the 18th century.
- Eleanor worries about the potential misuse of her research findings, showing a more cautious approach to progress than Fenwick.
- This character reflects on the continuity of ethical issues in science, indicating that history often repeats itself.