Only the Beautiful

As Truman Calvert’s sister, Helen is the secondary protagonist of the novel. Her first-person narration dominates the second half of the novel, flipping between two timelines as she describes her present-day mission to discover Rosie’s fate and relates her earlier experiences as a nanny during World War II. In the first half of the novel, Helen only exists as a vaguely ethereal benefactor of Rosie’s who only appears via letters and memories. In Rosie’s eyes, Helen is an old acquaintance whom she knew through her parents and who would occasionally send her letters about her latest trips through Europe.

However, when the narrative switches entirely to Helen’s perspective, the woman’s mature perspective on the harshness of the world is immediately apparent, and the narrative reveals her determination to make the world a better place. While Helen eventually experiences atrocities that alter her life forever, she remains essentially the same person from beginning to end, always holding true to her desire for social justice. Unmarried and independently minded, she strikes out on her own path even as a teenager, eschewing college to become nanny to a British family living in San Francisco and eventually following them back to England. Helen enjoys the presence of children but does not want to be a teacher, so the life of a nanny suits her perfectly.

Over the years, Helen remains in Europe, living and working in London, Paris, and Vienna. While she never marries, her love for children manifests in her care for Brigitta and her later decision to seek out and adopt Amaryllis. Helen is a kind and loving woman who exhibits maternal behaviors in her interactions with those in her care. For example, she writes lovingly of the little Austrian girl in her charge, stating, “Life did not give me a family of my own, but with Brigitta, it is almost as if I do have a daughter” (60). When Brigitta is eventually taken away and killed, Helen is heartbroken, but she takes solace in the fact that that she has done her best to care for the child, and she is grateful for the opportunity to know and love her.

After the death of Brigitta, Helen is a changed woman, and she actively resists the dictates of the Austrian government by smuggling a number of at-risk children to safety in Switzerland. Given these experiences, she also reacts with horror upon discovering that Rosie was sterilized during her time in the care of the state. Her long history of resisting socially sanctioned injustices serves as the fuel with which she eventually launches a second career as a public advocate against the program of eugenics has been implemented in the United States. Overall, Helen presents a bit of a paradox, for although she has no biological children of her own, she is nonetheless the most maternal figure in the novel. Helen’s love and compassion ultimately allow her to serve as a guide and a mentor for those around her, and she is always intent on working to improve the world around her.

Truman Calvert is Celine’s husband and the father of Wilson, his only child. He is one of the caretakers of the Rousseau Vineyard, on which Rosanne and her family had lived and worked. Truman is a quiet and reserved man who generally acquiesces to the wishes of his wife in matters of running the vineyard and the household. When Rosie is brought to stay in the home and work as a maid, for example, he has very little say in defining Rosie’s responsibilities, and he remains just as reserved regarding his new role as her guardian. He is a large man who “walks with a slight limp from a battle injury in the Great War” (38). He defers to Celine when it comes to running the business and the vineyard, and whenever they walked the grounds together, Truman always seems to be “trying to catch up with her” (38). Overall, Truman is characterized as self-confident man in most matters, but he is prone to bouts of sullenness, and although he and Celine are portrayed as capable business partners, the narrative also implies that their relationship is less than ideal.

While Truman is initially portrayed as steady and reliable, he eventually proves to be unfaithful and inconsistent in his motivations and desires. The most explicit example of this dynamic occurs when he seduces and rapes Rosie during Celine’s absence from the house. With this act, Truman betrays Rosie’s trust and takes advantage of her compromised mental and emotional state. In the aftermath of his betrayal, he decides to assuage his guilt by giving Rosie the key to a lockbox at a bank in San Jose, where he currently has $4,000 saved. (Although he believes that Celine knows nothing of these funds, the narrative later reveals that she is well aware of the account’s existence.) The secret account also demonstrates that Truman is not as constant and devoted as his public persona would suggest. In 1938, $4,000 would be the equivalent of close to $100,000 in modern-day purchasing power, and a devoted husband does not typically keep that much money in a separate bank account hidden from his wife. In the end, Truman attempts to make amends for his inconstancy by volunteering for the armed forces, and he ultimately dies in a combat training exercise.