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Jessica Chu
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
12 November 2010
The Satiric Nature of The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy
Thesis: In The Loved One, Evelyn Waugh satirizes American culture through exaggerations of
American society, comedic character depictions, and ironic expositions.
I. Exaggerations of American society
A. Whispering Glades
1. Use of euphemisms
2. Use of art
B. Film industry
1. Egotism
2. Fraud
C. Incomprehensible illogicalities
II. Comedic character depictions
A. Juxtaposition of Dennis Barlow and Mr. Joyboy
B. Aimée Thanatogenos
1. Contradicted appearance
2. Questionable religion
III. Ironic expositions
A. Manipulation of names
1. Aimée Thanatogenos
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2. Mr. Joyboy
3. Happier Hunting Ground
4. Mr. Slump
B. Comedic approach to often solemn ideas
1. Death
2. Love
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Jessica Chu
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
12 November 2010
The Satiric Nature of The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy
Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy is a satiric novel
examining the funeral business and film industry of the United States through the eyes of a
young British poet, Dennis Barlow. Dennis originally comes to Hollywood to become a
screenplay writer and work in the film business like his uncle, Sir Francis Hinsley. This
endeavor does not succeed, causing him to seek employment at the Happier Hunting Ground, a
pet mortuary. At Megalopolitan Studios, Sir Francis Hinsley’s main task is to give a new image
to an actress, Juanita del Pablo, but he encounters some difficulties and is fired, causing him to
take his own life. After Sir Francis Hinsley commits suicide, his gruesome body is taken to
Whispering Glades, a fancy funeral and burial home based on the real life Forest Lawn, where
Dennis meets the captivating Aimée Thanatogenos. Dennis falls in love with Aimée just as she
is discovering the affection of Mr. Joyboy, the head mortician. The story follows their erratic
love triangle and the strange workings of Whispering Glades seen through the eyes of a native
Brit. The comedy throughout the story allows readers, even American readers, to laugh at the
absurdities of these strange American rituals. In The Loved One, Evelyn Waugh satirizes
American culture through exaggerations of American society, comedic character depictions, and
ironic expositions.
Waugh embellishes Whispering Glades as an exaggerated American view of death
through the use of euphemisms. When Dennis Barlow first enters the funeral home, he reads a
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quote by Wilbur Kenworthy, the Dreamer and the creator of Whispering Glades, stating, “Behold
I dreamed a dream and I saw a New Earth sacred to HAPPINESS. There amid all that Nature
and Art could offer to elevate the Soul of Man I saw the Happy Resting Place of Countless
Loved Ones” (Waugh 39). This exaggerates the burial ground and also echoes the book of
Revelations in the Christian scripture. Dr. Kenworthy continues to describe that the loved ones,
the name of the deceased used by the employees at Whispering Glades, would be happy in their
burial ground just as the waiting ones are also happy of their loved ones new resting place. This
is an apt example of how the American culture is not able to accept the reality of death. Those at
Whispering Glades also use the reference of the loved one and the waiting ones to tone down the
grim idea of death. Even the names of the many zones in The Park present a euphemistic tone
such as Pilgrims’ Rest, Lovers’ Nest, Shadowland, Poets’ Corner, and Lake Island, which show
how Waugh mocks the American view of death. Whispering Glades even provides gaudy and
flashy slumber rooms where the loved one is displayed in his or her casket or on a chaise longue
for the waiting ones to pass through. Later, the cosmetician, Aimée Thanatogenos, questions
Dennis about the current state and normal physical appearance of Sir Francis in order to make
him look as natural as possible. Here, Aimée shows her admiration of Mr. Joyboy’s work and
the beautiful corpses he is able to fashion. Critic James Carens comments, “The Loved One
gives concrete form to these views as it builds up a picture of an institution devoted to evading
reality and to substituting a decadent materialism for traditional moral concepts” (21). Another
contrast to a true view of death is seen when Dennis inspects the mortician’s artwork. He finds
the unrealistic perfection of Sir Francis’s skin and joyful smile, loved by Aimée and Mr. Joyboy,
more horrifying than his disfigured and colored appearance after his suicide. These examples
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amplify Waugh’s subtle use of euphemisms to give an exaggerated view of death in American
culture.
Waugh is able to further reinforce the atypical ideas of American society’s views of death
through the use of art at Whispering Glades. At common funeral homes the mood is supposed to
be reflective and humble, but at Whispering Glades it is like an attraction of art and tacky
interpretations of poetry. The zones of the burial ground, called The Park, are categorized and
can be chosen by the preference of the loved one or waiting ones. There is also a zone for the
rich called Lake Island of Innisfree, which appears fake compared to the poem it is modeled
after, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats. The closer a plot is to the water, the
more expensive it costs. Prices also range differently if the burial plot is beside a certain piece of
artwork, sculpture, or church. The hostess of Whispering Glades tells Dennis about some art
works stating, “‘Then there is Lovers’ Nest, zoned about a very, very beautiful marble replica of
Rodin’s famous statue, the Kiss’” (43-44). Whispering Glades even provides inspirational
messages that sound throughout the Park in large speakers and inscriptions everywhere around
the gravesites and on statues. The Park also contains beautiful swans, a magnificent landscape,
gaudy gates, and an incomprehensible number of statues. Waugh uses art in Whispering Glades
confirming that every feature was used to eradicate the reality of death seen by Americans.
Another industry comically satirized by Waugh is the stereotypical and vain film business
of Hollywood. He also emphasizes on the fraudulent nature of the film and funeral industry.
Formerly Baby Aaronson, Juanita del Pablo, the actress Sir Francis was assigned to transform,
was a flamenco singer who now is reborn as a “winsome colleen” (Beaty 173). She decides to
use Sir Francis’s funeral to her advantage. As critic Don Nilsen observes, “Thus, Juanita del
Pablo is a sexy starlet whose career has been personally developed by Sir Francis Hinsley, shows
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up at his funeral to sing ‘The Wearing of the Green’” (227). This song is in her next movie and
she is using Sir Francis’s funeral as a ploy to promote herself. Nilsen goes on to explain that this
song is a “fiery IRA song, which is symbolic of the Irish cause, and which is sung to denounce
the British” (227). Since Sir Francis is English, it is strangely ironic that Juanita would sing this
Irish song at his funeral. She decides to take this time that is supposed to honor Sir Francis to
expand her own egocentric career and insult her former agent. Paul Doyle agrees, stating that
these events “indicate the basic absurdity, incongruity, and irreverence which characterize the
movie colony.” At the beginning of the plot, Sir Francis even gives Dennis advice to not fall into
the influences of the film business by stating, “‘The studios keep us going with a pump. We are
still just capable of a few crude reactions—nothing more. If we ever got disconnected from our
bottle, we should simply crumble’” (14). Gene Phillips confirms the irony of this phrase because
after Sir Francis is fired from his studio job “having outlived his usefulness, he goes home and
hangs himself” (81). These exaggerations of fraud and selfishness in the American film industry
allow Waugh to poke fun at its ridiculous nature.
Waugh also makes use of incomprehensible illogicalities to create hidden comedy
exaggerating America’s way of life. One example is found when Dennis is writing a poem for
Sir Francis’s funeral, “A peach without a stone. That was the metaphor for Frank Hinsley.
Dennis recalled that he had once tried to eat one of Mr. Kaiser’s much-advertised products and
had discovered a ball of damp, sweet cotton-wool. Poor Frank Hinsley, it was very like him”
(86). While praising the taste of the seedless peach, he is actually indicating it is unappetizing as
well as insulting Sir Francis Hinsley by comparing him to the flavorless peach. The peach is no
longer an authentic peach because there is no pit. Waugh is using this seedless peach to compare
people in the film industry, indicating the lack of personality and originality. Another example is
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found when Sir Francis tells Dennis that “‘They are a very decent, generous lot of people out
here and they don’t expect you to listen. . . . It’s the secret of social ease in this country. They
talk entirely for their own pleasure. Nothing they say is designed to be heard’” (5). These
observations by Sir Francis reveal the superficiality of his own social connections and how he
interprets what they say as meaningless. Frederick Beaty suggests, “[Waugh’s] remarks, though
meant as praise, can be seen as inadvertent condemnation by the reader, who realizes that much
in this baffling society defeats the purpose for which it was intended” (173). This evidence
allows the reader to see how Waugh is able to satirize the traits of many Americans through
numerous subtle interpretations in the text.
Waugh is also able to fuse comedy throughout this dark novel through the juxtaposition
of the two conflicting male characters, Dennis Barlow and Mr. Joyboy. Mr. Joyboy and Dennis
both possess unique and strange ways of showing Aimée their own affection. Dennis is able to
court Aimée through the use of poetry after their meeting at Lake Island, where she tells him
about her life before Whispering Glades. They talk about her work and his poems, but Dennis
avoids talking about his occupation because Aimée sees the Happier Hunting Ground as a
mockery of Whispering Glades. The narrator observes that she is indifferent towards him until
he mentions he is writing a poem: “Until then she had treated him with that impersonal
insensitive friendliness which takes the place of ceremony in that land of waifs and strays. Now
her eyes widened. ‘Did you say a poem?’” (87-88). On the other hand, Mr. Joyboy ironically is
only able to show his love for Aimée through death. Mr. Joyboy goes on to say, “‘Miss
Thanatogenos, for you the Loved Ones just naturally smile.’ . . . ‘It’s true, Miss Thanatogenos. It
seems I am just powerless to prevent it. When I am working for you there’s something inside me
says ‘He’s on his way to Miss Thanatogenos’ and my fingers just seem to take control. Haven’t
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you noticed it?’” (69). Mr. Joyboy also appears both “cartoonish and bland” compared to Dennis
(Davis). Aimée finds Dennis intriguing because she has never encountered an English poet.
She enjoys the poems he frequently sends to her, which are taken from other famous poems.
Aimée especially likes the following line from Keats’s poem, “Half in love with easeful death”
(96). She sees “Ode to Nightingale” as exactly “what I’ve thought so often and haven’t been
able to express” when she tries to explain her feelings about death and art (96). The mere
differences of the two rivals create an entertaining battle over the love and affection of Aimée.
Waugh also uses comedic characterization of both Mr. Joyboy and Dennis through their
physical, social, and cultural traits. Waugh sees Dennis as “a young man of sensibility rather
than of sentiment” (37). Dennis is a British expatriate poet who takes a job at the Happier
Hunting Ground, which his uncle finds grotesque. Mr. Joyboy is the head mortician of
Whispering Glades and well regarded in his profession. The women who work there all swoon
over his charm and excellence as an embalmer. The narrator offers Mr. Joyboy’s stock
appearance by stating, “he had scant eyebrows and invisible eyelashes; the eyes behind his
pince-nez were pinkish-grey; his hair, though neat and scented, was sparse; his hands were
fleshy; his best feature was perhaps his teeth and they though white and regular seemed rather
too large for him; he was a trifle flat-footed and more than a trifle paunchy” (66-67). To most
people, this is an unattractive description of a man, but to Aimée, he is very appealing. She finds
her suitors both attractive; however, Aimée is faced with the issue of Dennis’s unethical trait,
unknown British heritage, and uncultured lifestyle compared to Mr. Joyboy, who is ethical and
very well known as an embalmer. Dennis also presents the idea of becoming a nonsectarian
minister in order to feel a closer connection to Aimée through her work at Whispering Glades.
Later, Aimée discovers a surprise when Mr. Joyboy invites her over to his home to meet his
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mother. Beaty acknowledges, “Most disillusioning is her discovery that Joyboy is dominated by
a rude, vulgar mother, who has psychologically castrated him” (178). Mr. Joyboy discovers that
Dennis works at the Happier Hunting Ground and that the poems he sends Aimée are
plagiarized. The death of his mother’s parrot comes at a convenient time to uncover the truth
about Dennis to Aimée. One of their only similarities is that they are around death constantly
and have a strange intimacy with the notion of death. The three fall into a volatile yet comedic
love triangle that will not reach resolution until the end.
Waugh also satirizes the thoughts and actions of Americans through the characterization
of Aimée Thanatogenos. When Aimée is introduced she is described with a contradicted
appearance. The narrator illustrates her looks as she is walking towards Dennis: “Her hair was
dark and straight, her brows wide, her lips were artificially tinctured, . . . Her full face was oval,
her profile pure and classical and light. Her eyes greenish and remote, with a rich glint of
lunacy” (55). Dennis is attracted to her because she is different from every other girl he has met.
He wants a girl who he is not able to find the same product and same views of across the
continent. Dennis claims that she was a decadent but as Robert Davis states, “She does have
aspirations toward culture and spirituality.” But critic Carens also argues, “The Loved One is an
Anglo-American tragedy and that Dennis is also decadent” (22). Dennis is very interested in the
workings of Whispering Glades and is very curious about Aimée’s involvement with her job.
Aimée’s lack of education is also an advantage for Dennis to use his poetry to trick her. Beaty
reasons, “Her delusions about poetry and its connection with death make her highly susceptible
to Dennis’s amorous, melancholy verses until she is scandalized by the discovery that they are
plagiarized” (176). She becomes fascinated with poetry and creates connections between that
and her work. When T.J. Ross examines Aimée, he claims, “Her education has allowed her no
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hint of the effects of either art or passion” (160). Waugh’s depiction of Aimée represents a dark,
comical image of an eccentric American girl, therefore supporting his strange view of
Americans.
Aimée Thanatogenos’s indecisiveness towards religion further derides Waugh’s view of
American society. Aimée is fully committed to Whispering Glades, and the only other place she
seeks for advice when it is not available at work is the local newspaper’s advice columnist, Guru
Brahmin. When she is facing the challenge of choosing between Dennis and Mr. Joyboy, she
does not choose to confide in a religion but instead in Guru Brahmin and the wisdom of
Whispering Glades. Beaty writes, “Her morbid ‘religion’ proves so deficient, however, in
offering spiritual strength for the problems of life that at the time of her amatory dilemma she
turns for advice to the fraudulent Guru Brahmin” (176). Her bitter approach to religion possibly
comes from her father’s unsuccessful investment into the Los Angeles-based church of the Four
Square Gospel founded by evangelist Aimée McPherson, for whom she is named. She later
states in a letter to Guru Brahmin, “I do not think [Dennis] has any religion. Neither have I
because I was a progressive at College and had an unhappy upbringing as far as religion went
and other things too, but I am ethical” (102). Aimée explains she has had a troubled life and is
emotionally stable. She does not understand how to act when life is unbearable. Later, Aimée
discovers Dennis’s deceitful ways and becomes newly engaged to Mr. Joyboy. During a
confrontation with Dennis, he reminds her, “‘You loved me and swore to love me eternally with
the most sacred oath in the religion of Whispering Glades’” (143). She feels guilty and goes
back to her “concrete cell which she called her apartment” and she “fell victim to all the devils of
doubt” (144). She is in a state of confusion and asks Mr. Joyboy to come speak with her but he
refuses. Aimée frantically seeks help from the Guru Brahmin but is left with Mr. Slump who has
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just been discharged from the paper. Her naïve attitude, gullible nature, and risky faith that she
has in Mr. Slump causes her to follow through with his advice and commit a tragic suicide.
Aimée’s unconventional religious beliefs cause her to make an irrational and irreversible
decision leading to her destruction. Waugh is able to use Aimée’s character to exemplify the
irrational foolishness of Americans.
Waugh is further able to show humor through many of his ironic expositions presented
throughout the novel such as the manipulation of names. Aimée Thanatogenos is a prime
example of Waugh’s clever use of names. Thanatogenos literally means, “loved one born of
death” in Greek. This is ironic because Aimée loves her job at Whispering Glades and it is as if
she was born to be a cosmetician for the dead. Nilsen also declares, “Aimée is ‘the loved one,’
but this name is ironic, because Barlow is not very loving toward her” (227). Both Dennis and
Mr. Joyboy love Aimée, but she is not able to choose between the mother lover and the cheating
poet. Eventually, she cannot handle it any longer and ironically chooses death as her final fate.
Mr. Joyboy’s name is also manipulated as ironic because he is a mortician, a usually morbid and
depressing occupation. The name of the pet mortuary, The Happier Hunting Ground, is also
ironic because it is a funeral home for pets where they are not happy because they are dead and
usually burned. Mr. Slump, also known as Guru Brahmin, is an ironic name for him because he
is basically in a slump. Critic Phillips adds, “Her letters are actually answered by Mr. Slump,
who lives in an ever-increasing alcoholic haze” (84). Mr. Slump is steadily deteriorating
especially due to his smoking and alcoholism as depicted by the narrator, “For the first hours of
every day he was possessed by a cough which arose from tartarean depths and was relieved only
by whisky. On bad mornings it seemed to the suffering secretary that Mr. Slump would vomit. .
. . He retched, shivered, and wiped his face with his handkerchief” (118). Finally, Mr. Slump is
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fired from his job just as Aimée seeks him for advice. His indifferent personality causes him to
give her the impatient and rude advice that leads her to her death. Waugh uses ironic names to
give the novel a witty and brilliant edge.
Waugh also presents another ironic exposition through the amusing use of usually solemn
ideas such as death and love. Death is a recurring theme in The Loved One shown through Sir
Francis, Whispering Glades, The Happier Hunting Ground, and Aimée Thanatogenos. Death can
also almost be seen as an art, especially to Mr. Joyboy and Aimée because of the fastidious
nature of their professions. The mere gaudy formalities of organizing Sir Francis’s funeral at
Whispering Glades is funny because every single aspect reduces the reality of death through a
perfectly articulated corpse and special burial zone. The Happier Hunting Ground even provides
a card to the owners of the dead animal on the anniversary of its death. Aimée’s feelings
towards the Happier Hunting Ground are indicated when she states, “‘They try and do everything
the same as [Whispering Glades]. It seems kinda blasphemous’” (95). This is comical because
Dennis works there and she is unknowingly insulting him. Later, Mr. Joyboy discovers Aimée’s
death by lethal injection in his workroom. Also, the way Mr. Joyboy and Dennis go about
Aimée’s death is facetious. Mr. Joyboy seeks help from Dennis in order to avoid a scandal.
Strangely, Dennis is not greatly affected by the death of Aimée because he is not sentimental.
Ironically, he agrees to cremate her at the Happier Hunting Ground instead of at Whispering
Glades. Dennis also remembers to write in the books that a postcard should be sent every year to
Mr. Joyboy with a message saying, “Your little Aimée is wagging her tail in heaven tonight,
thinking of you” (163). Dennis even decides to recite a plagiarized poem before the cremation of
Aimée, and it can be seen that Dennis’s love for Aimée perishes the moment he realizes she has
died. Naomi Milthorpe supports this justification by adding, “The disposal of Aimée’s body is
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ripe with the humor of extreme detachment” (211). Beaty also uncovers Mr. Joyboy’s fading
love for Aimée and adds, “[Mr. Joyboy] is thoroughly debased by his willingness to conceal
Aimée’s death in order to save his reputation and his ‘Mom’” (178). The only reason Dennis is
aiding Mr. Joyboy is for a passage back to England, therefore, creating the story that Aimée has
run away with him. Neither Dennis nor Mr. Joyboy truly loved Aimée or else her death would
have been dealt with in a sentimental and patient way. Waugh is able to weave humorous details
in usually serious situations such as the deaths of Sir Francis and Aimée and Aimée’s love
triangle.
Waugh satirizes the American culture by fusing a humorous mood through the plot by
exaggerating American customs, giving characters a dark witty edge, and using ironic
explications. The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh is a clear representation of his feelings about
death and the notion of how Americans deal with death in both the funeral and film industry.
Whispering Glades diminishes the reality of death through its materialistic and extravagant
services it provides to a loved one. Beaty indicates, “By glorifying and preserving the body, it
glossed over the face of mortal decay. By disguising death as an entrance into immediate
happiness, it obliterated the possibility of purgatory and hell” (181). Waugh also distinguishes
the film industry as an egotistical and fraudulent business whose only concern is what others
may think. The characterization of both Mr. Joyboy and Dennis contrast each other and cause
Aimée to have doubts on whom to be with. Aimée herself is a comical character because she
frequently has no idea what to do with her future. She is naïve and gullible and believes
everything Dennis, Mr. Joyboy, and Guru Brahmin tell her. Aimée worships Whispering Glades
almost as if it is her religion. Many of the names in this novel exemplify Waugh’s use of irony
such as Thanatogenos, Mr. Joyboy, and Mr. Slump. One of Waugh’s greatest sources of comedy
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come from his ironic approach towards death and love. Death is usually melancholic and sad,
but through the numerous vulgarities of Whispering Glades and the death of many characters,
Waugh satirizes Americans’ lack of reality and refusal to accept one’s death. The love Mr.
Joyboy has for Aimée disappears as soon as he realizes a scandal like this could ruin his career
and mother. Dennis only sees the disposal of Aimée’s corpse as a ticket back home to England
where he belongs. Through these dark plot lines, Waugh is able to create a novel so brilliantly
ridiculous and witty that Americans cannot help but laugh at themselves.
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Works Cited
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Print.
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Davis, Robert Murray. "Sex, Death, and Art in Hollywood: The Day of the Locust and The
Loved One." Evelyn Waugh Newsletter & Studies 38.2 (2007): 1-4. Humanities
International Complete. Web. 23 Sept. 2010.
Doyle, Paul A. "Evelyn Waugh." British Novelists, 1930-1959. Ed. Bernard Stanley Oldsey.
Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 15. Literature
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Milthorpe, Naomi. "Death is at the Elbow": The Loved One and Love Among the Ruins.
Renascence 62.3 (2010): 201-217. Humanities International Complete. Web. 23 Sept.
2010.
Nilsen, Don L. F., ed. Humor in Twentieth-Century British Literature. Westport, CT:
Greenwood, 2000. Print.
Phillips, Gene D. Evelyn Waugh’s Officers, Gentlemen, and Rogues: The Fact Behind His
Fiction. Chicago: Nelson, 1975. Print.
Ross, T.J. "Reconsidering Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One." Modern Age 37.2 (1995): 156-162.
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Waugh, Evelyn. The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy. Boston: Little, 1948. Print.