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Illustrated portrait of Carlo

A character in The Driver’s Seat

Carlo

A garage proprietor whose assault of Lise and missing red car add another violent encounter to the police trail.

What they want

To dominate the encounter with Lise and take what she has not consented to give.

The book

Cover of The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark
The Driver’s SeatMuriel Spark, 1970

A woman enters a foreign city, makes sure strangers remember her, and searches for the man she has chosen to end her life.

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At a glance

Occupation
Garage proprietor
Clothing
White shirt and white trousers
Vehicle
Red Mini
Connection
Assailant and owner of a car Lise takes

Who they are in the book

Spoiler-free

Carlo owns or runs the garage Lise enters during her search. He is a large, middle-aged man dressed entirely in white rather than work overalls. He initially appears as another possible man in Lise's shifting search.

Carlo sexually assaults Lise in the car. She then drives off in his red Mini, leaving him behind. The car is later stolen after she parks it outside another hotel.

Like Bill, Carlo becomes part of the case without being Lise's intended killer. His behavior is criminal and consequential, but the novel does not make it the origin of the plan she brought with her.

How the book draws them

Appearance, manner, and tone — as the book sketches them, in our words.

  • Large and burlyHis physical size makes the imbalance inside the car immediately clear.
  • Middle-agedHe is older than Bill and Richard and belongs to the city's working adult world rather than its young travelers.
  • White shirt and trousersHe wears clean white clothes at the garage instead of mechanic's overalls.
  • Garage proprietorCars, keys, and customer access place him at the point where Lise's route becomes mobile and harder to trace.
  • Irritated authorityHe behaves as though ownership of the garage and car entitles him to control the encounter.
  • Connected to a red MiniThe small, visibly damaged car becomes another item for police to follow after Lise drives away.
Carlo's place in the investigationHow the book leaves them, what happened after, and what the record says. Open when you're ready.

After Carlo assaults her, Lise takes his car. Its later theft complicates the trail, but Carlo is not the man she has traveled to find and does not kill her.

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