Marge Sherwood
An American writer in Mongibello who distrusts Tom and refuses to let Dickie's disappearance become an abstract puzzle.
To understand her place in Dickie's life and learn what truly happened after he left Mongibello.
The book
At a glance
- American
- Mongibello
- Writer
- Dickie Greenleaf
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeMarge is an American living near Dickie and working on a book. She loves him and hopes for a future with him, although their relationship is not settled.
She is suspicious of Tom's intense attention and efforts to separate her from Dickie. Tom treats her as a rival because she has a kind of closeness he cannot control.
After Dickie disappears, she keeps asking personal questions that documents cannot answer. Her memory of his habits becomes its own evidence.
How the book draws them
- A working writerShe is drafting a book rather than merely passing time.
- Directly observantShe notices Tom's hostility and does not confuse attention with kindness.
- Emotionally investedHer love for Dickie makes uncertainty especially painful.
- Independent abroadShe has made a life in Italy outside the Greenleaf family world.
- A rival in Tom's mindHe sees her presence as a barrier to exclusive friendship.
- PersistentShe compares official explanations with the man she actually knew.
Marge finds Dickie's rings among Tom's things, bringing her close to physical proof that he lied.
Tom considers killing her, then says Dickie left the rings before planning suicide. She survives and accepts enough of the explanation for the inheritance scheme to proceed.
If you like The Talented Mr. Ripley
If you like Patricia Highsmith
Explore authors with a similar voice, perspective, and influence.
Simone de Beauvoir
French writer and philosopher whose novels, memoirs, and social analysis examined freedom, gender, responsibility, aging, and the material conditions that shape a life.
View author
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
The doctor of the Paris slums who wrote the century's blackest, funniest novel — and changed the sound of French prose.
View author
Martha Gellhorn
War correspondent who covered the Spanish Civil War, D-Day, and conflicts across five more decades; Hemingway's third wife, 1940–1945.
View author