The Portrait (2005) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Henry Morris MacAlpine: The Painter
• William Nasmyth: The art critic
• Evelyn: Artist
• Jacky: An artist's model
• Anderson: Painter who has given up painting
• Father Charles: Catholic Priest
• Madame Le Gurun: Inn owner

Quotes edit see section history

• “I have never met anyone, however despicable, who does not believe that they are fundamentally decent. Is is part of the human condition.”

• “I often wonder what it must be like to be a father, to see your child no longer childish, losing that automatic tendency to adore. Does it come in a moment, or gradually? Is it a peaceful or a violent process?”

• “The moods of the weather delight me...You become the weather you live in - I know, it's a cliche, but I never realized quite how true it was. The drabness of the English climate produces drab people, wrapped up, desperate to keep the outside at bay. They wear an emotional overcoat throughout their lives and scowl upwards, wondering whether it is going to rain again. Quite right, too; it is.”

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• And that is what a painter is. Someone who prays with his brush,

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• Having to make up your own mind is a terrible burden, and the inevitable cost is massive doubt.

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• Whatever is beyond your control frightens you; that is why you must control everything and everyone.

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• Your opinion is of no more value to me than that of the old peasant I sketched last month. You are defenceless until I am finished.

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• Her weakness was the crippling self-doubt that afflicted her every step of the way. That is the price of Protestantism and individuality. The constant worry of having to choose between good and bad fades when you cede authority to others.

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• She was an artistic protestant, and had no need of intermediaries, be they critics or priests.

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• But everybody noticed me; and that is the key to success in the world these days. Far more important than actually being good.

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• The subject is merely the means by which the painter expresses himself. The painter is merely the means through which the critic’s ideas take form.

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• You become the weather you live in—I know, it’s a cliché, but I never realised quite how true it was.

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• Put people on the ocean and they are irrelevant and ridiculous, not heroic. They can be swallowed up in an instant and the sea doesn’t even notice.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Scotland
• England

First Sentence edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Iain Pears (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Mystery & Thrillers › Thrillers › Suspense
• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary