59 pages • 1 hour read
William GibsonThe Peripheral
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Flynne Fisher
Nicknamed “Easy Ice” for her gaming skills, Flynne Fisher is the protagonist of the novel. Flynne is independent-minded and forceful in her own way but always seems to be on the outside of what she is involved with. Burton, Lowbeer, and Griff all are the novel’s power figures as they make deals and do not often reveal to Flynne what these deals include. Flynne is the novel’s most consistent moral figure. Prior to the turn of events in her life, her primary concern is caring for her ailing mother, Ella. While determined to help catch Aelita West’s killer, Flynne also adamantly opposes the use of the chemical agent known as “party time,” which demonstrates her integrity.
Netherton takes a liking to Flynne, particularly because she represents something unavailable to him. The narrator says that it is Flynne’s “archaic self-determination” that appeals to Netherton: her insistence on being who she wants to be. While the plot generally depends on Flynne being gamed by external forces, she does not participate in anything completely against her will. Instead, she chooses to participate on her own terms, a stark distinguishing feature compared to most of the novel’s other characters.
Wilf Netherton
Netherton is a publicist by trade, a man who makes a living embellishing the truth or flat-out lying. Early in the novel, we see his penchant for lying brought to light by his colleague, Rainey, when she says, “I’d want to have your baby now[…]except I know it would always lie” (12). How other characters in the novel see him does not tell the whole story, though. Netherton is an internally conflicted character, oftentimes using alcohol as a means of drowning out this inner turmoil.
Netherton’s name gives us an insight into how he views his world. Netherton recalls the “nether” regions such as hell and the sanctum of the dead. He is, therefore, a symbolic representation of the world of the dead. Netherton does not like the world he lives in, and as the novel progresses, he develops a longing for the old world. Netherton is also the one who reveals the details of the jackpot to Flynne. Netherton’s perspective lends the novel one of its primary messages: The old world is worth saving, and it should be appreciated.
Ainsley Lowbeer
Lowbeer is the wise and omniscient detective of the novel. Along with Burton in the novel’s present, Lowbeer is a puppet master. Her character is somewhere between nefarious and kind, and she can tap into both characteristics when necessary. This shows her capacity to manipulate people to achieve desired goals, but it does not make her an evil figure. Lowbeer uses these powers for good, such as investigating Aelita’s death. Lowbeer has the authority to spy in an almost unlimited capacity, a fact that she is not boastful about. Instead, she is reticent and embarrassed when confronted about eavesdropping.
Lowbeer was alive before the jackpot, a fact that locates part of her motivation for being involved in the case. She recognizes how the chain of events, beginning with the assassination of a US president, led to the series of catastrophes that ensued. She also is a continua enthusiast, presumably to help try to redirect this chain of events so that her former self, Griff, will follow on a different fork in time. While it is not exactly an act of supreme self-sacrifice, it still shows her as a force for good, despite the ways she goes about achieving her ends.
Burton Fisher
A former Marine and a veteran of an unidentified war, Burton pulls the strings in his present. Burton is highly secretive and usually acts without letting anyone else know what he is getting into. This is best represented by the way he withholds information from Flynne, even though he involves her in activities before she even knows what she’s agreeing to. Burton has many friends, former vets who help provide security for his family and, later, the headquarters for Coldiron USA. Because of his shadowy nature, ascribing a moral value to his character is difficult.
Burton’s most notable personality trait is that he is prone to act on his temper. Early in the novel, he is taken by Homes to a location that is not quite a prison but more like a time-out. He has an ongoing feud with a religious cult known as Luke 4:5, and often, Burton reverts to aggressive tactics to beat back the group. Burton is also physically aggressive when he first goes up the line and enters Flynne’s peripheral. He attacks Ossian and wounds him severely. Naturally, with his military training and his penchant for violence, he appears in the novel's penultimate scene and delivers the final blow to Sir Henry, one of the novel’s primary villains.
Related Titles
By William Gibson
