The Witch Elm

Hugo Hennessy serves as a confidant and role model for his nephew, Toby. He allows his niece and nephews to make their own choices, even as children. His care for Ivy House’s garden resembles his philosophy of caring for people: “I prefer [the garden] running a bit wild. I don’t mean dandelions, they’re just thugs, but I like getting a glimpse of its true colors” (102). Hugo’s sensitivity allows others to feel comfortable growing into their natural selves. He is observant and cautious, and when the time is right, he sacrifices himself to protect his family from arrest.

Hugo admits to Toby and Melissa that he has always felt content staying at Ivy House while looking after his family and unearthing others’ families through genealogy work: “one gets into the habit of being oneself. It takes some great upheaval to crack that shell and force us to discover what else might be underneath” (297). He does not subject himself to “upheavals,” even after learning of his terminal illness. However, the fact that Hugo’s final piece of advice to Toby is to reconcile with Melissa suggests he regrets his life choices.

Detective Mike Rafferty represents the power dynamic between a detective and their suspect(s). Toby describes him as a “raptor, not cruel, not good or evil, only and utterly what he was. The purity of it, unbreakable, was beyond anything I could imagine” (477). Though he is not necessarily cruel or evil, his tactics to close cases are morally questionable. Rafferty bends the rules to get his job done, with Toby’s perspective as a suspect reinforcing his deplorable use of power. While justified in trying to solve a murder, the detective engages in a fight with Toby and ultimately dies of a head wound.

Rafferty contrasts with Detectives Gerry Martin and Colm Bannon in that he works harder to uncover the truth. Toby judges Martin and Bannon for failing to track his attackers. However, he also dislikes Rafferty’s more aggressive approach to his job. Toby’s experiences with and feelings regarding detectives speak to his loss of control. He feels uncomfortable with his lack of control in finding his attackers, and fantasizes about tracking them down, beating them, and achieving justice while Martin idles. He also feels unsettled by his lack of control over Rafferty’s jurisdiction to investigate Ivy House—which feeds into his dislike of him.

Clever and ruthless, Susanna Farrell exhibits loyalty to her family. She is the wife of Tom Farrell and mother of Zach and Sallie. She experiences more injustice than her cousin Toby in her adolescence (i.e., being harassed by doctors and Dominic), shaping her worldview to be more cautious and suspicious. Susanna quickly points out Toby’s privilege, telling him “not everyone gets to live in the same world as you” (143) when they argue over Hugo’s healthcare appointments. She protects her cousin Leon on multiple occasions and is the only family member to advocate for Hugo’s health at the end of his life.

Unlike Toby in his accidental killing of Rafferty, Susanna maintains a clean conscience after killing Dominic, as she believes her planned murder was done out of self-defense. She believes her capacity to kill is an innate part of her identity. Comparatively, Toby regrets Rafferty’s death and ends the novel feeling empty and alone, fantasizing about a life similar to Susanna’s.

Like his cousin Susanna, Leon Hennessy’s past trauma shapes his worldview to be more responsive to injustice. As such, he resents Toby for not understanding the severity of his former friend Dominic’s bullying:

You are fucking unbelievable. My God. Dominic tortured me. For years. I thought about killing myself all the time. You think getting beaten up fucked with your head—That was one night. Imagine what years of it would do to you [...] I’m never going to know what I would have been like if you had had my back, that time (338).

Leon’s identity is shaped by his bully Dominic, which is why he helps Susanna kill him and recognizes the positives of doing so: He feels more comfortable with his sexuality and puts himself first in relationships. Though he regrets hurting his romantic partners, an innate part of his identity is being unattached. After an adolescence of hidden identity, fear, and torture, Leon prioritizes freedom.