One Of Ours

Bayliss is Claude’s elder brother who runs a farm implement business in town. Though not disposed to hard labor, Bayliss is industrious and financially successful, known for his prudence, thriftiness, and reserve. He dislikes most pleasure-seeking activities and is a staunch Prohibitionist. In fact, the only activity that seems to bring him joy is flaunting his wealth to Gladys Farmer, a pretty yet poor local woman who he hopes will marry him out of financial desperation. Cather describes him as “thin and dyspeptic” and not especially enjoyable company.

Claude has conflicted feelings toward Bayliss. On the one hand, Claude defends his brother against locals like Leonard Dawson who find him “unmanly” and annoying, even though Claude ultimately shares these feelings. On the other hand, he also seeks to defend others, like Gladys, against his brother’s capitalistic attitudes.

Ralph is Claude’s younger brother. Compared with Claude and Bayliss, Ralph is somewhat lazy. He is also materialistic and obsessed with new cars, gadgets, and “labor-saving” devices.

When Claude’s father purchases a ranch in Colorado, he appoints Ralph, rather than Claude, to take care of it. Excited by his newfound life of luxury, Ralph spends much of his money on frivolous trinkets, such as a ring with a large diamond.

Claude’s mother is a prim, well-educated woman who originally came to Nebraska from Vermont to serve as the school principal. She is very hardworking and quietly self-sacrificing. Whenever Claude feels pain or disappointment, she feels it deeply herself.

Claude is clearly Mrs. Wheeler’s favorite son, and he has a close yet complicated relationship with her. They bond primarily over their shared love of books, and Claude seems to admire her passion for romantic stories, like the tale of Joan of Arc. At the same time, Claude resents her longsuffering meekness and unquestioning acceptance of Christian beliefs.

Mrs. Wheeler plays a pivotal role in Claude’s maturation and evolution throughout the novel. By introducing Claude to the French story of Joan of Arc and by showing him Paris on a map, Mrs. Wheeler stirs his desire to enlist in the Great War. Her romantic spirit also contributes to Claude’s own romanticization of the war and the self-sacrificial sense of purpose he finds in this shared struggle. The novel further suggests Mrs. Wheeler’s significant role in the shaping of Claude’s life narrative by closing on a scene of her and Mahailey, two women for whom “the thought of him is always there, beyond everything else” (751).

Mr. Wheeler is Claude’s father. Originally from Maine, to which he returns every few years to visit family, he regards the Northeast as stiff and enjoys the more relaxed and rugged atmosphere of his Nebraska farm. He is hardworking, industrious, good natured, and well regarded within the community. As Cather notes, “Nobody in the county had ever seen Nat Wheeler flustered about anything, and nobody had ever heard him speak with complete seriousness” (8).

Mr. Wheeler has met with great financial success over the years, and he is frequently on the lookout for ways to make more money. In the latter half of Book 1, Mr. Wheeler purchases a ranch in Colorado, hoping to expand his family’s horizons in the cattle business. He dismisses the effect his decision has on Claude and on Claude’s education, as he believes material matters are more important than intellectual concerns. 

Mahailey, the Wheeler family’s cook, is an elderly woman who came to Nebraska in her youth, along with her impoverished family from the Virginia mountains. Though the rest of Mahailey’s family “scattered under the rigors of pioneer farm life” (40), Mahailey adapted well to her surroundings and was taken in by the Wheeler family after her mother passed away. Thus, she feels deeply indebted to and attached to the Wheelers, especially Claude and his mother.

Though uneducated and illiterate, Mahailey admires Claude’s interest in reading and learning. In place of books, she maintains a personal archive of precious objects in the attic, including magazines, photo albums, and a quilt her mother made, which she reserves for Claude as a wedding present. The family refers to the attic as “Mahailey’s library.”  

In the novel’s first section, Ernest Havel is Claude’s closest friend. Ernest came to Nebraska as a little boy with his family from Bohemia, or the modern-day Czech Republic. An intelligent man, he is fond of debating, philosophizing, and discussing American values. He is also a hard worker who finds contentment in his life as a farmer and warns Claude not to search too much “outside himself” for meaning.

When Claude marries Enid Royce, she discourages him from spending time with Ernest. Like some other members of Frankfort’s community, she is prejudiced against immigrants from Bohemia and Germany, especially when World War I breaks out overseas. Enid also dislikes the fact that Ernest is an atheist and worries his opinions will rub off on Claude.

Leonard Dawson is the eldest son of the Wheeler’s nearest neighboring family. He is big, burly, and highly skilled in the art of farming—and strongly opinionated about it. He considers Claude a friend but dislikes the prudish, “unmanly” Bayliss, and he makes his feelings openly known.

In the second part of the novel, Leonard enlists in the army along with Claude, despite the fact that he recently married a local girl named Susie. He claims that the sinking of the Lusitania “got under his skin” (393).

Brother Weldon is a traveling preacher who holds great influence in the communities of Frankfort and Lovely Creek. He recommends that Claude attend the religious Temple school and claims the professors at the State University are “ungodly.” Claude resents Brother Weldon’s attitudes toward life and education and considers the preacher small minded.

After Claude marries Enid, she begins spending a great deal of time with Brother Weldon. Though she claims they have similar religious values and are working together on Prohibitionist activism projects, Claude suspects she has more than friendly feelings for him.

Julius Erlich is a student at the State University who befriends Claude during their studies in Lincoln. He comes from a proud German family that hosts regular intellectual and creative salons with other young people. He introduces Claude to a European lifestyle that is very different from the one he knew at Lovely Creek. The Erlich family stimulates Claude’s curiosity about life overseas in Europe, thus influencing his eventual decision to join the army.

Mrs. Erlich is Julius’s elegant German mother. She enjoys hosting gatherings of young men and enjoys serving refreshments and playing the piano for them. Though her family does not have a great deal of money, she has refined and intellectual tastes that make her seem aristocratic.

When her sister, an opera singer named Madame Wilhelmina Schroeder-Schatz, comes to visit, Mrs. Erlich confides that she has romantic feelings for Claude. Though these feelings never develop into a romantic relationship, they suggest an alternate possibility of how Claude’s life might have developed if he hadn’t married Enid.

Gladys is an attractive young woman who attended high school with Claude and now teaches at their high school. A friend of both Claude and Enid, she is intelligent and thoughtful, and a talented musician. Though her family is poor, she always dresses fashionably and has extravagant spending habits.

Bayliss attempts to court Gladys, hoping that she will marry him out of financial desperation. Gladys, however, secretly harbors affection for Claude. She believes that the best things in life often go to people like Bayliss, who don’t deserve them, and she hopes that Claude will take hold of his future in a more courageous way than his brother. Much like Mrs. Erlich, Gladys directly evokes questions of “what might have been” if Claude hadn’t married Enid and had pursued a more compatible partner.

Ultimately, Gladys gives Claude his final significant push toward the Great War. Just before he leaves, she confesses her feelings for him but tells him she believes he is on the right path by moving out of Nebraska. 

The daughter of a wealthy local grain merchant, Enid is intelligent and strong willed, qualities that initially make her attractive to Claude. She is also the only person who regularly visits Claude when he is recovering from a work injury and finds himself bedbound for weeks. Her close proximity, coupled with Claude’s sense of purposelessness, leads Claude to latch onto her and quickly propose marriage.

After Claude marries Enid, he discovers that she is extremely religious, prudish, and unreceptive to physical affection. She has austere living habits, including vegetarianism and abstinence from alcohol, and is an active campaigner for Prohibition. Seldom present in the home, she seems to avoid Claude’s company, much to his dismay.

Enid frequently muses about joining her sister Carrie in China to serve as a missionary. When Enid receives a letter from China explaining that Carrie is ill, Enid uses this development as an excuse to move abroad without Claude. Soon after, Claude joins the army and makes his own move abroad, as he sees no purpose in staying home.

August Yoeder is the Wheeler’s closest neighbor. He is a hardworking, quiet, and serious man. He moved to Nebraska from Germany and has lived peacefully in his community.

When World War I breaks out in Europe, local suspicion is cast upon German immigrants such as Yoeder. He is called before a local judge and jury with the accusation that he has been speaking disparagingly of the United States and claiming that life was better in the old country. Faced with this accusation, Yoeder claims it is true, but he thought America “was a country where a man could speak his mind” (400). He is then forced to pay a steep fine of $300 (the equivalent of roughly $6,000 today) and warned that the consequences will be “much steeper” in the future.

Like August Yoeder, Troilus Oberlies is a prosperous local German farmer who is called before a judge and jury over suspicions about his disloyalty to the United States. Unlike Yoeder, however, Oberlies is outspoken about his anti-American feelings. When he appears in court, he defiantly proclaims, “You may take my property and imprison me, but I explain nothing, and I take back nothing” (399).

Lieutenant Bird is a gentle and soft-spoken young man who originally from Virginia. He was working at his uncle’s Topeka bank when he enlisted in the army. When an influenza epidemic hits the Anchises, a military boat heading for France, Bird becomes one of the first fatalities.

Fanning is one of Claude’s overseeing officers who shows him around the Anchises. Though somewhat ignorant and incompetent, he conducts himself with an air of know-it-all authority that Claude resents. Claude later notes that Fanning never would’ve received his commission if his uncle hadn’t been a Congressman.

When the influenza epidemic hits the Anchises, Fanning becomes very sick and cannot keep down any food but eggs and orange juice. Doctor Trueman and Claude are forced to argue with the Chief Steward of the ship, who hoards all the oranges and eggs for himself. 

Doctor Trueman serves as doctor for all passengers onboard the Anchises. When the influenza epidemic breaks out, he enlists Claude as a medical assistant and eventually promotes him. A highly intelligent and stalwart doctor, he defends his patients against others, such as the Chief Steward, who selfishly hoard resources.

A flamboyant and adventurous young man, Victor has served for two years as a fighter pilot in the British air brigade. Though he comes from a small town in Iowa, he has developed a British accent and presents as a worldly European. Claude suspects that Victor is prone to boasting and exaggerating his exploits, including his romance with a woman old enough to be his mother, but Claude nevertheless enjoys his company. He sees Victor as a living embodiment of new possibilities, opportunities the war has provided for previously ordinary American men.

When Claude’s unit moves to the trenches, he meets a group of young British soldiers who report that Victor was shot down in combat. He learns that Victor died a spectacular death taking down three German planes and leaping thousands of feet from his own flaming aircraft. 

When Claude’s company arrives in France, Captain Maxey is appointed as their first officer. Prior to the war, Claude was loosely acquainted with Maxey through the Erlich family in Lincoln. He didn’t like Maxey when he was in school and continues to dislike him in the army.

Maxey originally came from a small town and a poor family in Mississippi. A small, frail man with a stubborn nature, Maxey is determined to “be somebody.” He proves to be an inadequate leader, however, and his men are deemed “soft” when it comes time to prepare for battle. They are ordered to build barracks and extend the sanitation system, and it quickly becomes clear that several of his men are not sure what they’re doing.

Lieutenant Gerhardt is a soldier from New York assigned to Claude’s unit upon arrival in France. Initially, Claude envies Gerhardt because he speaks fluent French and is a gifted violinist. Claude does not understand why someone with a special talent, and presumably a sense of purpose outside they army, would voluntarily enlist. Over time, however, Claude becomes close friends with Gerhardt. He grows to respect Gerhardt’s devotion to hard labor when he could’ve easily accepted a cushy position as an interpreter or entertainer.

At the end of the novel, Claude is placed in charge of the Boar’s Head section of the Moltke trench. During battle, he sends Gerhardt back with a message and immediately becomes consumed with worry that Gerhardt will be killed. Claude himself is ultimately killed in battle, and he dies before learning that Gerhardt was also killed.

David Gerhardt’s character was based on David Hochstein, a violinist who was close friends with Cather’s cousin, Grosvenor “G.P.” Cather. 

The Jouberts are a kind, elderly French couple who regularly serve as hosts for Claude and Gerhardt. They treat both men as family, offering clean beds, warm baths, and pajamas, and preparing their favorite foods. Their own son, a young man the same age as Claude, was killed in a battle with the Germans.