That Hideous Strength

Jane is the wife of Mark Studdock. Jane feels stifled in marriage. She also doesn’t want children and it’s indicated that she doesn’t want to give herself to Mark in that way. Jane has dreams that she can’t explain, until it’s revealed that she is a seer. Jane is instrumental in helping the people at St. Anne’s, who are protecting humankind from annihilation. Her visions allow them to prevail. Jane doesn’t believe in God or obedience, but her interaction with Ransom (the Director) at St. Anne’s gives her a purpose and direction to her life. She determines to make her marriage work and it’s suggested that she may become a Christian.

Mrs. Dimble, also known as Mother Dimble, is the wife of Dr. Dimble and a friend of Jane’s. Mrs. Dimble is one of the first people Jane meets from the group at St. Anne’s. Mrs. Dimble’s life is changed when the property she lives on is taken by the N.I.C.E. She and Dr. Dimble move to the manor at St. Anne’s where they actively assist with the Director’s fight against the bad eldils.

Mr. Dimble, or Dr. Dimble, is a professor at Northumberland, Jane’s old college. He’s a history professor and is instrumental in researching Logres and Britain. He also aids the Director in understanding that Merlin is buried under Bragdon Wood. Mr. Dimble doesn’t trust Mark, yet he wants to help Mark as best he can. He offers Mark a way out of the N.I.C.E. but Mark doesn’t take it.

Camilla and Arthur Denniston are a young couple that belong to the group at St. Anne’s. Jane adores the couple, and they help Jane to go to St. Anne’s and meet with the Director. The couple works as a sort of foil to Mark and Jane, showing Jane what true love and a happy marriage can look like.

Miss Ironwood is a doctor and psychologist. She interviews Jane at St. Anne’s and realizes that Jane is in fact a seer. Grace is very orderly and proper and is the most logical person in the St. Anne’s group. She also attends to the Director, as he is in constant pain.

MacPhee is a member of the St. Anne’s group. He cynical and questions everything, including Jane’s visions and the purpose and office of the Director. His role is to keep the group on their toes, though he angers almost every member except the Director. He is an Ulsterman, and he represents the logical side that doesn’t give in to superstition or speculation. He’s interested in facts.

The Director at St. Anne’s is also known as Dr. Ransom and Mr. Fisher-King. He was kidnapped in the previous books of the trilogy by Weston and Lord Feverstone and brought to Venus. He escaped, though he obtained a foot injury. He is in communication with celestial eldils and is a bridge between them and the earth. He is shown as a Christ-like figure, with powers over animals and humans alike. He is also known as the Pendragon of Logres, which is the protector of Logres (both King Arthur and Uther were Pendragons before him). He is tasked with stopping the N.I.C.E., who are being controlled by bad, earthly eldils, from destroying humanity. When his task is done, he will return to Venus.

The D.D., also known as Wither, is in charge of things at Belbury, which is the headquarters of the N.I.C.E. Wither has long since separated his spirit from his body so that he can allow his body to function in meetings and such while his “real” self is allowed to wander. He is often seen haunting the halls of Belbury while humming. No one talks when he’s around, and his character is described as aloof. He speaks in long sentences and is always vague. Wither knows the true purpose of the earthly eldils and is carrying out their plan. He is killed by Mr. Bultitude at the end of the novel.

Dr. Frost is another member of the N.I.C.E. Along with Wither, he is the only main initiate who knows what is truly happening. Frost has long since abandoned all feeling and emotion and operates on objectivity. He wants to make the human race operate in this way as well. Frost and Wither have a sort of competition going because each knows that they can be killed at any moment by the eldils. Frost tries to rehabilitate Mark and make him one of the initiated. Frost is later killed when he sets the Objective Room on fire with himself inside.

Miss Hardcastle, also known as the Fairy, is in charge of the Institutional Police. She is a large, uncomely woman who dresses provocatively under her clothing and always chews on a cheroot. When she is up to no good, she lights the cigarette. She enjoys torturing and toying with female prisoners, and she takes an interest in Jane when she arrests her. The Fairy is instrumental in getting Mark to stay at Belbury; one way she does this is by murdering Hingest and blaming the murder on Mark. She is a sadist. She shoots Jules at the end of the novel and is then mauled to death by a tiger.

Lord Feverstone (Dick Devine) appears in the other books as well. He is an opportunist who knows about the N.I.C.E. and its plans and also knows about the eldils yet is willing to give up all of this if a better opportunity comes along. He is the person who persuades Mark to go to Belbury. He then plays both sides by telling Bracton that Mark won’t return when Mark has said nothing of the sort. Feverstone orchestrates the plans of the N.I.C.E. and is given emergency powers over Edgestow when things get really bad. He escapes the destruction at Belbury only to die in Edgestow when he’s crushed to death.

Alcasan, or the head of Alcasan, is the conduit by which the bad eldils carry out their orders with the N.I.C.E. Known as the Head once Alcasan is decapitated, the head is kept “alive” by Filostrato and the N.I.C.E. scientists. These scientists don’t realize, however, that the Head can operate on its own due to the eldils’ influence. The Head is the true power at the N.I.C.E. and it is destroyed by Mr. Bultitude.

Merlin is prophesied to be entombed under Bragdon Wood. He awakes, with both sides of the battle wanting his aid. Merlin goes to the Director and, after asking Ransom three questions, realizes that Ransom is the Pendragon. He aligns with St. Anne’s. Merlin finds the twentieth century strange. He is not allowed to use the “magic” that he’s used to using but is filled with powers from celestial eldils to help bring down the N.I.C.E. Merlin unleashes the curse of Babel at Belbury during a banquet. He then frees the animals, most of which kill the guests.