32 pages • 1 hour read
James M. CainThe Postman Always Rings Twice
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1934A 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
Frank Chambers
Frank Chambers, the novel’s narrator, is a 24-year-old drifter who was born in San Francisco. He has spent his entire life wandering from place to place, getting into trouble, and then escaping to a new place, sometimes serving jail time and sometimes getting away without it.
Frank’s ability to dodge serious consequences gives him a misplaced belief in his own abilities. Shortly after his first botched attempt to kill Nick, Frank tells Cora, “Give me half a chance, I got it on the cops, every time […] I know them. I’ve tangled with them, plenty” (23). Frank genuinely believes that because he has always been able to talk his way out of situations, he will continue to be able to do so indefinitely. As the story is told from Frank’s point of view, his reliability as a narrator is questionable.
From the beginning, Frank only ever refers to Nick as “the Greek,” even after learning his name. Reducing Nick to an ethnic descriptor highlights Frank’s racist tendencies. Additionally, Frank’s refusal to use Nick’s name illustrates his unspoken desire to emotionally distance himself from Nick, which makes it easier for him to cope with ultimately murdering Nick.
Cain uses Frank’s relationship with Cora to illustrate his impulsiveness and violence. Frank decides to pursue Cora almost immediately after seeing her for the first time, and he courts her with verbal attacks, which works on her. As he puts it, “I had what I wanted. I had socked one in under her guard, and socked it in deep, so it hurt. From now on, it would be business between her and me. She might not say yes, but she wouldn’t stall me” (6). With a few tender exceptions, almost all of Frank and Cora’s sexual interactions are violent. Their verbal arguments are also vicious.
Cora Papadakis
Cora Papadakis is married to Nick Papadakis, whom she despises because she believes that he wants to keep her in a cage and that she’ll never amount to anything while she’s with him. Cora has an affair with Frank and helps him murder Nick. Cain uses multiple male characters to demonstrate that Cora is attractive enough to get men to do just about anything for her. Upon first seeing her, Frank describes Cora as “Except for the shape, she really wasn’t any raving beauty, but she had a sulky look to her” (4). Later on, Kyle Sackett, a district attorney, tells Frank, “I’ve seen her, Chambers, and I can guess why you did it. She was in my office yesterday, and she had a black eye, and was pretty well banged up, but even with that she looked pretty good” (53).
Craving excitement and fame above all else, Cora develops an attraction to Frank because he seems dangerous and is not “greasy” like Nick. She says to Frank, “You’re not a soft little greasy guy with black kinky hair” (14). Like Frank, Cora has racist tendencies. She is always very careful to point out that she is Caucasian and American so that people will not think that she is Greek like her husband.
Many of Frank and Cora’s most intense sexual encounters immediately follow a fight or a violent situation, like committing murder. Though she claims that she loves Frank, Cora still primarily wants to “be somebody.” She refuses to run away with Frank after Nick’s murder because she enjoys the attention and money that the murder brings her. Cora tells Frank, “You’ve been trying to make a bum out of me ever since you’ve known me, but you’re not going to do it. I told you, I’m not a bum. I want to be something” (82). Most of the contention between Frank and Cora stems from their clashing, innermost desires: She wants to be known so that she can become famous, while he wants to be anonymous so that he can run away from his problems.
Nick “the Greek” Papadakis
Nick Papadakis owns a diner called the Twin Oaks Tavern where he serves food and services cars. He is extremely trusting, never once suspecting that Cora dislikes him, that anything is going on between Cora and Frank, or that Frank lies to him on multiple occasions. Nick’s naively trusting nature ultimately leads to his death.
Katz
Katz is Frank and Cora’s lawyer. He is “a little guy, about forty years old, with a leathery face and a black moustache” (59). Katz is Kyle Sackett’s polar opposite. Sackett communicates in a hard, brutal, open way, while Katz’s speech is wily. He loves “playing the system” and getting an upper hand on Sackett. When describing his relationship with Sackett, Katz claims, “We’re the friendliest enemies that ever were. He’d sell his soul to the devil to put something over on me, and I’d so the same for him. We even put a bet on it” (69). Frank is horrified to learn that Katz and Sackett bet on the outcome of his and Cora’s trial. Katz is so happy to take Sackett down through Frank and Cora’s trial that he forfeits all payment for his work on their case except for the $100 he wins from his bet with Sackett.
Kyle Sackett
Kyle Sackett is a district attorney and Katz’s foil. In the text, he is described as “a big guy with a bald head and a breezy manner” (49). Sackett is much smarter and more dangerous than Frank anticipates. Pat Kennedy, the cop who introduces Frank to Katz, says that Sackett “looks like a preacher, all full of love for the human race, but he’s got a heart like a stone” (59). Sackett seems to only care about convicting criminals, and he enjoys thinking that a suspect he believes is guilty will hang.
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