The Family Game

Edward Holbeck is Harriet’s fiancée. He comes from a wealthy family whose power has been established in American since the 19th century. Edward is introduced as a man who wishes to live nobly and independent of his family’s influence and power. He owns his own company, stays away from his family, and focuses on Harriet. Edward is supportive of Harriet throughout the novel. He tries to keep her protected from the family he says is weird and potentially nefarious. But Edward’s kindness and goodness are revealed to be a mask he puts on to resemble his dead older brother Bobby. Edward is actually a serial killer who murders women. Edward is the real danger within the Holbeck family, and his betrayal and the revelation of his true persona is a shocking plot twist.

Robert Holbeck is Edward’s father. He is first introduced as the primary antagonistic villain of the novel. Robert is characterized through his aura of mystery and charm, as well as his reputation as a callous businessman. Robert is the titanic leader of the Holbeck family. He works hard to keep his business running and uses his vast network of influence to ensure that his family’s reputation stays intact in the public sphere. He helps cover up murders and other crimes. Despite his reputation for being ruthless, Harriet finds Robert irresistibly attractive and charming. Part of Robert’s aura of mystery is this charm. Robert is a central part of the mystery of the novel, as his tape-recording confessing to multiple murders is a cover-up for his son so that Harriet can get involved in the family drama, save herself, save the Holbecks, and bring the Holbecks into a brighter future. Robert is ultimately revealed to be not the villain but another unlikely hero alongside Harriet.

Edward’s brothers, Stuart and Oliver, are in a complex dynamic with Edward. Edward is the oldest male, therefore, by the rules of primogeniture, he stands to inherit Robert’s fortune and legacy. But with young siblings like Stuart and Oliver, Edward must share power and money. Therefore, Stuart and Oliver, as well as their descendants, are all in competition with Edward. The Holbeck brothers are pitted against one another in a ruthless and lifelong competition for domination within the family. When Edward steps away from his responsibilities in the family company, his brothers take over. This adds pressure and stress to their lives as they work hard to keep up with the demands of the business while Edward is free to create his own life, even though Edward can return to the family at any time to claim his rightful place. Thus, Edward’s relationships with his brothers are complicated and not without resentment. This resentment is important because it comes mostly from Edward, not Stuart and Oliver, who are both dutiful and responsible. Edward attempts to kill both brothers to get them out of his way, but Stuart survives. Edward’s relationships with his brothers are further complicated by the memory of Edward’s dead brother, Bobby. Edward helped to kill Bobby because he wanted Bobby out of his way. Bobby was the rightful heir to the Holbeck family company, but he had new ideas that added stress to the family. Edward kills Bobby in an attempt to get rid of his role model of an older brother and take over. After Bobby’s death, Edward adopts many of Bobby’s qualities and interests, creating a mask out of Bobby’s amiable and likable personality. Because Edward doesn’t have a personality of his own, he needs Bobby out of his way in order to take over his mannerisms and way of being.

Edward’s sister Matilda; his sisters-in-law, Fiona and Lila; and his mother, Eleanor all help to uphold the classic and old-fashioned family legacy that defines the Holbeck identity. All the women are beautiful and delicate but tough on the inside. They are expected to be able to be as tough as the men with the exterior of a beautiful and fragile female. Fiona and Lila have, like Harriet, all competed in the violent, frightening, and difficult Holbeck family games to prove themselves worthy of being a part of the family. Thus, the Holbeck women—especially the ones who marry into the family—are bonded through their shared experiences of hazing to be accepted. Eleanor and Matilda are more secure in their connection to the Holbeck family wealth and are therefore less involved in Harriet's developing understanding of the Holbeck mentality. Matilda and Eleanor have an elegant demeanor, which highlights their commitment to the Holbeck legacy. But Matilda is sidelined in favor of her brothers. While the brothers work to extend the Holbeck legacy, Matilda is relegated to the margins of the family’s work. However, Matilda also suffers because of the Holbeck’s obsessive control, which Edward has internalized. Edward murders Matilda’s girlfriend to get her out of the way—therefore, anybody that Matilda gets close to poses a threat to Edward, and Matilda unknowingly sacrifices her personal life to Edward’s vendetta. Lila, one of Edward’s sisters-in-law, has her own career as an actress and a past personal life with an ex-husband and a child from that marriage, Milo. Therefore, Lila has a life outside of Holbeck control. Fiona doesn’t—she is committed to the Holbeck legacy because she has no other projection for her personal or professional life. Fiona threatens Harriet by trying to coerce her into an abortion. This horrific proposal highlights Fiona’s desperation to climb the Holbeck legacy ladder and solidify her standing in the family. Thus, even though the women are not directly involved in the Holbeck evils, they are victimized by the internalization of ideas of power.