Maurice Todd Character Analysis

Ursula’s older brother and Sylvie and Hugh’s son. Maurice is the eldest of the five Todd children, and he is not very close with any of them. As a boy, he is a troublemaker and constantly gets into fights with Pamela because he believes that girls are both weaker and less intelligent than boys. He also does things like throw Ursula’s toy out of the window, which ultimately leads to her trying to climb out onto the roof, resulting in her falling and dying from the roof. Maurice isn’t much better when he is older: he works at the Home Office as Ursula does, but in a much higher-up position. He rarely sees his family except for events like Hugh’s birthday and funeral. When Teddy dies, Maurice is the one to tell Ursula, but he is completely unsympathetic to her grief. He becomes an example of how Ursula’s family members, when they do not love and support her, cause her depression and sometimes even her death.