Stephen’s Father / Mr. Wheatley Character Analysis

Stephen’s father, a German immigrant to Britain, is the actual German spy in the novel (but working for the British side), though Stephen and Keith do not know this. Stephen describes his father as a dull man who works in an office and hardly talks. He is said to be found sitting at the dining room for hours with piles of papers and files, meeting with mysterious strangers, or dozing off silently in the living room armchair. He uses peculiar words like “coodle-moodle” and “schnick-schnack” that embarrass Stephen, but his odd vocabulary reflects his German origins. Although Stephen believes his father to be uninteresting, his involvement in Stephen’s life—his concern for Stephen when he is upset or when he comes home with a wound, for example—demonstrates that Mr. Wheatley is an especially caring father, particularly in comparison to Mr. Hayward.