The Moviegoer

by

Walker Percy

Walter Wade Character Analysis

Walter Wade, an attorney and former Tulane football manager, is Kate’s second fiancé (the first being Lyell Lovell). He is originally from West Virginia and attended a New Hampshire prep school and then Tulane along with Binx. Now 33, he is already a senior partner in a law firm. Kate ends up breaking their engagement.
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Walter Wade Character Timeline in The Moviegoer

The timeline below shows where the character Walter Wade appears in The Moviegoer. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1, Section 2
Value Systems Theme Icon
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
...says she is sure that Kate will be fine, but that as Kate’s marriage to Walter gets closer, Kate is “nervous” and fearful of disaster. For the time being, Aunt Emily... (full context)
Chapter 1, Section 3
Value Systems Theme Icon
Modern Life and the Search for Meaning Theme Icon
Uncle Jules is at lunch, along with Kate and her fiancé, Walter, and everyone is smiling. Binx and Uncle Jules get along well because Binx has become... (full context)
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
...overcome her shyness, but Kate had only given Binx that same, brown-eyed look. Binx studies Walter, who is only 33 but is already a senior partner at a new firm. Amid... (full context)
Value Systems Theme Icon
Modern Life and the Search for Meaning Theme Icon
After lunch, Walter tries to talk Binx into rejoining his Carnival krewe, which includes men from New Orleans’... (full context)
Modern Life and the Search for Meaning Theme Icon
...of his time daydreaming on the fraternity house porch. Back in the present, Binx resists Walter’s prodding to rejoin the krewe and go hunting with his group of friends. Making conversation,... (full context)
Modern Life and the Search for Meaning Theme Icon
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
After the Korean War, a group of friends, including Walter and Binx, bought a houseboat. But Binx quickly found all the hunting, fishing, card-playing, and... (full context)
Chapter 1, Section 6
Women, Love, and Sex Theme Icon
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
They chat about Walter. Kate says she isn’t sure if she’s going to marry him—even though he’s already going... (full context)
Women, Love, and Sex Theme Icon
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
...after telling the story, Kate’s mood darkens. Binx asks if Kate is going to marry Walter now. She says she probably won’t. She also declines Binx’s offer to go out tonight. (full context)
Chapter 1, Section 7
Women, Love, and Sex Theme Icon
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
...evening after all. They’re sitting in an oyster bar. Kate tells Binx she can’t marry Walter. She also admits that she wasn’t being truthful earlier; she’s feeling very bad today. When... (full context)
Women, Love, and Sex Theme Icon
Modern Life and the Search for Meaning Theme Icon
...When the krewe captain appears on horseback, Binx asks Kate if she wants to see Walter, and she says no, so they leave. They head to the movies. (full context)
Chapter 2, Section 1
Women, Love, and Sex Theme Icon
Loss, Suffering, and Death Theme Icon
...just when it seems she’s found a way forward. She has broken her engagement with Walter. She tells Binx it would be so much easier if her family just kicked her... (full context)