Walter Vold Character Analysis

Walter Vold is the overseer and supervisor at the jewel bearing plant. He is described as “lurkishly” watching the women work, and he doesn’t allow people to speak while they are working (though they do anyway). When Patrice needs to go to Minneapolis to look for Vera, he tells her she has just three days of leave total; when higher-ups are set to come to the factory to observe, he takes away the workers’ coffee breaks and never reinstates them. Overall, he is an authority figure intent on enforcing rules and maximizing productivity by his standards, with little to no regard for the humanity of the people who work at the plant.