Lincoln and asks if he really can't take his daughter back with him. Lincoln informs him that he cannot because Marion is far too upset at what happened and that he is going to have to wait another six months to try to get his daughter back. Charlie, upset at Lincoln's response, goes back to the bar and sits. He feels trapped and broods over how much time will have to pass until Marion stops making him pay for his former lifestyle and mistakes. He keeps thinking and is certain Helen would want him to be with his daughter and not alone. List of characters Charles J. Wales - American businessman living in Prague, widower, who occasionally goes to Paris to see his daughter Honoria Helen Wales - Charles's late wife Honoria Wales - 9-year-old daughter of Charles and Helen Marion Peters - Charles's sister-in-law (Helen's sister) Lincoln Peters - Marion's husband Duncan Scheaffer - Old friend of Charles Lorraine Quarrels - Old friend of Charles Alix - Barman at the Ritz, Paris Elsie and Richard Peters - Honoria's cousins, children of Marion and Lincoln Simone - Honoria's doll Mr Campbell, George Hardt, Snow Bird, Claude Fessenden - Old friends of Charles, merely quoted in the story Paul - Head barman at the Ritz, also merely quoted in the story Major themes Time A major theme of the story is of time and the inevitability of past mistakes resurfacing. Due to Charlie's incapability to cope after the stock market crash, he tries to make up for all of the years that he missed out on during Honoria's childhood by proving his sobriety to his sister-in-law Marion. Charlie recognizes the mistakes he made in the past that caused him to lose his daughter in the first place, and his constant longing for a future with her results in his past coming back to haunt him. Dislocation and alienation During the modernist literary movement during which this story was written, a common theme was that of dislocation and alienation. After losing his wife, and then eventually his daughter, Charlie feels an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Following the Great Depression and the stock market crash, he is confronted with the consequences of his foolish and incautious past, causing him to find the motivation to win custody of his daughter to ease the pain of his miserable solitude. Absurdity and guilt Especially present in