Giovanni’s Room Characters

David, Giovanni’s Rooman American living in France. David is in his mid-to late twenties, and he is a selfish and self-deceiving man. The story is told through his recollections on the eve of the morning that Giovanni is to be executed for murder. As a boy, David had a mutually fulfilling sexual encounter with another boy, Joey, but felt ashamed and left early the next morning. He ignored Joey the rest of the summer. As a penniless young man living in Paris, he becomes involved with a woman, Hella Lincoln. He also becomes involved in another homosexual relationship, this time with Giovanni, an Italian bartender. David ends this relationship as cruelly as he did his first homosexual encounter, and he becomes engaged to Hella in an effort to deny his true sexuality. All of David’s actions ultimately become ruled by his homosexual desire or his desire to escape his homosexuality.

Giovanni, an Italian living in Paris. A passionate, good-looking homosexual whom David meets, Giovanni is attractive to–but is not attracted by–the men at the bar where he works. He is, however, attracted to David, whom he comes to love deeply. When David moves out on him, he searches frantically for him and is devastated to find that David has moved in with Hella and that he is denying that their relationship ever happened. Unemployed and broke, he becomes Jacques’s companion but leaves when Jacques stops giving him money. When he goes back to Guillaume’s bar to apply for his old job, Guillaume once again makes a pass at him, to which he submits. When Guillaume tells him afterward that he still cannot have his job back, Giovanni beats him in a fit of rage and kills him. Giovanni is arrested a week later. He pleads guilty to murder and is sentenced to death.

Hella Lincoln, an American woman living in Paris who becomes David’s girlfriend. She is attractive but deeply concerned with trying to find her identity as a woman. She decides that the thing she most wants is to start a family. Although David and Hella’s relationship is fairly casual, Hella accepts David’s marriage proposal. Later, Hella feels used and enraged when David leaves her and she discovers him with another man. She leaves for the United States a few days later.

Jacques, a wealthy American living in Paris. A middle-aged homosexual, Jacques is accustomed to buying sexual favors from young boys. He takes David out to the bar, where they meet Giovanni. While David is living with Giovanni, Jacques lends David money. After David leaves, Giovanni becomes Jacques’s companion and financially dependent on him, until Jacques stops giving him money.

David’s father, a resident of Brooklyn, New York. After his first wife’s death, he reared David with the help of his sister, Ellen, though he did not get on well with her. He refuses to send David money until David promises to come home.

Guillaume, the owner of the bar at which Giovanni worked. Ugly and accustomed to having sex with young boys, Guillaume’s sexual harassment of Giovanni causes Giovanni to quit. He finally seduces Giovanni by hinting that he might get his job back but finally refuses to rehire him, causing Giovanni to kill him in a fit of violent rage.

Sue, a large, wealthy young American woman living in Paris. David, while trying to erase his memory of Giovanni, seduces her. She is largely aware of how he is using her.

Joey, a boy on Coney Island with whom David had a deeply and mutually fulfilling sexual encounter but ignored afterward.