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Henry presents himself as extremely self-assured, erudite, and quirky in a way that is endearing to Richard and Julian’s other students but seems suspicious to outsiders. Henry does not seem to live in the modern era, writing his diary in Latin and expressing disbelief when presented with the fact that astronauts have been to the moon. He seems to see himself instead as part of a Greek drama, which is why he is so intent on having a bacchanal. Henry admits to Richard that, before the bacchanal, he felt he lived only in a world of books, as he was so stuck inside his own head. However, Henry’s actions after the bacchanal suggest he was only acting out what he knew based on the ancient books and myths he had read. Richard suspects this motive was why Henry ended up killing himself— he was trying to embody the duty and sacrifice so revered by the Greeks.

Henry appears to be a true friend to Richard at times, such as when he brings Richard to the hospital over winter break and then insists Richard stay with him instead of returning to the warehouse. However, Henry seems to have an ulterior motive in nearly all his actions. He wants to manipulate Richard. Henry’s kindness in having Richard stay with him was part of a longer plan to get Richard to discover the plane tickets to Argentina so that Richard would think he found out about the dead farmer himself. Henry even admits he has no empathy, so it makes sense that he would never be driven to act by a simple sense of kindness. Because of this lack of empathy, Henry felt no guilt over killing the farmer or Bunny. He even seemed to be trying to kill Charles while placing the blame for Bunny’s death on Richard. Henry’s lack of care for others was evident in matters besides life and death, as he began a romantic relationship with Camilla despite knowing Richard’s feelings for her. However, Henry’s actions at Bunny’s funeral suggest that he does feel guilt for his friend’s death somewhere buried deep inside him.

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