Triangle

Olivier Saint Albin, the primary male love interest in Triangle, is a complex and layered character whose upper-class background and personal history shape his approach to love, marriage, and relationships. At 47 years old, Olivier is charming, cultured, and distinguished, with brown hair, brown eyes, and chiseled features.

Olivier’s privileged upbringing is central to understanding his character. Raised in an environment where marriages often served as alliances of status rather than love unions, Olivier’s formative years in boarding schools reinforced a sense of emotional detachment and duty over personal fulfillment. This mindset influences his marriage to Stephanie, which begins when he is 21 and she is 20. Despite their youth and initial optimism, the marriage quickly proves to be a mistake. Instead of addressing their issues, they retreat into parallel lives. Olivier assumes parental roles for their two sons, Guillaume and Edouard, while Stephanie focuses on her career and frequent travels. Their emotional and physical disconnect grows; the couple ceases intimacy after the birth of their second child and remains in a loveless marriage for over two decades, committed to upholding a business-as-usual approach to Appearances, Perceptions, and Reality.

Olivier’s extramarital affairs, which begin shortly after Edouard’s birth, highlight his struggle to reconcile his sense of duty with his desire for genuine connection. While he rationalizes his infidelity as a response to the emotional void in his marriage, it also reveals a moral complexity. Olivier is not entirely at peace with his actions. However, he chooses to stay in his marriage for practical reasons, such as providing stability for his children and avoiding the financial complications of divorce. This pragmatic approach underscores his reluctance to fully confront his dissatisfaction, making him a character caught between familial obligation and personal fulfillment.

Despite his flaws, Olivier demonstrates a strong sense of responsibility and decency. His reaction to Stephanie’s accident is particularly telling. Without hesitation, he travels to England to care for her, arranging for nurses and welcoming her friends into their home during her recovery. This act reflects his commitment to Stephanie as a person, even if their marriage lacks a romantic or emotional connection. His behavior during this time illustrates his capacity for compassion and adherence to his marital duties, even when they come at a personal cost.

Olivier’s relationship with Amanda further complicates his character. With Amanda, Olivier experiences a rare and genuine emotional connection, rekindling a sense of passion and intimacy absent from his marriage. However, his inability—or unwillingness—to fully extricate himself from his marital ties creates tension and ultimately undermines their relationship. While Olivier genuinely loves Amanda, his pragmatic nature and ingrained sense of duty prevent him from offering her the certainty and security she craves. This conflict reveals the limits of Olivier’s moral code; while he strives to be honorable, his actions often fall short of the emotional clarity required to maintain a healthy relationship with Amanda. By the novel’s end and following his divorce from Stephanie, Olivier commits to Amanda fully, marrying her and expecting a child together. This demonstrates his change and completes his character arc.

Pascal Leblanc is both a foil and a surrogate family figure for Amanda. At 44 years old, Pascal is Amanda’s business partner and confidant, treating her with the affectionate protectiveness of a brother. His youthful appearance, with blond hair and blue eyes, belies his sharp business acumen and the emotional depth he offers in their partnership. Pascal’s role extends beyond professional collaboration; he anchors Amanda during times of emotional distress, offering her logical advice, loyalty, and compassion.

While Amanda approaches relationships with caution, shaped by her past traumas, Pascal is her opposite. He lives recklessly, falling in and out of love with speed. Pascal engages in whirlwind romances that burn brightly but quickly fizzle out, never settling down or reflecting deeply on why his relationships fail. His impulsive approach to love contrasts sharply with Amanda’s guarded and methodical nature. This juxtaposition highlights how they balance each other as friends and colleagues. Pascal often critiques Amanda’s reluctance to take risks in love, but he remains blind to the destructive patterns in his romantic life. Similarly, Amanda sees Pascal’s instability but struggles to recognize the value of his emotional openness and Embracing Vulnerability in Interpersonal and Romantic Relationships.

Pascal’s role as Amanda’s surrogate family is especially significant given her feelings of isolation. Having lost her parents at a young age, Amanda finds in Pascal the emotional support she lacks elsewhere. He is steadfast in his loyalty, standing by her during her tumultuous relationship with Olivier and offering advice when she needs it most. While sometimes delivered with bluntness, Pascal’s insights reflect his genuine concern for Amanda’s well-being, making him an indispensable figure in her life.

While Pascal is initially unable to form lasting romantic relationships, he enters a long-term, committed relationship with Delphine by the novel’s end. This demonstrates his growth and newfound ability to embrace stability in his romantic life.

Stephanie undergoes a significant transformation in Triangle, evolving from an apparent antagonist to a nuanced character who embodies the themes of Embracing Vulnerability in Interpersonal and Romantic Relationships and Appearances, Perceptions, and Reality. As Olivier’s wife, Stephanie initially functions as a barrier to Amanda and Olivier’s romantic relationship. However, as the narrative progresses, her character deepens, challenging initial perceptions and reshaping the story’s dynamics.

Hailing from a conservative, upper-class family, Stephanie is shaped by societal expectations prioritizing familial duty over authenticity. She dismisses her early romantic feelings for women as youthful experimentation, which emphasizes the societal pressure to conform she internalizes. Marrying Olivier—a childhood friend—seemed like a practical decision at the time, yet the inherent incompatibility of their relationship quickly became apparent. Their union, while outwardly stable, lacks intimacy and passion. Stephanie’s emotional detachment and absence from family life reflect her internal struggle to reconcile her true self with societal norms and her commitment as a wife to Olivier.

Stephanie is secretly in a long-term relationship with Lizzie, which spans over two decades. Through their shared love of horses, Stephanie found a partner who brought her joy and fulfillment, yet she remained closeted, trapped in the facade of her marriage to Olivier. This dual life leaves Stephanie unfulfilled, a reality that Amanda senses upon meeting her. Amanda observes her as a “sad woman” disappointed by life. However, at the time, she is unsure of the root cause. 

Her accident becomes a turning point, forcing Stephanie to reevaluate her life. Confronted with her mortality, she chooses honesty over obligation, confessing her love for Lizzie and her true sexuality to Olivier. This moment marks Stephanie’s liberation from decades of self-denial. By ending her marriage, she frees herself and Olivier, allowing them both to seek happiness and authenticity in their respective romantic lives.

Stephanie’s growth is evident in her newfound ease and happiness after telling Olivier and her children the truth. Olivier notes that she is “happier now, at ease in her own skin, and better able to love them as a result” (235). This transformation illustrates her role as more than a plot device; she becomes a character who demonstrates the courage it takes to live authentically, even when it defies societal expectations. Stephanie’s character arc challenges traditional notions of marriage, family, and identity, enriching the novel’s thematic explorations.

Tom Quinlan is the primary antagonist in Triangle and embodies the disconnect between Appearances, Perceptions, and Reality. His character illustrates how outward charm and respectability can mask deeper, more violent flaws. Tom is Amanda’s ex-boyfriend from her college years at NYU, where a mix of affection and toxicity marked their relationship. Amanda recalls, “[H]e was loving and kind and gentle most of the time, but he was also possessive and had a jealous streak” (49). These early warning signs foreshadow his later transformation into a dangerous stalker who attempts to rape and kill Amanda.

Physically, Tom is “tall, broad-shouldered, and athletic, with dark brown hair. He was as wholesome and clean-cut as ever, like a poster for the Marines” (53). His appearance projects reliability and stability, making it easy for others to trust him. His education and profession further bolster this image. However, beneath this polished facade lies a dangerous individual whose actions reveal a pattern of obsession, violence, and instability.

Tom’s character arc highlights the danger of judging people solely by surface attributes. Though he claims to be in Paris on sabbatical to write a novel, his motivations are far less idyllic. Disbarred after a felony conviction for attacking his wife, Tom was sentenced to a psychiatric institution. Upon release, Tom relocates to Paris, where he begins obsessively stalking Amanda. His decision to target her reflects his fixation on reclaiming control over his past rather than genuine romantic intent.

Initially, Tom appears harmless, if overly eager, to rekindle their old romance despite Amanda’s explicit rejections. His persistence seems merely annoying at first, but his behavior escalates rapidly. After Amanda breaks up with Olivier, Tom uses her vulnerability to attempt a closer connection, but his true nature becomes evident when he physically attacks her. This assault shatters any lingering pretense of harmlessness. Later, Tom’s obsession culminates in an attempt to kill Amanda, fully exposing the violent instability lurking beneath his charming exterior.

Tom underscores the disparity between outward perceptions and reality. By presenting himself as a successful, upstanding individual, Tom manipulates those around him, including Amanda, into underestimating the threat he poses. His descent into violence ultimately reveals the fragility of such facades and the destructive consequences he poses to others.