Under the Whispering Door

Hugo Freeman is the Ferryman assigned to help Wallace cross over after his death and Wallace’s love interest. Initially, Hugo is a foil to Wallace. Where Wallace is demanding and only cares about himself, Hugo is patient and “empathetic almost to a fault” (124). Their differences are also mirrored in their physical appearances: Hugo is described as “charming,” “gentle” (91), and “delicate” (92) whereas Wallace is “gaunt” and “sharp” (30), and Hugo’s deep brown skin, quiet smile, and casual dress contrast Wallace’s off-putting, “strangely pale” (30), buttoned-up appearance. While Wallace strikes fear into those he approaches, Hugo puts people at ease. At first, the two are complete opposites; however, over time, Hugo’s influence leads Wallace to become warm, empathetic, and brave.

Hugo became a Ferryman after the death of his parents when he saw a Reaper take them from him. As a Ferryman, he takes care to meet the specific needs of each of his visitors, listening to them and picking out the tea that will suit them best. Nelson, Hugo’s grandfather, says that Hugo’s excess of empathy “causes him to take the weight of the world on his shoulders” (124), and that Hugo does not have a living person to take care of him the way he cares for others.

Hugo has had anxiety and depression since he was young. Though his job has made him well-acquainted with death, Hugo is still affected by it. He feels tremendous guilt when he is not able to help someone properly, even when he is not to blame. At one point, Hugo has a panic attack, caused primarily by his fears about not being a good enough Ferryman for the struggling visitor Alan.

While Hugo teaches Wallace to be a kinder, more selfless person, he also learns from Wallace. Wallace is the only one to worry about whether or not Hugo knew what he was doing when he agreed to be a Ferryman, insisting that the Manager “preyed upon him when he was at his weakest, knowing full well he wasn’t in his right mind” (448). Wallace stands up for Hugo, and in doing so, he teaches Hugo to stand up for himself. By the end of the novel, Hugo refuses to give the Manager, someone he is terrified of, the tea he gives to all of his guests; this indicates that Hugo has grown defiant in his own way, especially when it comes to the man he loves. With Wallace’s help, Hugo begins to see how much of himself he has given away to his job and learns to be kinder toward himself and forgive his past mistakes.

Mei, Nelson, and Apollo are major secondary characters and the other residents of the tea shop. Along with Hugo, they help Wallace change and grow and assimilate him into their found family.

Meiying is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who were highly influenced by American ideals. They forced her out of the house when she was 17 because she claimed she could see ghosts. She had been training as a Reaper before taking Wallace on as her first solo case, but she accidentally arrives late and doesn’t find him until he is at his own funeral. Mei’s primary trait is her immense kindness, which she even shows to those who have done her wrong or tried to discredit her, something she is particularly sensitive about. Though Wallace initially dislikes her bold, carefree demeanor, he comes to appreciate her strength and defends her and listens to her when even Hugo does not.

Nelson Freeman died within the first few years of his grandson becoming a Ferryman. He refuses to cross over until the end of the novel, when he is satisfied that Hugo has someone to take care of him the way he takes care of others. Though he has his fears about the door and regrets about his life, Nelson is often the first one to laugh at the tea shop and does not take things as seriously as many of the others, having learned to enjoy the smaller moments in life. As the character with the most experience of both life and death, Nelson acts as a mentor, particularly to Wallace. He helps Wallace adjust to being a ghost and relays wisdom and truths to all of the others on different occasions. He and Apollo—the dog Hugo rescued and unsuccessfully attempted to train to be a therapy dog—are extremely loyal to Hugo, and they make it clear that Hugo is their top priority. Apollo goes through the door with Nelson at the end of the book, indicating that he understands Hugo no longer needs his support.

Each of these characters teaches Wallace something that helps him become a better person. Mei teaches Wallace kindness, which he reciprocates by supporting and defending her. Mei also helps Wallace recognize how self-centered he was in life, repeatedly telling or showing him that he is less important than he once believed, but that he can be cared for even without wealth and power.

The wisdom Nelson gives Wallace helps Wallace understand that the people who surround him are the most important things. By teaching Wallace to let go of his expectations and embrace The Transitory Nature of Life, Nelson shows Wallace how to change his perspective and let go of his fear and anger. Even Apollo gives Wallace a perfect example of constancy and commitment, something Wallace did not show during his life. Apollo was with Hugo when he was at his lowest and helped him begin to cope with his depression, a duty he still undertakes after his death. Apollo also shows Wallace innocent, unconditional affection, something Wallace never had in life. As a group Mei, Nelson, and Apollo show Wallace just how crucial it is to support one another, emphasizing Found Family and the Importance of Connection.

The first time Cameron appears in Under the Whispering Door, he is a Husk—a shell of a person who has apparently lost his humanity. Wallace learns about Cameron from Hugo’s experience with him and from the memories Cameron forces Wallace to see through physical touch. Cameron’s memories show a lonely childhood; it is implied that his parents were disappointed with him because of his sexuality. Cameron was at his happiest with Zach, a man he loved and lived with for three years before Zach’s sudden death, which Cameron witnessed. Cameron became despondent after Zach’s death and eventually died by suicide. Hugo tried to help Cameron transition, but Cameron, still weighed down by his pain even after his death, fled from the tea house. Hugo, on his former Reaper’s advice, did not go after him until it was too late. Once Cameron’s connection to Hugo was severed and he turned into a Husk, the Manager told Hugo that Cameron was lost. Wallace, however, sees that Cameron is asking for help. He draws Cameron’s consciousness back and helps him cross through the whispering door.

Cameron represents to Hugo his failures as a Ferryman. He lingers near the tea house, a symbol of the fate that awaits any ghosts who let fear overtake them. Cameron is also the catalyst for Hugo’s mistrust of the Manager. Hugo believed that the Manager was akin to a god, and automatically trusted his assertion that Cameron could not be saved. Cameron’s resurrection proves that Husks can be saved, which becomes a core goal of the group in the Epilogue.

Cameron teaches Wallace the importance of sacrifice and empathy. Though Wallace begins to do good and help others in smaller ways, Wallace’s development culminates in the way he helps Cameron. Wallace sacrifices his own connection to Hugo so that Cameron can come back to himself and cross over, showing that Wallace finally understands The Importance of Connection.

Cameron is also representative of a person’s ability to change and why people should not be judged based on one choice. The Manager tells Hugo to abandon Cameron because he chose to become a Husk even after he chose to die by suicide, suggesting that his life was not worth saving because he intentionally gave it up. Wallace however, states, “Some people lose their way, but that’s not their fault. […] Everyone loses their way at some point, and it’s not just because of their mistakes or the decisions they make. It’s because they’re horribly, wonderfully human” (574). Wallace validates Cameron’s choices as being proof of his humanity and insists that Cameron is still worth saving despite them. Overall, Cameron represents all that is human, both the tendency to make mistakes but also the capacity for change.

The Manager is the closest thing to a god figure in the novel. Before Wallace meets him, he is warned about the Manager’s power and omnipotence, and this shows when the Manager appears as a large stag. Wallace is surprised when the Manager shifts forms and presents himself as a little boy who wears ironic t-shirts. The Manager does not act like the God that Wallace expected to meet at the beginning of the novel, who he described as “a man in white robes and a long flowing beard, surrounded by blazing light, a wooden staff” (81). However, just as Cameron represents all that is human, the Manager stands in for all that is unknown and omnipotent about the universe. Though not a traditional deity, the Manager is the one who ensures there is order within life and death, and he is more concerned about that order than he is for the free will of humans despite his claims otherwise. Much like Wallace did during his life, the Manager views humans merely as cogs in a machine that should be eliminated if they do not function properly.

However, it is made clear in the final chapter of the novel that the Manager, like every other character, does not know everything about the world. He presents himself like a human, but he cannot properly emulate them because he is not one of them. Wallace accuses the Manager of merely pretending to know what is on the other side of the door. The Manager insists he does not make deals, but he considers their arguments and changes his mind, suggesting that his “order” is not as inflexible as it would seem.

The Manager is ever-present. He first appears as a stag when Wallace runs from the tea house, then again, without the other characters’ notice, in the final scene of the novel. Yet while he appears to observe everything and has the power to bestow life and death on humans, the Manager does not have supreme power. Though the whispers through the door in the tea shop are never said to be coherent words, the Manager communicates with them as if they have more jurisdiction than him. This hints at some kind of hierarchy or otherwise unspecified structure even among supernatural beings like the Manager; indeed, even the Manager’s title is a playful reference to a typical human office.

It is never revealed exactly what the Manager is, what his true form is, or his level of power. Klune uses the Manager to highlight everything that humans can’t know about the universe and what awaits us after death, emphasizing the importance of living a good life instead of focusing on what can’t be known or controlled.