Alice Brannon Character Analysis in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Biff Brannon’s wife. Alice is a bit of a nag, constantly trying to reel in her husband’s affinity for “freaks” and lost causes. Alice works the day shift at the New York Café, but when she dies suddenly after having an enormous tumor removed from her abdomen, Biff is left to run the café alone. He misses Alice terribly and takes to wearing her perfume and using her shampoo. Though Alice and Biff’s relationship is revealed, in flashbacks, to have been tumultuous and sometimes unhappy, Biff’s longing for the early days of their marriage shows that Alice truly was a loving wife.

Alice Brannon Character Timeline in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

The timeline below shows where the character Alice Brannon appears in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Communication and Self-Expression Theme Icon

...becomes increasingly drunk and loud. Biff goes upstairs to the room he and his wife Alice share above the café to retrieve a suitcase belonging to the drunk, whose name is... (full context)

Alice calls Blount “a bum and a freak,” but Biff retorts that he likes freaks. Privately,... (full context)

...they all seem to be alone and estranged from one another. Biff heads upstairs to Alice, who is just waking up, and announces that Blount is gone from the property. He... (full context)

Biff has a lot on his mind. His wife Alice has taken ill. She is exhausted all the time and begins making mistakes while working... (full context)

One afternoon, Biff visits Singer, who has offered to be a pallbearer at Alice’s funeral. The two sit in Singer’s room and smoke a pair of cigarettes. Singer dresses,... (full context)

On the day of the funeral, Biff brings Alice’s things to Lucile’s. Though Alice was her sister, the two are very unalike in demeanor... (full context)

...but becomes overwhelmed when a song on the radio reminds him of his engagement to Alice. Biff shuts the radio off. (full context)

...comings and goings from town by train. He is also in mourning for his wife, Alice, and has even taken to splashing her perfume on his neck and using her shampoo... (full context)

...and Baby. Biff begins looking back on unpleasant and embarrassing moments throughout his marriage to Alice, and soon starts contemplating death. At the depth of his sorrow, Biff hears the voices... (full context)

...the New York Café is deserted. Biff heads to the bathroom to put some of Alice’s old perfume on his neck, then fetches some flowers for the kitchen and arranges them... (full context)