The titular protagonist, a brilliant but deeply flawed literature professor and T.S. Eliot scholar. A suicidal alcoholic who masks his psychological unraveling with bullying and verbal abuse. His life collapses when he simultaneously loses his wife and his long-term companion.
Butley poaches a student from Edna, creating professional friction between them.
Reg is a fellow academic whom Butley actively dismisses and antagonizes.
Butley's male lover Carol has left him, compounding his personal losses.
Butley is married to Anne, though their relationship is collapsing.
Butley trained Joey as a student and now employs him as a dependent assistant.
Explore the full interactive character relationship map of Butley