Character Relationship Map: Limbo

Characters

• Sandy Lawton (played by Kate Jackson) — protagonist

  Sandy is one of three women whose husbands are serving in Vietnam. She married her lieutenant husband only two weeks before he left for the war. While Mary Kay and Sharon ultimately learn that their h...

• Sharon Dornbeck (played by Katherine Justice) — supporting

  Sharon is one of the three women whose husbands are serving in Vietnam. Her husband is an Air Force pilot, and she receives a telegram reporting that he has been killed. She travels with Mary Kay and...

• Phil Garrett (played by Stuart Margolin) — supporting

  Phil is a school teacher who develops a friendship with Mary Kay Beull. Their growing friendship is part of the change in Mary Kay's life as her eldest child becomes increasingly hostile toward her. T...

• Mary Kay Beull (played by Kathleen Nolan) — supporting

  Mary Kay is one of three women whose husbands are serving in Vietnam, and she has four children. As she develops a friendship with school teacher Phil Garrett, her eldest child grows increasingly host...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Sharon Dornbeck → Sandy Lawton (Alliance Travel Companion) — They are fellow travelers within the group of three women affected by the war.

  Sharon and Sandy travel with Mary Kay to Paris to attend a Vietnam peace conference.

• Mary Kay Beull → Sandy Lawton (Alliance Travel Companion) — Mary Kay and Sandy share the journey and the experience of confronting the war's consequences.

  The three women, including Mary Kay and Sandy, travel together to Paris for a Vietnam peace conference.

• Mary Kay Beull → Sharon Dornbeck (Alliance Travel Companion) — They cooperate as members of the same group of military wives traveling to Paris.

  Mary Kay and Sharon travel to Paris together with Sandy to attend a Vietnam peace conference.

• Mary Kay Beull → Phil Garrett (Social Friend) — Phil becomes Mary Kay's friend during a period of personal and political change.

  Mary Kay develops a friendship with Phil Garrett, a school teacher.

Story Analysis

Three women confront the personal consequences of the Vietnam War as grief, political awakening, and uncertain hope shape their lives.

Plot Progression

1. Waiting In Florida — Mary Kay Beull, Sharon Dornbeck, and Sandy Lawton face uncertainty while their husbands are connected to the Vietnam War. Their different family and marital circumstances establish the emotional stake...
2. Three Women In Paris — The three women travel to Paris and attend a Vietnam peace conference. A film showing atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians radically changes the emotional atmosphere.
3. Mary Kay Takes A Stand — Horrified by the film, Mary Kay becomes an antiwar advocate. She carries that commitment to Washington, D.C., where she testifies before a committee.
4. Contrasting Homecomings — Mary Kay's and Sharon's husbands are confirmed dead. Sandy receives the contrasting news that her weakened husband has been released from a prisoner-of-war camp and awaits his return.