Character Relationship Map: The Seventh Sin

Characters

• Carol Carwin (played by Eleanor Parker) — protagonist

  Carol is an unhappily married woman whose affair with Paul is discovered by her physician husband, Walter. After Paul refuses to marry her, she accompanies Walter to a remote village during a cholera...

• Walter Carwin (played by Bill Travers) — supporting

  Walter is Carol's physician husband, who discovers her affair with Paul and offers her a choice between accompanying him to a remote village or facing a public divorce. He travels there to fight a cho...

• Paul Duvelle (played by Jean-Pierre Aumont) — supporting

  Paul is Carol's married lover and the man whose affair with her threatens Walter's marriage. When Walter offers a quiet divorce if Paul divorces his wife and marries Carol within a week, Paul declines...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Carol Carwin → Paul Duvelle (Romantic Lovers) — Their affair creates the crisis in Carol's marriage. Paul's refusal to marry her leaves Carol facing the choice of accompanying Walter to the village or confronting a public divorce.

  Carol has an affair with Paul, a married man. When Walter offers a quiet divorce if Paul divorces his wife and marries Carol within a week, Paul decli...

• Carol Carwin → Walter Carwin (Family Husband And Wife In Marital Crisis) — Their marriage is strained by Carol's affair and Walter's proposed choices. They travel to the village together, where Carol tells him she is unsure who fathered her pregnancy; Walter later dies after...

  Walter is Carol's physician husband. After discovering her affair, he gives her a choice involving accompanying him to the village or facing a public...

Story Dynamics

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

• Walter Carwin → Paul Duvelle (Conflict Rivals Over Carol) — Walter's conditional offer puts Paul in the position of deciding whether to marry Carol; Paul's refusal keeps Walter and Carol's marital crisis unresolved.

  Walter discovers Carol's affair with Paul and offers a quiet divorce on the condition that Paul divorce his wife and marry Carol within a week. Paul r...

Story Analysis

An affair forces Carol to confront her marriage and choices, while work amid a cholera epidemic changes her perspective and leaves her facing loss and an uncertain future.

Plot Progression

1. An Affair Exposed — In Hong Kong, Carol's affair with Paul is discovered by Walter. Walter offers her a choice between joining his cholera mission and facing a public divorce.
2. Paul's Refusal — Walter proposes a quiet divorce if Paul divorces his wife and marries Carol within a week. Paul refuses, leaving Carol to accompany Walter to the village.
3. A Changed Perspective — In the remote village, Carol meets the consul and is introduced to the nuns at the hospital-convent. Her work there begins to change how she views her self-absorbed life.
4. Pregnancy and Loss — Carol learns she is pregnant and tells Walter that she is unsure who the father is. Walter contracts cholera and dies, leaving Carol to return to Hong Kong with an uncertain future.