Character Relationship Map: The Dawning

Characters

• Cassius / Angus Barrie (played by Anthony Hopkins) — protagonist

  An Irish Republican Army member on the run from the government, Angus Barrie takes shelter in a beach hut and meets Nancy there. She calls him Cassius, and their relationship grows despite her limited...

• Nancy Gulliver (played by Rebecca Pidgeon) — protagonist

  A young woman who has just left school, Nancy begins the story infatuated with Harry, but his behavior with another girl makes her see that her feelings were childish. She meets Angus Barrie on the be...

• Grandfather (played by Trevor Howard) — supporting

  Nancy's grandfather draws the officers' suspicion toward her when he says that he saw her talking to a man on the beach. His remark prompts them to question whether the family knows where Cassius is,...

• Harry (played by Hugh Grant) — supporting

  Harry is the young man Nancy is desperately in love with at the start of the story. Nancy's aunt invites him to tea on her birthday, but his behavior with another girl and the way he treats Nancy lead...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Nancy Gulliver → Cassius / Angus Barrie (Romantic Attachment) — Nancy forms a deeper and more consequential attachment to Cassius.

  Nancy and Barrie develop a relationship, and she grows fond of him after meeting him at the beach.

• Nancy Gulliver → Grandfather (Family Granddaughter) — Grandfather is a member of Nancy's family and becomes indirectly involved in the investigation.

  The plot identifies Grandfather as Nancy's grandfather, and he is present with the family when the British officers question them.

• Nancy Gulliver → Harry (Romantic Childhood Infatuation) — Nancy's early romantic attachment to Harry collapses after his dismissive behavior.

  Nancy is described as desperately in love with Harry, but his behavior with another girl makes her realize that her feelings were childish infatuation...

Story Analysis

Nancy's passage from youthful romantic innocence to painful maturity unfolds through her relationship with the fugitive Cassius.

Plot Progression

1. A Birthday And A Disillusionment — Nancy leaves school and celebrates her birthday while hoping for attention from Harry. His behavior with another girl destroys her childish romantic idealization.
2. The Stranger In The Hut — Nancy discovers that someone has slept in the beach hut and leaves a note. She soon meets Barrie, beginning a relationship whose dangers she does not yet understand.
3. A Message With Consequences — Nancy grows fond of Barrie, names him Cassius, and agrees to pass a message to his colleague. A subsequent shooting of British Army officers sharply increases the danger around them.
4. Suspicion At The Family Home — British officers question the family about Cassius. Grandfather's statement that he saw Nancy talking to a man on the beach places her connection to Cassius under suspicion.
5. The Beachside Tragedy — Nancy runs to warn Cassius, but he has already packed to leave. The Black and Tans find him outside the hut and gun him down, leaving Nancy changed by the loss.