Character Relationship Map: The Runaway

Characters

• Cynthia Meade (played by Clara Bow) — protagonist

  A high-spirited New York movie actress who meets Jack Harrison while hoping he can advance her career. After Harrison is shot and she fears being blamed, she flees and is taken in by Wade Murrell, who...

• Wade Murrell (played by Warner Baxter) — supporting

  A young mountaineer traveling back to his Kentucky home when he encounters Cynthia, exhausted and apparently fleeing danger. He takes her in, though he is initially disgusted by her inability to cook...

• Jack Harrison (played by William Powell) — supporting

  A wealthy young New Yorker who meets Cynthia in Tennessee while she hopes for help with her movie career; he demands a relationship in return. A stray bullet wounds him while he is with her, and she f...

Canonical Relationships

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

• Cynthia Meade → Wade Murrell (Romantic New Lover) — Their relationship develops after Wade rescues Cynthia and takes her to his home.

  Cynthia is forced to choose between her old lover, Jack, and her new lover, Wade.

• Cynthia Meade → Jack Harrison (Romantic Former Lover) — Their relationship is established before the central flight and remains emotionally significant.

  The plot identifies Jack as Cynthia's old lover and later forces her to choose between him and Wade.

Story Dynamics

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

• Jack Harrison → Wade Murrell (Social Friend) — Their friendship is complicated by Jack's investigation and Cynthia's hidden identity.

  When Jack returns, Wade does not initially know Cynthia is the person Jack suspects, and Jack and Wade become good friends.

Story Analysis

A fleeing actress finds refuge in Kentucky while a supposedly dead lover returns and forces a choice between past and present love.

Plot Progression

1. A Bargain Before Flight — Cynthia meets Jack while seeking help for her movie career. His demand for a relationship is followed by a stray-bullet shooting that makes Cynthia fear she cannot prove her innocence.
2. Refuge In Kentucky — Believing Jack is dead, Cynthia flees and appeals to Wade on a lonely road. Wade takes her to his Kentucky home, where their social differences create domestic friction.
3. A New Household — Cynthia struggles with the chores expected in Wade's household but eventually wins his mother's confidence. Weeks pass while Cynthia remains under Wade's protection.
4. The Supposedly Dead Return — Jack reappears alive and searches for the person who shot and abandoned him. Wade befriends Jack without knowing that Cynthia is the person Jack suspects.
5. The Painted Woman's Crisis — The hill community's hostility toward Cynthia places Wade in grave danger. After further crises involving all three central characters, Cynthia must choose between Jack and Wade.