Character Relationship Map: In the White City

Characters

• Paul (played by Bruno Ganz) — protagonist

  An engineer who abandons his job on an oil tanker to stay in Lisbon. He becomes a lover of Rosa, the hotel bartender, while sending films and letters to his distant girlfriend Élisa. He wanders aimles...

• Rosa (played by Teresa Madruga) — protagonist

  A hotel worker who cleans rooms and serves in the bar, Rosa resists her employer's demand that she dress up and insists her work deserves respect. She becomes Paul's lover and shares time with him as...

• José (played by José Carvalho) — supporting

  A man in Lisbon who buys small objects from Paul when Paul has no money for a train. Paul also asks José for paper and a pen, enabling him to write his final message. Their encounter occurs as Paul is...

• Rosa's Friend (played by Pedro Efe) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

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

• Paul → Rosa (Romantic Lovers) — Their relationship develops as Paul drifts through an aimless life in Lisbon, then is left unresolved when Rosa disappears and leaves for France.

  Paul tells Rosa that he has stayed in Lisbon partly because of her, and their attraction grows into a relationship. Rosa later leaves for France, and...

Story Dynamics

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

• Paul → José (Social Buyer And Seller) — José buys Paul's small possessions and provides the immediate context for Paul's final written message.

  With no money for a train, Paul sells small objects to José and asks him for paper and a pen.

• Rosa's Friend → Rosa (friend)

Story Analysis

Paul's self-imposed stillness in Lisbon unsettles his relationships and leaves him searching for a sense of belonging in the sea.

Plot Progression

1. A Deserter Finds a Room — Paul leaves his ship and takes a room in Lisbon, drawn to sleep, wandering, and doing nothing. At the hotel, Rosa pushes back against her employer's expectations about her appearance at work.
2. An Unsteady Romance — Paul and Rosa meet and begin a relationship as they share time and stories. Paul's admission that he loves two women at once reveals his uncertainty about the relationship and his future.
3. The Drift into Poverty — Paul's days grow unstructured as he drinks, sleeps, and reflects on silence and time. After he is robbed, he struggles to find food and tries unsuccessfully to sell his watch.
4. Rosa's Unexplained Departure — A letter connects the captain's strange word to a salamander larva and its stillness. Rosa then disappears from work and goes to France, leaving Paul without knowing where she is.
5. A Message Toward the Sea — Without money for a train, Paul sells small objects to José and obtains paper and a pen. In his final message, he says he will surface again and identifies the sea as his true homeland.