Character Relationship Map: Under Heaven

Characters

• Eleanor Dunston (played by Joely Richardson) — protagonist

  Eleanor is a wealthy, terminally ill woman who hires Cynthia as a live-in caretaker. Though she and Cynthia come from very different economic backgrounds, the two gradually form a bond. Eleanor develo...

• Buck (played by Aden Young) — supporting

  Buck is an unemployed musician with a drug addiction and Cynthia's former partner. After claiming to be sober, he returns to her life, takes a gardener job at Eleanor's house, and meets Cynthia there...

• Cynthia (played by Molly Parker) — supporting

  Cynthia is an ambitious, struggling musician who ends her relationship with unemployed, drug-addicted Buck and takes a live-in caretaker job with wealthy, terminally ill Eleanor. She and Eleanor gradu...

• Cynthia's Mother (played by Krisha Fairchild) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

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

• Cynthia's Mother → Cynthia (mother)
• Buck → Eleanor Dunston (Professional Gardener And Employer)

  Buck secures a job as a gardener for Eleanor after Cynthia arranges work for him at her house.

• Cynthia → Eleanor Dunston (Professional Caretaker And Employer)

  Cynthia answers Eleanor's advertisement for a live-in caretaker and is hired to care for her.

• Cynthia → Buck (Former Romantic Partners)

  Cynthia and Buck are introduced as a pair of struggling musicians, but Cynthia decides to break up with him because he is unemployed and addicted to d...

Story Analysis

A struggling musician's return destabilizes a bond between a caretaker and her wealthy, terminally ill employer.

Plot Progression

1. A Caretaker's New World
2. Affection And Envy
3. Buck Enters The Household
4. The Dangerous Courtship