A Handful of Dust

Brenda Last is the antagonist of A Handful of Dust, even if she is not present for most of the plot. At the beginning of the novel, she is mired in boredom. Her life is dull and uninteresting, in part because she is married to a dull and uninteresting man. Amid this boredom, Brenda meets Beaver. By deciding to have an affair, she acts where Tony never would, taking control of her fate, even if it is ill-advised. Her choice of romantic partner is also telling, as Tony is a very different man with very different prospects in comparison to Beaver. Tony explicitly dislikes Beaver, believing that Beaver is beneath him in a social sense. Beaver is a comparatively poor man who desperately wishes to belong to the Lasts’ elevated social circle. By having an affair with Beaver, Brenda is rebuking the settled, comfortable, and successful lifestyle that Tony offers. She succeeds in finding excitement, as her affair with Beaver quickly becomes the hot topic of the London social scene. In addition to the social excitement, the prospect of the deceit needed to conduct the affair injects some much-needed energy into Brenda’s life.

The affair with Beaver makes Brenda feel desired.