Lincoln in the Bardo

Hans Vollman, one of the novel’s three main narrators, is Willie Lincoln’s guide to the afterlife. Hans’s manifestation in the bardo is that of a naked man whose penis enlarges whenever something exciting happens. Hans was a good man in life—he died before he and his young wife consummated their marriage because he did not want to pressure her into sex before she was ready. He is trapped in the bardo because he still pines for sexual release with her, and because he has never made amends to Elise, a young ghost who has become trapped in the cemetery’s iron fence.

Roger Bevins, another of the three main narrators, is a kind helper to Willie. Roger died by suicide after his boyfriend was unwilling to continue their illicit homosexual relationship; in the bardo, he manifests as a man with too many faces, each looking worriedly around lest he and his lover be discovered. Confused by the details of his life, Roger spends his time in purgatory talking with Hans and avoiding the reality of his suicide. Roger’s catharsis as he finally gives in to the matterlightblooming phenomenon is one of acceptance and the joys of being present: Suddenly, he becomes aware of all the beautifully mundane things in the world he was too busy living to pay attention to while alive.