The Cold Millions

Early Reston is the primary antagonist of The Cold Millions. His actions instigate the conflict of the novel through the murder of police officer Alfred Waterbury. This agitates a conflict between the police and the Industrial Workers of the World, which causes the arrest of Rye and Gig Dolan at the free speech protest. Reston’s indirect antagonism is re-introduced early in the novel when he attacks a mob leader who is chasing him, Rye, and Gig. His violent methods are tied back to Rye and Gig during their imprisonment at the Spokane jail, worsening their treatment as they are forced to give Early up.

Early presents himself as an ally when he meets Rye and Gig. Though he openly disagrees with unionism in favor of anarchy, he is quick to accompany Rye and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn on their tour of the Pacific Northwest as an escort. He also appears sympathetic to Rye when he learns about Gig’s continued incarceration. He often challenges Rye as a form of manipulation, convincing him to abandon what he perceives as an empty vision of utopia for the compelling world that anarchy offers.

His antagonism ultimately reveals itself when he kills hitman Del Dalveaux in cold blood and discusses his role in Waterbury’s murder. From then on, the narrative openly depicts his anarchist motivations, planning the assassination of Hub Clegg, a police officer, and Lemuel Brand, one of Spokane’s mining barons, to escalate the police-union conflict further. He cares little for the consequences it will have on Spokane’s working class, much less on Rye when he tasks him with delivering a satchel to Brand filled with explosives. He never discloses Rye’s involvement to Gig, nor does he ever tell Rye the true nature of the deadly package. This manipulation characterizes Early’s maverick approach to violence. Though it is revealed that he was hired by Lemuel Brand to escalate the police-union conflict, it is implied that Brand never intended for Reston to murder a police officer. This suggests that Early is willing to overstep boundaries if it aligns with his anarchist agenda. He willfully manipulates Rye and Gig, providing vocal support to their disillusionment with the union.

Early’s background is unclear, especially after an investigation by Brand’s bodyguard, Willard, reveals that Reston has employed a long list of aliases to hide his identity. It is known that he worked as an investigator for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, though it is unknown whether he entered the role as an anarchist or if he became an anarchist on the job. Early initially tells Rye and Gig that he had turned to violence after his pregnant wife had been murdered during a brief period of imprisonment. However, Lem tells Rye that this may have only been half-true, suggesting that Early either killed a labor organizer’s wife with a bomb or that he killed his own wife. Lem invites the possibility that the story of a murdered wife may be fictional altogether and that it merely furthers Early’s reputation as an agent of chaos.

Gregory “Gig” Dolan is a sidekick and foil in The Cold Millions, supporting Rye on his journey while also revealing more about him through their differences. His actions lead his brother, Rye Dolan, on the journey that results in his transformation. Gig also experiences personal challenges that lead him to question his values, beginning a personal journey of his own. Finally, he makes the crucial decision that overcomes the antagonist and resolves the conflict.

Gig is introduced as Rye’s smart and charismatic older brother. He is well-read in both fiction and non-fiction, and he demonstrates knowledge of the works of various modern philosophers as well as a love for the writing of Russian author Leo Tolstoy. His most prized possessions are two volumes of the novel War and Peace, which he hopes to complete and finish reading someday. He is also drawn to theater, citing it as the reason he loves Spokane. His charisma is demonstrated by his quick wit, which he deploys often to defuse a tense situation. He also makes many friends through his association with the IWW. However, he remains protective and affectionate with Rye, with whom he hopes to build a shared home on the orchard of their landlord, Mrs. Ricci.

After Rye, Gig’s second most significant relationship is with Ursula the Great, a performer at the Comique Theater who serves as his romantic interest. Ursula’s physical attraction to him is bolstered by her attraction to his mind and his affection for Rye. Though Ursula is forced to abide by her arrangement with Lemuel Brand, she often stands up for Gig, employing different methods to liberate him from prison. Gig misunderstands her arrangement with Brand, however, believing that she has chosen him for his riches. This causes Gig to spitefully go on a drinking spree.

Gig is also a person with an alcohol use disorder, which he uses to deflect his frustrations in life. He echoes his father’s belief that whiskey could cure almost anything. The worse Gig feels about his life, the more he turns to alcohol to relieve it. When he is released from prison, he is greatly traumatized by the police’s psychological tactics against their hunger strike, disillusioned with the union, and ashamed that his younger brother is taking care of him. He thus spends most of his time in taverns before winding up in Ursula’s hotel, where she helps him to seek sobriety and recover from his alcohol use disorder. Gig’s final act is to sacrifice his own life to save his brother from becoming implicated in the bombing he had planned with Early. Though Gig’s ideological journey goes from idealism to cynicism, he never loses his core value, which is his devotion to his brother. His arc throws Rye’s into relief: Whereas Gig’s despair over the failure of his ideals consumes him, Rye finds comfort and motivation in focusing on helping those immediately around him instead of trying to change the whole world.

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is a secondary character in The Cold Millions and a sidekick to Rye. Based on the real-life Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, this fictionalized character inspires Rye to believe in the power of unions while holding his story as a testament to police brutality.

Gurley enters the narrative in Part 2 after the outrageous arrest of IWW leaders and associates compels her to visit Spokane. Gurley is introduced as a headstrong organizer who is often underestimated for her gender. When she first suggests visiting the Spokane jail, union leaders protest against it out of concern for her pregnancy. Later, one of the leaders takes offense at her continued use of her birth name rather than her married name. Other leaders who appear later defer to the instructions of her husband over her personal decisions. As a feminist, she regularly speaks up on women’s rights, at one point scandalizing a misogynist priest by declaring the need to “emancipate the vagina” (138).

Gurley is married to Jack Jones, a miner and union organizer she had met at an IWW convention. She is pregnant during the novel but fears losing the baby because of a previous miscarriage. Jack’s continued absence during Gurley’s speaking tour progressively weighs down on her, and though she maintains faith that he will eventually come to support her, that faith ends in disappointment and anger at his failure to follow through as her husband.

Gurley’s solidarity with the oppressed is depicted with different emotional tones. On one hand, she is compassionate, extending encouragement, advice, and aid to a young woman suffering from physical abuse. On the other hand, she is furious when her co-defendant, Charlie Filigno, is found guilty of conspiracy while she is acquitted of the same charges. Her passion for helping others not only drives her to speak on the mistreatment of women in the Spokane prison but also leaves a lasting impression on Rye, who follows her lead through his acts of solidarity with members of his community later in life. This also makes her a soft romantic interest for Rye, though that interest is never consummated through a kiss or a profession of love.