Finally Meeting Mike

In Chapter IX, we are finally introduced to Mike. I was wondering when he was going to show up in the text. He seems very attracted to Brett and very much in love with her. "Isn't she a lovely piece?" he kept repeating toward the end of the chapter. This epistrophe puts emphasis on the fact that he is proud that she is the woman he is going to marry.

I think that Mike is the antagonist who is blocking Jake, the protagonist, from being with Brett. Jake is so much in love with Brett that it hurts him to be around the two of them. I was surprised at how well Jake handled see Brett and Mike together. Instead of showing his emotion, he kept it buried inside of him. I think he will end up crying again when he gets home where there is no one to hide his emotions from.