Becky Hanover Jenkins Character Analysis in Patrick Ryan's Buckeye

Overview

Becky Hanover Jenkins is the female protagonist of Patrick Ryan's novel Buckeye (2025). She is a spiritualist medium who can communicate with the dead, offering solace to grieving families through private séances. Her journey spans from her youth in Bonhomie, Ohio, through marriage to Cal Jenkins, motherhood, and the long aftermath of personal tragedy. Becky's character embodies the novel's exploration of mediumship and grief, marital estrangement and hidden identities, and forgiveness and reconciliation.

Plot Role

Becky serves as the emotional and supernatural anchor of Buckeye. Her psychic abilities—first manifested when she heard the voice of a drowned man, Mr. Shefflin, and later when a Seneca tribeswoman appeared to her during a childhood illness—establish her as a conduit between the living and the dead. Her séances attract both genuine mourners and skeptics, including the minister Reverend Toomey, who challenges her work publicly. Her meeting and marriage with Cal Jenkins create the central domestic tension: Cal, disabled and plagued by war guilt, struggles to believe in her gift, leading to a rift that deepens when Becky places a newspaper advertisement for her services without consulting him. Later, Becky's role expands to include the secret of Tom Salt's parentage—Cal's illegitimate son—and its eventual revelation. By the novel's end, Becky's ability to hear the dead includes her own son Skip, whose spirit delivers a message of love and forgiveness on her sixtieth birthday.

Motivations and Traits

Becky is motivated by a sincere desire to help others, as seen when she tells Cal she offers comfort to people "who find comfort in getting in touch with the loved one they’d lost." She maintains a strict ethical code: she will not contact spirits without a client present, refuses to keep personal items belonging to the deceased, and dismisses fraudulent mediums who use "ectoplasm" or trick photography. Her discernment is evident when she evaluates Casey LaGrange, sensing "a long-term aloneness, and a sad determination, and a frantic energy just below the surface." She is also resilient—she withstands neighborhood taunts of "Witch!" and Cal's skepticism without abandoning her calling. Yet she is vulnerable, crying when she confides in her mother about Cal's lack of belief. Her independence emerges in her decision to place the ad, even knowing Cal would object. Later, after Cal's affair (revealed in conversation with Ida), she remains on the fence about forgiveness, but ultimately chooses to stay, embodying Ida's advice about remaking that decision daily.

Chronological Arc

Early life and first experiences: As a child, Becky hears the voice of Mr. Shefflin and later sees the ghost of a Seneca woman while sick with mumps.
Meeting and marrying Cal (1942): They meet at a drugstore, where she gives him a sealed childhood letter. They court and marry in a small ceremony at First Episcopal Church.
Marriage and motherhood (1943-1945): They move to Taft Street, where a buckeye tree grows in the yard. Becky has a difficult pregnancy with Skip, dealing with high blood pressure and glucose levels. She continues séances, including attempting to contact Nikola Tesla. After Skip's birth, doctors warn against another pregnancy.
Deepening estrangement (late 1940s): Becky places a newspaper ad for her séances without telling Cal. He discovers it and confronts her. She visits her mother Ida, who advises her to care less about Cal's opinions.
Meeting Casey LaGrange (1945): LaGrange arrives in Bonhomie after corresponding with Becky. He observes her séances and writes her into his compendium. Becky is flattered but eventually finds him exhausting.
Roman's death and Cal's affair (1960s): Roman Hanover dies; Cal handles the grisly discovery. Ida reveals that Cal had an affair, leaving Becky uncertain about forgiveness.
Later years (1975-1976): The secret of Tom's parentage emerges. Becky and Cal are present at Felix Salt's deathbed. Tom reconciles with the family slowly.
Sixtieth birthday (late 1970s): Becky and Cal revisit Huron. She hears Skip's spirit in the laundry room, delivering a message. Cal gives her the childhood letter. They ride the Ferris wheel at Cedar Point, symbolizing their enduring love.

Relationships

Cal Jenkins (husband): Their relationship is defined by love, skepticism, and betrayal. Cal's disbelief in her gift—he considers it a "hobby" on par with reading comic books—creates a fundamental conflict. Despite this, they share genuine affection. After his affair, Becky struggles with forgiveness. By her sixtieth birthday, they have reconciled, and Cal acknowledges that his life's work has been "correcting mistakes." The letter he gives her represents a full circle of trust.
Skip Jenkins (son): Becky's pregnancy with Skip is physically dangerous, but she bonds with him deeply. His death (before the novel's timeline) is a profound loss; in the final chapter, his spirit relays a message meant to heal the family.
Ida and Roman Hanover (parents): Ida is Becky's confidante, offering blunt advice and unconditional support. Roman provides the house on Taft Street and later a job for Cal, though his bigotry about Brookdale's neighboring neighborhoods creates tension. Becky appreciates her father's help but is not blind to his flaws.
Casey LaGrange: A researcher who believes Becky is one of the most skilled mediums of the era. His attention validates her work, but she grows wary of his intensity and shabbiness. He represents both professional recognition and the danger of being objectified.
Mrs. Dodson: A neighbor and friend who babysits Skip and participates in a séance. She offers Becky a trusted confidante in the neighborhood.
Tom Salt: Becky learns of Tom's existence only when the secret emerges. She does not confront Margaret directly, but she and Cal accept Tom into the family orbit after Felix's death, showing her capacity for forgiveness.
Everett Jenkins (father-in-law): A hoarding WWI veteran. Becky's relationship with him is limited; she observes his bond with Skip but little direct interaction is shown.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Placing the séance ad without telling Cal.
Consequence: Creates a major rift, confirming Cal's distrust and leading to her tearful visit to Ida. However, it also brings in clients like Mr. Gonzalez and leads to her profile in The Séance Précis, establishing her reputation.
Allowing Casey LaGrange to observe her séances.
Consequence: She gains professional recognition but also feels intruded upon. LaGrange's presence sours when his "frantic energy" becomes apparent; she limits his involvement. This decision underscores her boundary-setting.
Staying with Cal after his affair.
Consequence: A long, painful process of daily forgiveness. Ultimately, she chooses reconciliation, which culminates in the happy birthday scene. Her decision mirrors Ida's own choice to stay with Roman.
Not contacting Margaret Salton her own.
Consequence: Becky never confronts the other woman, maintaining a dignified distance. This avoids further drama and allows the family to heal gradually through Tom's reconciliation.
Accepting Skip's spirit message on her sixtieth birthday.
Consequence: Deepens her belief that the dead can bring closure. The message of love helps both her and Cal move forward, reinforcing the theme that mediumship serves emotional healing.

Theme/Symbol Connections

Mediumship and Grief: Becky's career directly addresses the need to cope with loss. She helps others process grief, yet must process her own son's death. Her ability is both a gift and a burden.
Secrecy and Family Lies: The hidden paternity of Tom Salt is a web of deception that Becky is not directly involved in but must live with. Her own secret—the ad—initiates the first major lie in her marriage.
War Trauma and Survival Guilt: Cal's guilt over not fighting in WWII colors their relationship. Becky's work with war widows (like the woman from Port Clinton) shows how the war's trauma extends beyond soldiers.
Marital Estrangement and Hidden Identities: Cal's disbelief and later affair create estrangement. Becky's identity as a medium is partially hidden from her husband until the ad forces it into the open.
Forgiveness and Reconciliation: The entire arc of Becky and Cal's marriage is about forgiving small slights (the hobby comparison) and large betrayals (the affair). The final chapter at Cedar Point symbolizes a restored partnership.
The Buckeye Tree: The buckeye in the yard of the Taft Street house symbolizes resilience and the cyclical nature of life and death. It is a tangible link to the Jenkins family home and the secrets it shelters.

5 Questions and Answers

1. What is Becky's earliest supernatural experience?
At age twelve, while sick with the mumps, she saw the ghost of a Seneca tribeswoman who rubbed crushed herbs on her chest, relieving her throat pain. Before that, she had heard the voice of Mr. Shefflin, a drowned man, inside her head.

2. Why does Cal Jenkins struggle to accept Becky's abilities?
Cal is a skeptic who believes there is "usually a scientific explanation for that sort of thing." His own war guilt and sense of purposelessness make him uncomfortable with things he cannot control. Initially, he equates her mediumship with his own hobby of reading comic books, which trivializes her work.

3. How does Becky respond to the minister who confronts her?
Reverend Toomey tells her that communicating with the dead is an insult to God. Becky stands up, wishes him a nice afternoon, and walks away. She refuses to engage further, showing her determination not to let religious authority intimidate her.

4. What is the significance of the childhood letter Cal gives Becky on her sixtieth birthday?
The letter, which Becky wrote to herself at age eight and gave to Cal when they first met, represents trust, memory, and the preservation of innocence. Cal kept it for decades, proving he valued her from the beginning. Returning it on her birthday symbolizes the full circle of their love and his apology for past failures.

5. What message does Skip's spirit deliver to Becky?
In the laundry room on her sixtieth birthday, Becky hears Skip's spirit. The message—implied to be about love and forgiveness—confirms that the dead can offer healing. It reaffirms her lifelong belief in the power of mediumship and allows her to finally let go of grief.