Will Monroe in The Drowning Kind: Character Analysis

Overview

Will Monroe enters The Drowning Kind as a supporting figure whose decisions ripple across generations. A country doctor from Lanesborough, New Hampshire, Will is introduced through his wife Ethel's diary entries as a devoted husband and a man of science. His most consequential act—winning the springs and surrounding land in a poker game and building Sparrow Crest around the spring-fed pool—transforms him from a small-town physician into the patriarch of a family permanently bound to the water.

Will's defining characteristic is his rationalism. Again and again, he dismisses supernatural explanations with the confidence of a man trained to trust evidence. When his work crew abandons the construction of Sparrow Crest after claiming to see a woman in the pool, Will calls them superstitious fools. When townspeople whisper about curses attached to the springs, he calls their talk bunk. This skepticism is both his strength and his blindness: it keeps him steady in a world of strange occurrences, but it also prevents him from recognizing the danger he has built his family's home around.

For a broader look at how Will's choices shape the novel's central conflicts, see the main book page.

Plot Role

Will's role in the narrative is largely retrospective. The present-day storyline (2019) unfolds at Sparrow Crest, the house Will built, and the pool he expanded. His decisions in the 1929–1931 period set the stage for everything that follows: the drownings, the wishes, the family's entanglement with the water.

In the 1929 timeline, Will is present at the Brandenburg Springs Hotel with Ethel, where they first encounter the springs' reputed healing and wish-granting powers. He is skeptical from the start—he jokes that the sulfurous water smells haunted—but he indulges Ethel's fascination. When Ethel becomes pregnant and their daughter Maggie is born prematurely and sickly, Will delivers the baby himself. When Maggie inexplicably recovers, Will is the one who cannot explain it, examining her again and again and saying he doesn't understand.

Will's most significant plot contribution is the construction of Sparrow Crest. He wins the springs and surrounding land in a poker game (per the novel's backstory) and builds the house around the pool, expanding it into a proper swimming pool. This decision places his family—and generations to come—in direct proximity to the water.

Motivations and Traits

Love and devotion: Will's actions are consistently motivated by love for Ethel. He brings her apple brandy, dances with her, comforts her through nightmares, and reassures her during the stock market crash. When he builds Sparrow Crest, he is nervous and fidgety, eager for Ethel to be pleased with the house.

Rationalism: As a doctor, Will trusts what he can observe and measure. He dismisses the workers' stories of a woman in the water, the townspeople's talk of curses, and even the idea that Maggie's recovery might be supernatural. When Ethel suggests it might be a miracle, Will repeats the word slowly, as if trying it out—but he never fully embraces it.

Ambition: Will pushes the work crew at Sparrow Crest to finish early, offering extra money. He wants the house to be grand—Ethel describes it as a great stone fortress. This ambition, combined with his rationalism, leads him to ignore the ominous signs surrounding the property.

Protectiveness: After Maggie's birth, Will is fiercely protective. He warns Ethel that they must never take their eyes off their daughter near the pool. This protectiveness is tragically ironic, given the pool's eventual toll on the family.

Chronological Arc

Will's arc spans roughly from 1929 to his death sometime before 1972 (when Ethel, at 95, remembers her late husband).

June 1929: Will and Ethel visit the Brandenburg Springs Hotel. Will is charming and attentive, but skeptical of the springs' powers. He senses Ethel's fear of the black water and offers to skip the swim.
Late 1929: Will wins the springs and land in a poker game (per the novel's backstory). He begins planning Sparrow Crest. The stock market crashes, but Will reassures Ethel that everyone always needs a doctor.
February 1930: Will delivers Maggie at home. She's born three weeks early, tiny and fragile. Will is a doting father.
1930–1931: Maggie recovers miraculously. Will examines her repeatedly, unable to explain her improvement. He continues building Sparrow Crest.
August 1931: The family moves to Sparrow Crest. Will is eager to show Ethel the house. The work crew quits after seeing a woman in the water, but Will dismisses them and pushes to finish construction.
After 1931: Will's later life is not detailed in the provided evidence. By 1972, he is deceased.

Relationships

With Ethel: Will's marriage to Ethel is warm and affectionate. He calls her darling wife, comforts her through nightmares, and tries to protect her from distressing news—he initially hides the details of Eliza Harding's death from her. Ethel, for her part, keeps secrets from Will: she never tells him about her wish at the springs or her fears about the water. This asymmetry is significant. Will believes he is protecting Ethel, but she is protecting him from truths he wouldn't accept.

With Maggie: Will is a devoted father. He delivers her, calls her little sparrow, and dotes on her. His protectiveness around the pool is genuine but ultimately insufficient.

With the work crew: Will's relationship with the workers is transactional. He offers bonuses for early completion and dismisses their fears as superstition. When they quit, he's exasperated rather than concerned.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Winning the springs in a poker game: This decision, made before the events of the diary entries, is the root of everything. It places the Monroe family in direct proximity to the water.

Building Sparrow Crest around the pool: Will expands the spring into a proper swimming pool, making it a central feature of the family home. This decision ensures that the water will be a constant presence in his family's life.

Dismissing the workers' warnings: When the crew quits, Will could have investigated. Instead, he calls them superstitious fools and pushes to finish construction. This refusal to engage with the water's danger is a recurring pattern.

Trusting in medicine over miracle: When Maggie recovers, Will cannot explain it. He accepts the outcome without fully accepting the cause. This allows the family to remain at Sparrow Crest without confronting what the water has done.

Theme and Symbol Connections

The price of wishes and miracles: Will's miracle is Maggie—the child Ethel wished for at the springs. But the water takes its price: Maggie's birth is difficult, and the family becomes bound to the pool in ways that lead to tragedy. Will never fully understands this bargain. Explore more in the price of wishes and miracles.

Water as a living, malevolent force: Will dismisses the workers' stories, but the water proves to be active and dangerous. His rationalism is a form of denial. See water as a living, malevolent force.

Family secrets and inherited trauma: By building Sparrow Crest, Will creates the setting for generations of secrets. The house itself becomes a character—Ethel describes it as a great stone fortress with a fierce face under its steeply angled rooftop. See family secrets and inherited trauma.

The blurring of reality and delusion: Will's insistence on rational explanations creates a tension between what is real and what he is willing to believe. The reader sees the water's power; Will refuses to. See the blurring of reality and delusion.

The pull of the dead: The pool claims victims across generations—Rita, Lexie, and ultimately the narrator. Will's decision to build the house around the water makes this pull inevitable. See the pull of the dead and the temptation of reunion.

For how Will's legacy plays out in the novel's final events, see the ending explained.

Questions and Answers

1. How does Will Monroe acquire the springs and surrounding land?

Will wins the springs and surrounding land in a poker game, according to the novel's backstory. This acquisition leads him to build Sparrow Crest around the spring-fed pool.

2. How does Will react when his work crew quits after claiming to see a woman in the water?

Will dismisses their stories as ridiculous and calls them superstitious fools. He is exasperated by the delay and pushes to finish construction, refusing to engage with the possibility that the water is dangerous.

3. What is Will's profession, and how does it shape his worldview?

Will is a country doctor in Lanesborough, New Hampshire. His medical training leads him to trust observable evidence over supernatural explanations. This rationalism is consistent throughout the novel—he dismisses curses, ghosts, and even the idea of miracles.

4. How does Will respond to Maggie's miraculous recovery?

Will examines Maggie repeatedly, saying he doesn't understand. When Ethel suggests it might be a miracle, he repeats the word slowly, as if trying it out. He accepts the outcome but cannot fully embrace a supernatural explanation.

5. What happens to Will by the time Ethel is 95 years old?

By June 1972, when Ethel is 95, Will has died. Ethel remembers her late husband Will while reflecting on her long life at Sparrow Crest.

For more questions about the novel's characters and events, see the questions and answers page.