Missing Identity

In Ragtime, historical characters with preexisting personas are among the few that are referred to by name. Most of the other characters go by their position in the family, such as Mother, Father, Mother’s Younger Brother, etc. How is the character supposed to be viewed by the audience when they are so lacking in identity? How is the reader supposed to match a face to a character that is missing such vital information? Withholding such information is a strategy used by E.L. Doctorow to outline the focus on the celebrity and to make statements about the families during the era of Ragtime.
Evelyn Nesbit has a definite identity. She has the distinct and unmistakable face of Evelyn Nesbit. She has her own specific characteristics which everyone, even the reader, knows about. Why? Because she is the one and only Evelyn Nesbit and everyone is focused on her every move. The rest of the population, on the other hand, has no specific identity and just fits into their respective category. The Mother and Father have no one single face. There are millions of Mothers and Fathers and nobody cares about their identity or characteristics. The reader sees the face of every mother and father on Mother and Father. In this way Doctorow is able to generalize the personalities of an entire era through the actions of his characters. Every mother in the early nineteen hundreds was caring and dreamed of the possibilities of the future. Every father was dull and resistant to change. Every mother’s younger brother was fascinated by celebrities and a little creepy. Therefore by leaving out information, Doctorow is really providing more insight on a much broader scale.