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• Homophobic.
• Enjoys the company of women.
• Aggressive and angry.

Peter is younger than Helen but he still pursues her, making it obvious that he finds her sexually attractive.

He is something of a rogue and keeps photographs of other women in his wallet. When Jo catches a glimpse of these photographs, she asks:

They’re all women, aren’t they? I bet you’ve had thousands of girl friends. What was this one with the long legs called?

Peter enjoys spending the money he earns as a car salesman, but as the play progresses a darker side to his character is displayed when he easily becomes aggressive and angry.

Homophobic

How do we know Peter is like this?

Peter is aggressive towards Geof and rude about him when he first meets him in the flat.

Evidence

Analysis

Peter is homophobic and rude and he doesn’t care who knows it. Although the play is set in the 1950s when people were generally less tolerant of homosexuals, Peter cares little about openly offending Geof. His use of the word fruitcake to describe Geof is particularly offensive.

Enjoys the company of women

How do we know Peter is like this?

Peter makes it obvious to Helen that he is sexually attracted to her. He flirts with her and sings songs to her. However once the initial attraction has worn off, Peter thinks nothing about chasing other women and even taunting Helen with this information.

Evidence

Analysis

Here Peter is being particularly hurtful to Helen. He is telling Jo and Geof about how he left her for two weeks to be with another woman. He is now using words like sour-faced old bitch to describe Helen and commenting negatively on her age. He no longer finds her attractive and does not care if he hurts her emotionally.

Aggressive and angry

How do we know Peter is like this?

Although Peter can appear to be quite a charming man, as the play develops a darker side to his character is revealed. In the initial stages of his relationship with Helen, Peter pays her compliments, telling her he finds her figure most agreeable and he also presents her with a bouquet of flowers.

However, he later turns against Helen, has an affair with another woman and is particularly aggressive towards Jo and Geof.

Evidence

Analysis

Peter calls Helen woman instead of calling her by her name and this is particularly degrading. It shows how aggressive he can sometimes be when he talks to her. He also talks about having dragged her out of the gutter which again suggests how angry he is.