Who is Victor from Friend of My Youth: Stories and what is their importance?

Victor is a Polish man who came to Canada with his English wife after the war. He claims that he fought in the war, was shot down in France and escaped, and that he traveled to Turkey to help escaping refugees. Barbara claims not to believe these stories, but the reader is given no real indication of whether he is lying or not. Victor is tall and handsome and draws a lot of attention from the townsfolk. He seems quite a glamorous person compared to the rest of the town, and is intriguing because he is so different. He quickly makes friends with Murray, and is shown as a generous, gentle man who has a sense of humor. His relationship with his wife is not good, and deteriorates throughout the story until he convinces himself that she is trying to poison him. This is an odd conclusion, and in this regard he comes across as just as paranoid as Murray. Perhaps the isolated yet claustrophobic feeling of the small town breeds such paranoia and fears.