Petrusso is a freelance writer and screenwriter. In this essay, she discusses how fear affects the actions of the characters in The Browning Version.

Throughout the text of Terence Rattigan's The Browning Version, every major character is motivated by a fear. Many of these qualms are directly related to Andrew Crocker-Harris.

For instance, the students and staff of the school are intimidated by Andrew's crusty demeanor and odd ways. Yet the fears of Millie, his wife, are more indirect and complicated. She despises him and their life together and seeks any remedy to the situation, even having affairs with her husband's colleagues.

Andrew's fears are the deepest and most repressed. He hides his humanity behind a shield of stoicism, allowing a fundamental diffidence to rule his life. By examining these fears, the outcome of The Browning Version seems rather surprising. It is Andrew who overcomes some of...