The first time we meet Melchior is through the personification of the grandfather clock in Nora and Dora’s front hall. The ‘great, tall,’ and ‘butch’ ornament is the only gift ever received from their father, and even then it ‘came by accident’. This introduces the theme of illegitimacy and it is made clear by what follows the description of the clock that it represents Melchior because the only time it chimed at the correct time-‘straight on the nosey’-having done so incorrectly for as long as they have had it, an invitation arrives for the celebration of his 100th birthday- ‘the white card they never thought would come’. We are perhaps subconsciously prepared for an ominous event, the day having been described as ‘topsy-turvy’ and ‘full of wind and sunshine’, with ‘cats scampering’ in front of Dora as the letter arrives. From the description of the grandfather clock as having a ‘lot of sentimental value’ we get a hint that despite the situation Nora and Dora may have feelings towards their ‘natural father’. We also begin to imagine Melchior as quite an imposing figure with inference from the words ‘great, tall,’ and ‘butch.’
We are introduced to Peregrine a little later, as ‘the one who publicly acknowledged us when Melchior would not’. Dora takes a brief detour from her account of her grandparents’ lives to launch into something of a cross between an obituary and a funeral speech for Perry, revealing a lot about how much she misses him. Referring to him in the second person as if he is still sitting in the room there with her emphasises the sentimentality of this paragraph. ‘Dear Perry’ is presented as a brilliantly complex character, his ‘childhood on the road’ wholly romanticized aswell as his peculiar love for butterflies. Later we are given an account of his disappearance from the clutches of his ‘dour as hell’ Presbyterian aunt and the ten-year-old vanishing ‘clean away into American’, only to reappear years later ‘as rich as Croesus’ (the last king of Lydia, in the sixth century BC, legendary for his wealth). Dora has no real way of knowing the details of Peregrine’s disappearance other than what he and it is deliberately sentimentalized in an attempt to portray him in the best light possible, as is the first direct description of Melchior. There is something terribly romantic about the idea of a ‘desperate, ravenous’ Melchior aged ten pacing around his room dreaming of making something of himself, pretending the sound the sycamores made in the wind was applause. The fantasia-like stream of consciousness comes to an abrupt halt when her thoughts trail off onto the more sinister idea that he may once have turned to prostitution in his impoverished childhood or been abused by his mother, reminding us of the more sinister underlying tone in the novel. In terms of physical appearance we become aware that Peregrine is ginger, first through the more generous reference to his ‘scarlet hair’ and later derogatively through use of the term ‘carrot-top’. The red hair only went to the ‘legit. side’, whereas Melchior at ten was ‘dark and brooding’.
Whereas what we learn about Peregrine’s life is usually through direct references and romantic accounts of his adventures, we learn about Melchior more indirectly. We are introduced to him through the description of the grandfather clock and later we learn more with the description of Nora and Dora’s conception and birth. It is described with great shame, using words such as ‘bursting out’ and ‘doing the necessary’ with reference to their birth. Melchior had left before their mother ‘missed her first period’. It is an altogether depressing account, with the ‘zeppelins falling from the sky’ as the event took place.
Midway through chapter one we hear about Peregrine’s reappearance, having been in America for several years. He gives his account of his time there: stories of fighting in Mexico, gold rushes and circus acts. Throughout chapter two he features more in the story, his sudden, almost theatrical appearances characterising this larger than life figure. A kind of surrogate father, he arrives bearing wonderful gifts, endearing himself to the girls and to Grandma Chance. However, he frequently disappears as theatrically as he appeared. The smell of cologne provokes the recollection of a dreadful thought that during the war Perry had made love to Dora, introducing a them that runs through the story: that of incestuous relationships, real, imaginary, or vicarious. Dora tells us about the day Peregrine took the family to Brighton. The jolly abruptness of his appearances and disappearances is a larger than life quality that pervades the memorable day out on the coast. It begins appropriately with magic and illusion, but ends with reality and disillusion for the twins, Dora saying ‘we went from the ridiculous to the sublime and our hearts broke as well’.
By the end of the first two chapters we have seen two characters whom, as twins, we might expect to be fairly similarly presented, done so completely differently. Whilst both have been romanticized on numerous occasions so far, Peregrine seems more likeable. He is presented as a larger than life character who epitomizes the carnivalesque- grand entrances and exits and a chaotic, on the road lifestyle. He cared for the twins during their childhood, showering them with gifts from around the world. Melchior, on the other hand, is rather shadier, frequently upstaged by his brother. His rejection of his daughters should not be taken on face value, however. We should question why he has done so, having already heard a lot about his painful childhood, and hope to uncover the real reasons out in the remaining chapters.
