Infinite Jest Characters - Ennet House

See also:

• Other character illustrations:

  • Ennet House residents; ETA students; ETA staff,

  • Incandenza family; Misc. characters; Canada/USOUS

  • JOI’s filmography;

• My essays on Infinite Jest: On double binds; On recursion.

• My book club podcast episode on DFW’s Brief Interviews.

Don’t worry: No big spoilers.

(aka BIM; Bimmy1.) Heart and soul of the book. Former burglar and drug addict. Current live-in-staffer at Ennet House. 300 pounds, over 6 foot, the size of a small dinosaur, with a big square head. Slowly learning to Surrender.

(aka PGOAT2.) Cocaine addict. Former radio host known as Madame Psychosis. Ex-girlfriend of Orin Incandenza. Former actress. Wears a veil as a member of the UHID. Explains that openly wearing a veil isn’t just because you are ashamed, it’s a way to not feel ashamed of your being ashamed. You no longer hide the fact that you’re hiding.

One of the few mid-upper class residents. Starts superficial conflicts to show he doesn’t belong. Has a legitimate beef with Randy Lenz. Wants to believe in cliches and God and Giving In but is frustrated at the impossibility of sincerely making the leap of faith. Argues with Tiny Ewell about whose credit cards are most impressive.

(aka Eldred Ewell.) Anxious attorney. Actually tiny. Obsessed with the prevalence and classification of the other residents’ tattoos.

Recovering marijuana addict and severe depressive. Calls her depression “It”. Joined Ennet House after her fourth stint in a psych ward where she broke down and cried “for real”. Doesn’t pity herself, but thinks death is the preferable, yet still absolutely terrifying option.

Mild mannered. Sometimes disassociated. Plays cribbage with Don Gately. Has a child with former love Mildred Bonk. Good listener who at one point offers his ear to Randy Lenz during late night walks. Avoids Polynesian nuts.

Coke addict. Wanted by both sides of the law. OCD tendencies include needing to be north, needing to know the time with exact precision, and having a deep fear of timepieces. Searches for animals during his late night walks to help him, well, process things.

(aka Pat M.) Executive Director of Ennet House. Former resident who finally Surrendered and Came In after suffering a stroke from alcoholism. Says it doesn't matter what you think or believe or say, all that matters is what you do. Gets prospective residents to pat her gross dogs to determine how desperately committed they are.

Tragically beaten up by a gang of smack addicts during a cold Xmas eve and left for dead. Survived, not totally intact, losing both his hands and feet to frostbite. Somehow manages to smoke Benson and Hedges causing incessant coughing.

Counsellor at Ennet House who applies a tough love approach. Former NYC porn star. Rumoured to have a tattoo on his “unit”.

One of the more well-to-do residents. Nervous. Appears in a memorable early set piece where he’s caught in several double binds while waiting for his final final massive weed binge.

(aka Ferocious Francis.) Tough, elder member of the Crocodiles, a seasoned group of recovered alcoholics who frequent the AA meetings. Reminds other members to Keep Coming. Sponsors Don Gately in the 12-step program after Gately finally plucked up the courage to ask.

(aka Dwayne Glynn.) Suffers bouts of gastro sickness. Weary of bricks and pulleys after a workplace accident. Once messed up by a powerful drug that made the sky look like a gray-green square grid with coordinates.

Narrates infamous “Wardine section”. Later becomes resident of Ennet House. Friends with Yolanda Willis. Works a part time cleaner job at the nearby Enfield Tennis Academy.

Punk smack addict with neo-Nazi tattoos. Pulls pranks and gets up to mischief with Wade McDade. Look out for a possible connection to the gang of degenerate smack addicts.

(aka Gene M.) Counsellor at Ennet House and Don Gately’s predecessor as live-in-janitor. Calls the disease of addiction “The Spider” which you can either feed or starve. Points out educated residents find it tougher because they identify more with their head which is the headquarters of the disease.

Extremely thin, verging on resembling an African child in a World Vision advertisement. Big hair. Still retains sexual allure among men. Has her purse stolen when out walking with (and annoying) Kate Gompert.

Reformed prostitute. Now prim. Potentially addicted to needle pointing. Facial scares, potentially from acne. Dreams of becoming a dental hygienist who specializes in helping kids overcome their fear of anaesthesia.

Friends with Clenette Henderson. Unfortunately stuck with Randy Lenz as her sponsor. Can handle herself in a fight.

Young live-in-staffer. Happy to stay late and cover others’ shifts. Has conspicuous piercings and tattoos despite starting laser surgery removal. Weary of upscale kids with no tatts and all their teeth that think they are like better than her and like that, somehow.

Tough and irascible. Wears a glass eye, sometimes rotating it so the pupil faces inwards. May have (sort of) “poked” another resident with a fork who had been irritatingly scratching the table.

General trouble maker. Cracks jokes and pulls pranks with Emil Minty and Doony Glynn. Has to wear long sleeve tops at his menial job to cover his tattoos even when it’s stinking hot.

New girl. Xanax addict. Still wants to be coddled and seen as a victim. Kicked out by Don Gately after missing curfew.

Needs to appear in court for a bad check issue. Four black teardrop tattoos that look like flies on her face from far away, Randy Lenz points out.

Spectrally thin. Ear plugs supplied by Pat M make her brain itch.

Sometimes pulls pranks with trouble makers Doony Glynn, Emil Minty, and Wade McDade.

(aka Chandulator.) Possibly in a relationship with April Cortelyu. Dodgy teeth. Becomes a cookware salesman after graduating out of the house.

Enjoys cooking despite a bandaged hand. Reminds the counsellor that the house should be a safe and nurturing environment.

Replaces Chandler Foss. Upscale guy with a family but had a drunken limbo accident so scuttles around Ennet House like a crab.

Works part time at Enfield Tennis Academy with Clenette Henderson. Has a white outline tattoo of a skull.

Doesn’t speak much English. Scared he can’t quit drugs. Vexed by the double bind of needing to admit you are powerless but being powerless means you can't quit.

Assistant Manager to Pat M. Asked Randy Lenz to stop hauling books everywhere. Described Don Gately as “sunlighting on the side” when he heads off to his second job after a gruelling night shift.

Only lasted four days in the house. A walking exhibition of high regret ink whose effect, Tiny Ewell presumes, is primarily to repel.

Part time counsellor. Former resident. Covers up her faded eyeliner tattoo with actual eyeliner. Rumoured to be a recovering member of the Sex and Love Addicts group which engages the male residents’ imagination to the max.

New kid. Spends most of his time detoxing in the linen closet.

Anxious nail biter. Someone Pat M has described as “Borderline”. It cost Tiny Ewell two weeks of chores to be allowed to see her detailed, full-earth tattoo.