Marinus Bicknell Willett is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft, the protagonist of his novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
Overview[]
Willett, the family physician of Charles Dexter Ward, grows increasingly worried about Ward's obsession with his ancestor Joseph Curwen, his physical double. Willett investigates the history of Curwen, a notorious necromancer, and grows convinced that the old wizard has plotted to use Ward to resurrect himself, eventually killing his descendant and taking his place. Willett eventually uses the reverse of the resurrection spell to turn Curwen back into dust.
He is described in the novel as "a small man", and as "a trim, blue-eyed, clean-shaven gentleman".
Behind the Mythos[]
An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia compares Willett's character to other "valiant counterweight[s]" in Lovecraft such as Thomas Malone in "The Horror at Red Hook" (1925) (EXP: An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia) and Henry Armitage in "The Dunwich Horror"; like Willett, Armitage "defeats the 'villains' by incantations, and he is susceptible to the same flaws--pomposity, arrogance, self-importance--that can be seen in Willett." (EXP: An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia)