David Bingham, 1893
David Bingham is the name of a character from the first section of the novel, Washington Square. He is a wealthy young man living in an alternate version of American history in which the whole slavery issue turned out quite differently. New York is part of a significantly divided North America collectively known as the Free States. Among the most notable divergences from the historical record is that gay marriage is legal in New York. David is in love with a poor man named Edward, but arrangements have been made to marry a much wealthier old man named Charles.
David and Charles, 1993
The second section of the book takes place a century later and features another man named David who is married to an older man named Charles. This is obviously not the same David and Charles from 1893 as this is not a time travel story. Not only is this not David and Charles from the first section, but there is no obvious connection between the four characters other than sharing a name and certain coincidental social relationships. For instance, unlike his namesake from a century earlier, this David is also not a wealthy social elite.
David’s Father and Edward
The second section of the book is actually itself split into two sections. The second half is narrated by David’s (1993) father who calls himself Wika and testifies to the fact that he is a Hawaiian prince. The story also involves a man named Edward. The story that father relates to son is a meandering tale of the loss of Hawaiian independence and person dissolution which mirrors it.
Charles and Charlie, 2093
The third second of the novel—which actually comprises about half of its overall length—is primarily a first-person narrative account by Charlie, the granddaughter of a renowned scientist who is herself employed by a lab conducting research committed to predicting the next big influenza outbreak. Part three takes place in a dystopian near-future ravaged by an epidemic which allowed certain interested parties to create an authoritarian government which rules by totalitarian force of will.
