In the story, Arthur Prime is introduced as the son of a clergyman
             and his wife, both of whom have recently died. We first meet Arthur as he
             and his cousin, Charlotte, are discussing going through his parent's
             belonging after his death. He seems to be reticent to go through the
             belongings, telling Charlotte that he wishes she would look at the few new
             things he has found. The first impression that the reader gets of Arthur is
             that he "seemed somehow to brood without sorrow, to suffer without what she
             in her own case would have called pain." This clearly insinuates that he
             is shallow and unfeeling, and his disdain of his aunt's "awful" and "cheap"
             jewelery shows his disregard for sentimentality at least in this regard.
             He is a man concerned with appearances and propriety, and criticizes the
             jewels as "trappings of a ruder age than ours. Actors do themselves better
             now." He is absolutely insistent that the jewels are worthless, suggesting
             that any value would suggest that his aunt was once a 'kept' woman of the
             stage, of less than sterling character. As the story moves on, Arthur
             reveals himself to be deceptive, as he argues that the pearls are indeed
             "rotten paste", and that he does not believe Charlotte's assertion that
             they are indeed real and valuable. Rather than standing by his word about
             the pearls and returning them to Charlotte, he locks them in a drawer and
             says he will have them assessed at Bond Street, simply in order to prove
             that they are fakes. It is only later that Charlotte learns through Mrs.
             Guy that Arthur has disposed of the pearls by putting them up for sale,
             thus deceiving her. Arthur has clearly been portrayed as a man who is
             interested in appearances and not generous, he is "one who is unfamiliar
             with generosity," and his gift of the pearls is offered in a "tone of
             relief which expressed somehow more of the eager than of the gracious."
             Ch...