Brian Cleek



Brian Cleek is the secondary antagonist of the novel and film adaptation of Jack Ketchum's The Woman.

The Woman
Brian Cleek was the son of a county lawyer, named Chris Cleek, and his wife, Belle. A disturbed child, Brian quickly becomes enamored by the feral woman when his father introduced her to him. Throughout the novel and film, Chris attempted to manipulate his son into being a misogynist, meaning that, like his father, he represents the corruption of the patriarchal system. When Chris went out to the fruit cellar to rape the Woman, Brian spied on him; as a result, he gets aroused. He attempts to repeat what his father had done to the woman the next day, though he resorts to masturbating only to then be caught by his sister, Peggy.

When Chris returned home, he was informed as to what Brian had done by his wife. Believing that men were entitled to do whatever they want, he attempts to cover for his son by claiming that it was natural for boys to have urges. Chris forces Brian into helping him feed Miss Raton to the dogs, when she started to speculate that Chris had gotten his daughter pregnant. In desperation, Peggy frees the Woman from her binding, and she kills Belle by chewing her face off. The Woman then goes to face Chris and his son. He leaves his son to die at the hands of the vengeful woman, and Brian gets severed in half.