In one of the later scenes of the film, Kane indicates his displeasure with The Inquirer. "The front page has been changed a little; that's not enough," he laments, adding "I've got to get something into this paper besides pictures and print." The shortcomings of The Inquirer are analogous to the flaws in Kane's characterization. As presented through "rosebud," the newsreel, and the newspaper, Kane appears as nothing more than a composite of pictures and print. His life is not sufficiently explained by these premises which do not take into consideration his complexity. This complexity is alluded to by Kane himself when he informs his former guardian, Walter P. Thatcher, "you don't realize you're talking to two people." In defining Kane, it seems necessary to stake grounds which are as multi-faceted as the subject. This is done indirectly in the film. The faces of Kane are defined through those of other characters. Evidence for this assertion rests in parallels between the words and actions of Kane, as a youth and older man, and those of two other individuals: his second wife, Susan Alexander and his guardian Thatcher.
Susan wears the youthful face of Kane; that which proceeds and coincides with his existence as Thatcher's ward. The parallel between Susan and the young Charley Kane is evoked by Kane himself when he and Susan first meet. Now in middle age, Kane tells her that he is "on a sentimental journey" to recover his lost youth. The fact that he goes no further suggests that he has found the object of his desire. In Susan, Kane sees himself as a boy and younger man. Susan is unaffected and child-like, just as Kane is before meeting Thatcher. This is evident in her playfulness with Kane - "Gee mister, you know an awful lot of tricks" - as compared with young Charley's frolicking in the Colorado snow. Adding to their similarity, Susan speaks of having her ambitions dictated by her mother. "I guess I wanted to be a singer. That is, I didn't, but my mother did...well, you know what mothers are like." Indeed Kane does, as it was his mother who likewise decided the course of his life.
