A Cycle of the West · Character

Hugh Glass

An aging mountain man left for dead after a bear mauling, whose slow crawl back toward life is powered as much by betrayed love as by vengeance.

major

Also known as Old Hugh Glass, Old Glass, Glass, Hugh

First appearance: The Song of Hugh Glass

As a major figure in A Cycle of the West, Hugh Glass is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

The central figure of the chapter, Glass endures a brutal bear attack and crawls over a hundred miles to seek revenge and survival.

In the storyThe Song of Hugh GlassOpen this moment free

See Hugh Glass in The Song of Hugh Glass Book page

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Hugh Glass is the gray veteran of the trapper camps, a man whose years sit on him like snow until a memory of Jamie's wind-blown hair and merry eyes rekindles a longing to live. Robbed of gun, flint, and blanket by the boy he cherished, he turns grief into a still white hell of brooding ire that drives him across the yellow plain. His ordeal anchors the book's opening movement, making endurance itself the first great test of the mountain man's world.

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The fuller portrait of Hugh Glass sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Hugh Glass in The Song of Hugh Glass

Character Web

19 connections

A slice of how Hugh Glass sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Friendship
Rivalry
Other

Character groups

Key Figures in Conflict
Ashley Expedition Members

+14 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the psychological and emotional peak of despair for the S…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Little Jim
friendship · positive
Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a… How this plays out →
Red Cloud
rivalry · negative
Jules Le Bon
rivalry · negative
Gray Fox
rivalry · negative
Little Jim
friendship · positive
Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a… How this plays out →
Jules Le Bon
rivalry · negative
Little Jim
friendship · positive
Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a… How this plays out →

Little Jim
Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a protector and mentor to the younger man.
Red Cloud
Hugh Glass and Red Cloud are adversaries, representing the clash between white frontiersmen and Native American resistance.
Jules Le Bon
Hugh Glass and Jules Le Bon are enemies, as Le Bon abandons Glass to die, sparking Glass's quest for vengeance.
Gray Fox
Gray Fox and Hugh Glass are adversaries, with Gray Fox representing Native American hostility toward Glass's incursions.
Little Jim
Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a protector and mentor to the younger man.
Jules Le Bon
Hugh Glass and Jules Le Bon are enemies, as Le Bon abandons Glass to die, sparking Glass's quest for vengeance.
Little Jim
Hugh Glass and Little Jim share a deep, loyal companionship, with Glass acting as a protector and mentor to the younger man.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Hugh Glass in The Song of Hugh Glass

In the story

Hugh Glass appears across 7 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Song of Hugh Glass
The central figure of the chapter, Glass endures a brutal bear attack and crawls over a hundred miles to seek revenge and survival.
The Song of Hugh Glass
Gray-bearded and gray-eyed, Glass is a stoic, powerful man with a hidden past. He rescues Little Jim in battle and later, after being betrayed by him, transforms his pain into a burning desire for revenge.
Graybeard and Goldhair
Gray-bearded and taciturn, Glass is a seasoned frontiersman with a hidden capacity for fierce loyalty, as shown when he rescues Jamie during the Arikara fight. He is later mauled by a bear and left for dead.
II: The Awakening
Awakens from a coma after a bear attack, discovers he has been abandoned, and resolves to survive and seek revenge.
III: The Crawl
The protagonist, crawling and hiding from a Ree war party, driven by vengeance and struggling with thirst and moral conflict.
IV: The Return of the Ghost
The ghost-like protagonist, driven by vengeance, recovers from his wounds and undertakes a perilous winter journey to the Big Horn's mouth.
V: Jamie
A gray old man, heartsick and driven by a quest to find Jamie, he struggles with vengeance and forgiveness, ultimately finding Jamie and offering reconciliation.

Chapter companion notes

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See Hugh Glass in The Song of Hugh Glass