# Captain Mckechnie — A Man Could Stand Up— character guide

> Captain Mckechnie in A Man Could Stand Up— by Ford Madox Ford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mckechnie, the Colonel

**First appearance:** 0001-a-man-could-stand-up

## Snapshot

A fellow officer whose rattled nerves and whispered insinuations have convinced Tietjens the Colonel despises him — though the Colonel's own conduct tells a stranger story.

## Who they are

Mckechnie belongs to the battalion's officer world, the mess and dugout hierarchy where reputations are made by gossip as much as by competence. He is the source of the rumor that the Colonel hates Tietjens, yet the Colonel himself treats Tietjens with monumental deference and quiet professional respect, leaving Tietjens to revise everything Mckechnie told him. His unreliability as a witness matters early, because it forces both Tietjens and the reader to distrust the easy story and read the men themselves.

## Relationships

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_psychological_

Captain Mckechnie is obsessively fixated on Sylvia, viewing her as a symbol of the destructive feminine force that undermines male authority.

### [Brother Mark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/brother_mark)

_professional_

Brother Mark and Captain Mckechnie are fellow officers, sharing a professional military relationship within the same unit.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_psychological_

Captain Mckechnie views Valentine with suspicion, associating her with Sylvia and the perceived threat of female manipulation.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_psychological_

Captain Mckechnie is obsessively fixated on Sylvia, viewing her as a symbol of the destructive feminine force that undermines male authority.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_psychological_

Captain Mckechnie is obsessively fixated on Sylvia, viewing her as a symbol of the destructive feminine force that undermines male authority.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_psychological_

Captain Mckechnie views Valentine with suspicion, associating her with Sylvia and the perceived threat of female manipulation.

### [Brother Mark](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/brother_mark)

_professional_

Brother Mark and Captain Mckechnie are fellow officers, sharing a professional military relationship within the same unit.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_psychological_

Captain Mckechnie views Valentine with suspicion, associating her with Sylvia and the perceived threat of female manipulation.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-ii-i)

The Colonel who reluctantly had to ask Tietjens to give the order to retreat, and whose hatred for Tietjens is noted.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-ii-ii)

Bitter and lachrymose, he confronts Tietjens over a perceived slight and pleads for leniency regarding the C.O.'s refusal to take a pill.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

Engages in a tense conversation with Tietjens about the Colonel, using obscene language and questioning Tietjens's motives and finances.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-ii-iv)

Attempts to establish intellectual parity with Tietjens by discussing a sonnet he wrote.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-ii-v)

The Colonel (O.C. A Company) expresses regret that the Germans are not attacking, reveals personal motives for leave, and is later asked by Tietjens to lecture his men on communication.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-iii-i)

Appears at the door, hostile and unshaven; he accuses Tietjens and Campion of conspiracy and claims to have been dismissed from the Army.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/chapters/part-iii-ii)

Taken by Tietjens to shave during the celebration.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/captain_mckechnie
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters