# Polecrab — A Voyage to Arcturus character guide

> Polecrab in A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0014-xiv-polecrab

## Snapshot

A fisherman who reads like a mountain wrapped in cloud, he ferries Maskull across strange waters and lets his wife go with a silent kiss.

## Who they are

Polecrab hosts Maskull and explains the Wombflash Forest, but his stillness hides depths Gleameil alone seems to measure. When he poles the raft into the current and wades back to shore without a word, he enacts a sacrifice the story never quite names. He matters because his quiet, unprotesting surrender of what he loves foreshadows the book's recurring cost of passage.

## Relationships

### [Maskull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se/characters/maskull)

_friendship_

Polecrab is a loyal and practical companion who aids Maskull in his travels, sharing a bond of mutual respect.

### [Maskull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se/characters/maskull)

_friendship_

Polecrab is a loyal and practical companion who aids Maskull in his travels, sharing a bond of mutual respect.

### [Maskull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se/characters/maskull)

_friendship_

Polecrab is a loyal and practical companion who aids Maskull in his travels, sharing a bond of mutual respect.

## In the story

### [XIV: Polecrab](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se/chapters/xiv-polecrab)

A surly fisherman who warns of Earthrid's deadly music and forbids his wife from going to the island, but offers to ferry Maskull himself.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se/characters/polecrab
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_voyage_to_arcturus_se/characters