# A. DeWitt Tubbs — Arrowsmith character guide

> A. DeWitt Tubbs in Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Dr. Tubbs, Tubbs, old Tubbs, Col. Dr. Tubbs

**First appearance:** 0041-i

## Snapshot

The pompous, title-collecting director of the McGurk Institute, Dr. Tubbs presides over science as a gentleman's club and a platform for self-congratulation.

## Who they are

Tubbs runs the Institute the way a colonel runs a parade, more concerned with dignity, donors, and honorary degrees than with what happens at the bench. He is the bureaucratic weather Martin must navigate once he arrives at McGurk, a man whose vanity and social ambition shape which research gets praised and which gets ignored. His presence turns the Institute into a test of whether real discovery can survive inside an institution built for appearances.

## In the story

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as part of the faculty; not directly active in this chapter.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as 'Encore Edwards,' the jovial historian of chemistry whom Martin consults about organic chemistry.

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

Mentioned as Dr. Stout, the anatomy lecturer overseeing the dissecting-room.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iv)

Dr. Tubbs, the whiskered Director of the McGurk Institute, visits Gottlieb to offer him a research position with full freedom.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iv)

Director of the McGurk Institute; welcomes Martin warmly, praises his background, and shows him around his office and the Institute.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/i)

Visits Martin occasionally, pats his shoulder, and gives vague encouragement.

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

Is bullied by McGurk, who treats him like a messenger boy.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iii)

Hosts the dinner and exchanges compliments with Sir Isaac Mallard.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iv)

Wanders into Martin's laboratory and emphasizes the ideal of cooperation; part of the ruling caste.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/v)

Briefly appears, questioning whether Martin is following a 'regular demarked line' in his work.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/vi)

Becomes a Colonel and enforces uniform regulations at the Institute.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/vii)

Tubbs, now a Colonel, rebukes Gottlieb for perceived flippancy about the war, showing the shift in their relationship.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/viii)

Colonel Dr. Tubbs gives luncheon lectures on America's role in reconstructing Democratic Europe.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/i)

Mentioned in Martin's thoughts as someone he damns along with Pickerbaugh and Bert Tozer.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/i)

As Director, he pressures Martin to publish quickly, offers him a department and higher salary, then withdraws the offer after D'Herelle's priority is revealed.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/i)

Pressures Martin to pursue practical phage applications, then becomes absorbed in organizing the League of Cultural Agencies, leading to his resignation.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iii)

Sends a letter regretting his inability to attend the dinner.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/chapters/iv)

Tubbs is absent but his managerial competence is contrasted with Gottlieb's failure.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/characters/a_dewitt_tubbs
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/arrowsmith_se/characters