# Sir Walter Scott — Aspects of the Novel character guide

> Sir Walter Scott in Aspects of the Novel by E. M. Forster.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Scott, Walter Scott

**First appearance:** 0004-ii-the-story

## Snapshot

The great storyteller Forster cannot quite love — a novelist of suspense and Scottish glens whose fame rests on momentum rather than passion.

## Who they are

Forster uses Scott as a cautionary figure: a writer who can keep a reader turning pages yet whose characters never quite move us, because he has neither artistic detachment nor genuine passion. His reputation, Forster suspects, is tangled with childhood memory and holiday sentiment rather than lasting literary power. He matters to the argument because he forces the question of what a novel needs beyond a good story — and whether suspense alone can ever be enough.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_professional_

Sir Walter Scott is the author whose narrative voice is represented by the Unknown Narrator in his works.

## In the story

### [II: The Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/chapters/ii-the-story)

Cited as the quintessential storyteller; Forster critiques his lack of passion and artistic detachment but acknowledges his ability to tell a story.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters/sir_walter_scott
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/aspects_of_the_novel_se/characters