# The Blind Man — Barnaby Rudge character guide > The Blind Man in Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** blind man, Stagg **First appearance:** 0002-chapter-1 ## Snapshot A blind, nut-cracking extortionist who trades in secrets for money and holds a murderer's freedom in his groping hands. ## Who they are Stagg moves through the shadows of the Rudge mystery, tracking a woman to her hospital bedside and coolly reporting her refusal to save a condemned man. He loves to feel his victims squirm, drawing out their impatience as a kind of entertainment, and rattles the coins of riot-night plunder in his pockets. His ruthless self-interest makes him a perfect instrument of the novel's darker machinery, and his grip on the fugitive's secret keeps the plot's central dread alive. ## Relationships ### [Barnaby Rudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/barnaby_rudge) _psychological_ The Blind Man (Stagg) manipulates Barnaby and his mother, using Barnaby's innocence to further his own sinister purposes. ### [Mrs. Rudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/mrs_rudge) _psychological_ The Blind Man blackmails and terrorizes Mrs. Rudge, exploiting her fear and secrets to control her. ### [Mrs. Rudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/mrs_rudge) _psychological_ The Blind Man blackmails and terrorizes Mrs. Rudge, exploiting her fear and secrets to control her. ### [Barnaby Rudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/barnaby_rudge) _psychological_ The Blind Man (Stagg) manipulates Barnaby and his mother, using Barnaby's innocence to further his own sinister purposes. ### [Barnaby Rudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/barnaby_rudge) _psychological_ The Blind Man (Stagg) manipulates Barnaby and his mother, using Barnaby's innocence to further his own sinister purposes. ### [Mrs. Rudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/mrs_rudge) _psychological_ The Blind Man blackmails and terrorizes Mrs. Rudge, exploiting her fear and secrets to control her. ## In the story ### [Chapter 5](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-5) The mysterious man from the previous night, who appears at the widow's door and flees when Varden tries to catch him. ### [Chapter 8](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-8) Hosts the meeting in his cellar, flattering Tappertit and serving as a sycophantic follower. ### [Chapter 16](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-16) The mysterious stranger, who has been seen in the city for about eight days, haunts the night-cellars and streets, inspiring fear and speculation. He follows Mrs. Rudge and confronts her at her home. ### [Chapter 17](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-17) The mysterious companion who forces his way into the widow's home, revealed to be the robber from the Chigwell road. He threatens her and hints at a dark connection to her past. ### [Chapter 18](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-18) Stagg, the blind man, is encountered by the stranger and reluctantly offers him shelter in his cellar, while secretly examining him as he sleeps. ### [Chapter 45](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-45) Reveals himself as Stagg, a crafty and menacing figure who blackmails the widow. ### [Chapter 46](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-46) Manipulates Barnaby and pressures the widow for money, revealing his cunning and exploitative nature. ### [Chapter 47](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-47) Mentioned as a mysterious figure whose words about gold have taken hold of Barnaby's imagination. ### [Chapter 55](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-55) A mysterious figure who enters the Maypole through the window and questions John Willet about the rioters' direction. ### [Chapter 56](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-56) Not present in this chapter, but the murderer Rudge is revealed and captured. ### [Chapter 61](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-61) Not present in this chapter; no check-in. ### [Chapter 62](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-62) Visits the prisoner in his cell, learns the details of his capture, and proposes a manipulative scheme to save him by bargaining with his wife. ### [Chapter 66](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-66) Not present in this chapter, but referenced as the man in Newgate whom Haredale fears might be freed. ### [Chapter 68](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/chapters/chapter-68) Barnaby seeks him but finds his house shut up and tenantless. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters/the_blind_man - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barnaby_rudge_se/characters