# Hawver — Can Such Things Be? character guide

> Hawver in Can Such Things Be? by Ambrose Bierce.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0063-the-spook-house

## Snapshot

A sardonic little teamster with a buried grudge, Hawver narrates a tale of poison and death with unsettling relish, then turns his accusation on the listener.

## Who they are

Hawver is a rough-edged wagon driver who tells the story of Silas Deemer's death with theatrical, mocking precision, transforming himself from comic narrator to grieving avenger before the listener's eyes. His devotion to a woman lost to a rival, and his long-hoarded secret about her lover's end, give his tale a venomous undertow. His sudden charge that the listener poisoned the man makes him both unreliable and unforgettable, and his parting fear of the dead man's ghost lingers like a chill.

## Relationships

### [Moxon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/characters/moxon)

_professional_

Hawver is Moxon's assistant, and their relationship is strained by Moxon's dangerous experiments with artificial intelligence.

### [Moxon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/characters/moxon)

_professional_

Hawver is Moxon's assistant, and their relationship is strained by Moxon's dangerous experiments with artificial intelligence.

## In the story

### [A Diagnosis of Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/chapters/a-diagnosis-of-death)

Tells the story of seeing Dr. Mannering's apparition and later meeting him alive; found dead the next day.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/characters/hawver
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/can_such_things_be_se/characters