Can Such Things Be? · Character

Jo Dunfer

A small, sharp-tongued wagon driver called Gopher, whose long-hoarded grudge and buried grief surface in one devastating roadside confession.

supporting

Also known as Jo, Dunfer, little Jo, Joseph, Joey

First appearance: A Baby Tramp

As a supporting figure in Can Such Things Be?, Jo Dunfer is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A central figure in the valley's haunting.

In the storyThe Haunted ValleyOpen this moment free

See Jo Dunfer in The Haunted Valley Book page

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Jo Dunfer—Gopher to those who know him—is a little man with a wagon, a bitten finger, and a tongue he keeps for reasons of his own. He narrates the ruin of Whisky and Ah Wee with a sardonic performer's relish, then turns on his listener with an accusation that reframes the whole story: nine years of madness, a woman he loved and followed from San Francisco, and a grave he has refused to visit. His grief and his venom are inseparable, and both drive the tale toward its reckoning.

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See Jo Dunfer in A Baby Tramp

Character Web

5 connections

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Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Mysterious Tragedies
Fatal Encounters
Supernatural Investigators
Drunkard's Supernatural

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This passage marks the dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the narrato…

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In the story

Jo Dunfer appears across 4 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Haunted Valley
A central figure in the valley's haunting.
I: How Trees Are Felled in China
Whisky Jo, a local rancher and saloon keeper, who narrates his hatred for Chinese immigrants and his murder of Ah Wee.
II: Who Drives Sane Oxen Should Himself Be Sane
Referred to as 'Whisky' or 'W'isky'; the narrator's former acquaintance who killed Ah Wee and is now buried beside him.
A Baby Tramp
The orphaned child, referred to as 'Joey' and 'little Jo,' who wanders as a tramp and eventually dies on his mother's grave.

Chapter companion notes

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See Jo Dunfer in A Baby Tramp

See Jo Dunfer in The Haunted Valley