# William Wells Brown — Clotel character guide

> William Wells Brown in Clotel by William Wells Brown.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** W. Wells Brown, Mr. Brown, William, Brown, Wells Brown, Mr. William Wells Brown, Mr. Willis, William W. Brown

**First appearance:** 0001-narrative-of-the-life-and-escape-of-william-wells-brown

## Snapshot

A self-educated mechanic who stashes his hard-won earnings for freedom, then hands them to Clotel so she can escape as a gentleman while he plays her servant.

## Who they are

William is a tall, full-bodied mechanic whose countenance beams with intelligence, a man who has earned more than his purchase price and saved one hundred and fifty dollars toward his own liberty. Moved to tears by Clotel's story, he surrenders that hoard in an instant, then argues against her daring scheme even as he agrees to play the loud, grumbling servant in it. His generosity and his fear of recapture pull against each other, making him the moral hinge on which the novel's first flight to freedom turns.

## Relationships

### [Clotel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/clotel)

_psychological_

William Wells Brown, as the author and narrator, has a meta-textual relationship with Clotel, observing and chronicling her suffering and fate.

### [Mr. Carlton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/mr_carlton)

_social_

Mr. Carlton and William Wells Brown are likely acquaintances, with Brown documenting Carlton's role in the slave system.

### [Captain Price](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/captain_price)

_rivalry_

Captain Price is a slave trader and antagonist, representing the brutal system that Brown condemns.

### [Mr. Walker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/mr_walker)

_rivalry_

Mr. Walker is a slave catcher or trader, opposing Brown's abolitionist perspective.

### [Ned Huckelby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/ned_huckelby)

_rivalry_

Ned Huckelby is a slave overseer, embodying the cruelty that Brown critiques in his narrative.

### [Sam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/sam)

_social_

Sam is likely a fellow slave or acquaintance of Brown, sharing a common experience of bondage.

### [Clotel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/clotel)

_psychological_

William Wells Brown, as the author and narrator, has a meta-textual relationship with Clotel, observing and chronicling her suffering and fate.

### [Sam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/sam)

_social_

Sam is likely a fellow slave or acquaintance of Brown, sharing a common experience of bondage.

### [Captain Price](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/captain_price)

_rivalry_

Captain Price is a slave trader and antagonist, representing the brutal system that Brown condemns.

### [Mr. Carlton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/mr_carlton)

_social_

Mr. Carlton and William Wells Brown are likely acquaintances, with Brown documenting Carlton's role in the slave system.

### [Mr. Walker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/mr_walker)

_rivalry_

Mr. Walker is a slave catcher or trader, opposing Brown's abolitionist perspective.

### [Ned Huckelby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/ned_huckelby)

_rivalry_

Ned Huckelby is a slave overseer, embodying the cruelty that Brown critiques in his narrative.

## In the story

### [Preface to the 1853 Edition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/chapters/preface-to-the-1853-edition)

Author and narrator, writing from London to appeal to British readers against American slavery.

### [Narrative of the Life and Escape of William Wells Brown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/chapters/narrative-of-the-life-and-escape-of-william-wells-brown)

Narrator and subject; hired by slave-trader James Walker, later escapes and becomes an abolitionist lecturer in the North and England.

### [XIX: Escape of Clotel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/chapters/xix-escape-of-clotel)

William, a fellow slave who hires his own time, gives Clotel his savings of $150 to fund her escape. He assists her in the escape plan and later faces discrimination on a train, paying only thirty-seven cents for his ride in the luggage van.

### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/chapters/xxix-conclusion)

Narrator and author, affirms the truth of the narrative and his personal involvement in many scenes.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters/william_wells_brown
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/clotel_se/characters