# Dr. Fagan — Decline and Fall character guide > Dr. Fagan in Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the Doctor **First appearance:** 0002-part-i-ii-llanabba-castle ## Snapshot The dreamy, mercenary headmaster of Llanabba Castle, who speaks of ideals and service while quietly sacking staff who lack tone. ## Who they are Dr. Fagan presides over a school housed in a sham medieval castle built by Victorian mill-owners, and he runs it on the same principle of enlightened self-interest — hiring cheap masters, tolerating Grimes until the parents complain, and lecturing Paul on the importance of tone. His blend of snobbery and sentimentality, sighing over the loss of a predecessor who borrowed money from boys, makes him a perfect comic portrait of institutional hypocrisy. He sets the tone for Paul's first descent into the working world, where every authority figure turns out to be running a slightly different con. ## Relationships ### [Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/paul_pennyfeather) _professional_ Dr. Fagan is Paul's employer and headmaster at Llanabba, treating him with condescending authority and indifference. ### [Philbrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/philbrick) _professional_ Dr. Fagan employs Philbrick as his butler, but Philbrick secretly steals from him and fabricates stories. ### [Captain Grimes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/captain_grimes) _professional_ Grimes works as a master under Dr. Fagan, who tolerates his drunkenness and lies out of convenience. ### [Margot Beste-Chetwynde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/margot_beste_chetwynde) _social_ Dr. Fagan is a sycophantic acquaintance of Margot, eager to impress her for social and financial gain. ### [Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/paul_pennyfeather) _professional_ Dr. Fagan is Paul's employer and headmaster at Llanabba, treating him with condescending authority and indifference. ### [Philbrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/philbrick) _professional_ Dr. Fagan employs Philbrick as his butler, but Philbrick secretly steals from him and fabricates stories. ### [Margot Beste-Chetwynde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/margot_beste_chetwynde) _social_ Dr. Fagan is a sycophantic acquaintance of Margot, eager to impress her for social and financial gain. ### [Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/paul_pennyfeather) _professional_ Dr. Fagan is Paul's employer and headmaster at Llanabba, treating him with condescending authority and indifference. ### [Captain Grimes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/captain_grimes) _professional_ Grimes works as a master under Dr. Fagan, who tolerates his drunkenness and lies out of convenience. ### [Margot Beste-Chetwynde](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/margot_beste_chetwynde) _social_ Dr. Fagan is a sycophantic acquaintance of Margot, eager to impress her for social and financial gain. ### [Captain Grimes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/captain_grimes) _professional_ Grimes works as a master under Dr. Fagan, who tolerates his drunkenness and lies out of convenience. ### [Philbrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/philbrick) _professional_ Dr. Fagan employs Philbrick as his butler, but Philbrick secretly steals from him and fabricates stories. ## In the story ### [I: Vocation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-i-vocation) Headmaster of Llanabba Castle School; interviews and hires Paul at a reduced salary; mentions his staff and the school's ideals. ### [II: Llanabba Castle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-ii-llanabba-castle) The headmaster, who assigns Paul to various duties and hints at the need for discretion about Paul's Oxford expulsion. ### [Discipline](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-v-discipline) Presides over morning prayers, makes announcements about cancelled events and cigar ends found in the boiler-room. ### [VIII: The Sports](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-viii-the-sports) Dressed in a pale grey morning coat, he expresses a puzzling exhilaration about the sports day despite past disasters. ### [X: Post Mortem](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-x-post-mortem) Expresses disappointment in the sports day and criticizes Lady Circumference's speech. ### [XII: The Agony of Captain Grimes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-xii-the-agony-of-captain-grimes) Confronts Paul about Grimes's misconduct; offers Paul a partnership in Llanabba; decides the wedding will take place in a week. ### [XIII: The Passing of a Public School Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-i-xiii-the-passing-of-a-public-school-man) Arranges the marriage with minimal enthusiasm; his condescension contributes to Grimes's despair. ### [VI: The Passing of Paul Pennyfeather](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/chapters/part-iii-vi-the-passing-of-paul-pennyfeather) Proprietor of Cliff Place; oversees the fake operation and gives a speech at the celebratory supper. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters/dr_fagan - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/decline_and_fall_se/characters