# Kurt von Obersdorf — Dodsworth character guide

> Kurt von Obersdorf in Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Kurt, Obersdorf, Count Obersdorf

**First appearance:** 0011-x

## Snapshot

A charming, proud Austrian count whose feudal manners and threadbare flat enchant Fran and quietly expose the hollowness of her European dream.

## Who they are

Kurt von Obersdorf is the aristocrat Fran has been looking for: gracious, poor, and convinced of his own nobility. His chumminess with servants and his refusal of her electric range reveal a man whose pride is both genuine and brittle, and his relationship with Fran forces Sam to see his wife as a woman reborn into someone he no longer recognizes. Kurt matters because he is the test case for whether Europe can actually give Fran what she claims to want.

## Relationships

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Mutual respect and camaraderie between Sam and the aristocratic German, though Kurt is also drawn to Fran.

### [Fran Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/fran_dodsworth)

_romantic_

Fran pursues a flirtation and romantic affair with Kurt, drawn by his aristocratic status and European charm.

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Mutual respect and camaraderie between Sam and the aristocratic German, though Kurt is also drawn to Fran.

### [Fran Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/fran_dodsworth)

_romantic_

Fran pursues a flirtation and romantic affair with Kurt, drawn by his aristocratic status and European charm.

### [Fran Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/fran_dodsworth)

_romantic_

Fran pursues a flirtation and romantic affair with Kurt, drawn by his aristocratic status and European charm.

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Mutual respect and camaraderie between Sam and the aristocratic German, though Kurt is also drawn to Fran.

## In the story

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/ix)

Not present in this chapter.

### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxii)

Acts as guide and entertainer, playing piano and mixing cocktails; openly analyzes Fran's personality, stirring Sam's jealousy.

### [Chapter XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxiii)

Shows Fran an album of his boyhood home, sits intimately with her, and is the object of her flirtation; later toasts America.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxiv)

Acts as a constant companion and mediator; Sam suspects he is waiting for the Dodsworths' marriage to break.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxv)

Plans to dine with Sam and a friend, gives Sam bon voyage gifts, and is left alone with Fran.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxvii)

Mentioned in Fran's letters as her companion in Germany.

### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxviii)

Present with Fran when Sam arrives; Fran states Kurt loves her and wants to marry her.

### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxix)

Visits Sam to offer to leave Berlin for Sam and Fran's sake, but Sam refuses.

### [The Wandering of Samuel Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxx)

Sam thinks of helping Kurt win Fran; Kurt is part of Sam's torment.

### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxxi)

Listed among those present at the dinner for Fran in Berlin, as reported in the newspaper Sam reads.

### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxxiii)

Referenced in Fran's letter as her 'man'; she plans to make him head of a Berlin bank branch.

### [XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxxiv)

Mentioned as one of the resilient Europeans Sam admires; Fran's potential marriage to him is referenced.

### [XXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxxv)

Mentioned as having rejected Fran under pressure from his mother, leading to her crisis.

### [XXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxxvi)

Fran criticizes Kurt as bossy and dismisses his family, but Sam defends him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/kurt_von_obersdorf
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters