# Percy Hill — Downstream character guide

> Percy Hill in Downstream by Sigfrid Siwertz.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** little Percy, Percy, Hill

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-i-the-cry

## Snapshot

A young man with a haemorrhage of the lungs and a craving for beauty, Percy asks Stellan to find him a nurse and gets Hedvig instead.

## Who they are

Percy is dissatisfied with his nurse and desperate for a face and temperament worth an artist's attention, so Stellan promises him his sister Hedvig and casually collects Percy's signature on a bill before leaving. Percy's gratitude is touching and entirely genuine, which makes him easy prey for the Selamb habit of trading favors. His illness brings Hedvig into the household orbit, and his eagerness to be looked after by someone strange and sombre sets up the novel's most charged caretaking relationship.

## In the story

### [VI: The Two Fair Heads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se/chapters/part-i-vi-the-two-fair-heads)

The 'china doll' from Stonehill, seen in white sailor trousers, recalls being teased by Stellan and Manne.

### [XI: The Spanish Saint](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se/chapters/part-i-xi-the-spanish-saint)

A convalescent art patron who compares Hedvig to a Spanish saint and Saint Sebastian; he proposes a marriage of companionship, acknowledging his own frailty.

### [III: The Angel of Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se/chapters/part-ii-iii-the-angel-of-death)

Percy is a convalescent whose health improves enough to travel. He surprises Hedvig with a trip to Spain, where their relationship briefly becomes passionate. Back home, he indulges in buying art, leading to conflict with Hedvig.

### [VII: Shadow Play](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se/chapters/part-ii-vii-shadow-play)

Percy is deceased, but Hedvig visits his grave and drapes herself in crepe to dampen Levy's advances. His memory serves as a shield against Levy's world.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se/characters/percy
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/downstream_se/characters