# Death — Fifty-One Tales character guide

> Death in Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Death Death

**First appearance:** 0001-charon

## Snapshot

A brooding, unsightly personification who resents Love's mockery and sets out to frighten the one man who once made him work.

## Who they are

Death moves through these tales as a figure of wounded pride rather than simple menace, sulking in Olympian courts where Love laughs at him and scheming to prove himself. He appears at restaurant tables, in the courts of gods, and at the side of dying women, always drawn to the moment when beauty or bravado falters. His grudge against being laughed at drives him toward Odysseus, and his quiet presence at human quarrels makes him the collection's most persistent shadow.

## Relationships

### [Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/odysseus)

_rivalry_

Death and Odysseus are adversaries, with Odysseus cunningly evading Death's grasp through wit and endurance.

### [Fame](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/fame)

_rivalry_

Death and Fame are rivals, as Fame seeks to grant immortality while Death claims all eventually.

### [Fame](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/fame)

_rivalry_

Death and Fame are rivals, as Fame seeks to grant immortality while Death claims all eventually.

### [Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/odysseus)

_rivalry_

Death and Odysseus are adversaries, with Odysseus cunningly evading Death's grasp through wit and endurance.

## In the story

### [The Workman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-workman)

Death is implied in the workman's fall and the ghost's appearance, highlighting mortality.

### [The Guest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-guest)

The unseen guest at the dinner, who claims the young man at the end.

### [Death and Odysseus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/death-and-odysseus)

Death is laughed at by Love and broods over his humiliation. He resolves to frighten Odysseus but fails, and is instead treated as a familiar companion.

### [Death and the Orange](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/death-and-the-orange)

Death is present at another table and rises to observe the quarrel.

### [The Worm and the Angel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-worm-and-the-angel)

The worm, emerging from tombs, embodies decay and death.

### [Spring in Town](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/spring-in-town)

Mentioned metaphorically as approaching an old blind beggar, paralleling Spring's approach to Winter.

### [A Losing Game](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/a-losing-game)

Death sits morosely over wine, refuses to engage, and weeps, leaving Man puzzled.

### [The Food of Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/chapters/the-food-of-death)

Death is sickened but then strengthened by modern processed foods and medicines.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters/death
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/fifty_one_tales_se/characters