# Boss Mangan — Heartbreak House character guide

> Boss Mangan in Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Mangan, Mangan Rising, Mangan Shortly, Mangan Shaking, Mangan No, Mangan Snifflng, Boss Mangan, the Mangans, ten Boss Mangans, Boss

**First appearance:** 0033-heartbreak-house

## Snapshot

A self-made industrialist engaged to Ellie, who discovers mid-argument that he owns nothing, controls nothing, and is being played by everyone in the room.

## Who they are

Mangan arrives at Heartbreak House as the embodiment of capitalist power—a man who has 'stuck a ramrod into the other fellow's machinery' and been offered a government post for it. But under Hesione's and Ellie's cross-examination he confesses he has no money, no real authority, and no idea how his own factories work. His bluster collapsing into bewilderment makes him both a comic figure and a damning portrait of power without substance.

## Relationships

### [Ellie Dunn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/ellie_dunn)

_romantic_

Boss Mangan is a wealthy industrialist who expects to marry Ellie for her youth and beauty, but she ultimately rejects him.

### [Hesione Hushabye](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/hesione_hushabye)

_psychological_

Hesione manipulates Boss Mangan, playing on his vanity and desire for Ellie to further her own schemes.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters/boss_mangan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heartbreak_house_se/characters