# Mr. McCabe — Heretics character guide

> Mr. McCabe in Heretics by G. K. Chesterton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** XVI On Mr. McCabe, The McCabe

**First appearance:** 0017-xvi-on-mr-mccabe-and-a-divine-frivolity

## Snapshot

A sincere rationalist who accuses Chesterton of curing thoughtlessness with strained paradoxes, only to be caught confusing funny with not serious.

## Who they are

McCabe charges that rocket-metaphors and literary sleight-of-hand cannot settle important questions, and Chesterton grants his complete sincerity before dismantling the charge. The quarrel turns on whether a grotesque style can carry a grave motive, with Chesterton insisting that funny is the opposite of not funny and of nothing else. McCabe gives the book its cleanest foil: a man so earnest he cannot see that a joke may be the shortest route to truth.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_rivalry_

McCabe is a frequent target of the narrator's criticism, representing a rationalist worldview the narrator opposes.

### [Mr. Bernard Shaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_bernard_shaw)

_rivalry_

Shaw and McCabe are often discussed together as representatives of modern heresies, with the narrator contrasting their views.

### [Mr. Chesterton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_chesterton)

_rivalry_

Chesterton (likely the narrator himself) directly debates McCabe's rationalist positions throughout the book.

### [Mr. Whistler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_whistler)

_social_

McCabe and Whistler are discussed as contemporary figures representing different modern heresies.

### [Mr. Chesterton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_chesterton)

_rivalry_

Chesterton (likely the narrator himself) directly debates McCabe's rationalist positions throughout the book.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_rivalry_

McCabe is a frequent target of the narrator's criticism, representing a rationalist worldview the narrator opposes.

### [Mr. Whistler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_whistler)

_social_

McCabe and Whistler are discussed as contemporary figures representing different modern heresies.

## In the story

### [XVI: On Mr. McCabe and a Divine Frivolity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/xvi-on-mr-mccabe-and-a-divine-frivolity)

Chesterton's primary interlocutor, who criticizes Chesterton's use of humor and paradox in philosophical debate, representing the rationalist, serious-minded approach.

### [Concluding Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/chapters/xx-concluding-remarks-on-the-importance-of-orthodoxy)

Cited as a rationalist who believes in the impossible sun, illustrating that all hold dogmas.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters/mr_mccabe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/heretics_se/characters