# the Master — In Darkest London character guide

> the Master in In Darkest London by Ada Elizabeth Chesterton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Master, the master

**First appearance:** 0001-in-darkest-london

## Snapshot

An employer or household authority whose word decides whether the narrator eats, sleeps, or is turned back into the street.

## Who they are

The Master represents the arbitrary power that governs the lives of London's working poor, the person whose whim can mean a bed or a night on the pavement. For the narrator, every encounter with such authority is a test of her disguise and her nerve. He matters because he shows how dignity in poverty depends on pleasing strangers who hold all the cards.

## Relationships

### [Kitty Grimshaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/characters/kitty_grimshaw)

_psychological_

Kitty's repeated interactions with the Master reveal a cycle of manipulation and dependency, with her caught in his orbit.

### [Poor Alice](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/characters/poor_alice)

_psychological_

Poor Alice is a victim of the Master's influence, their single interaction hinting at exploitation or control.

### [Kitty Grimshaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/characters/kitty_grimshaw)

_psychological_

Kitty's repeated interactions with the Master reveal a cycle of manipulation and dependency, with her caught in his orbit.

## In the story

### [III: The Hard-Faced Woman of Charity Square](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/chapters/iii-the-hard-faced-woman-of-charity-square)

The hard-faced woman's husband, possibly a bank clerk or insurance worker, mentioned as part of her social code.

### [VIII: The Awful Business of the Door-Handle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/chapters/viii-the-awful-business-of-the-door-handle)

Referenced by Kitty as the authority she confronts at Tonbridge to enforce the law regarding lost clothing.

### [XII: A Word to the Well-Fed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/chapters/xii-a-word-to-the-well-fed)

Not directly present; the chapter focuses on the narrator's observations and the girl's story.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/characters/the_master
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/in_darkest_london_se/characters