# Dr. Cyrus Pym — Manalive character guide

> Dr. Cyrus Pym in Manalive by G. K. Chesterton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Dr. Pym, Pym, Cyrus Pym, the celebrated Dr. Pym, The celebrated Dr. Cyrus Pym, the eminent Pym

**First appearance:** 0001-i-how-the-great-wind-came-to-beacon-house

## Snapshot

A celebrated American criminologist with a fish-bone face and quaint manners, he arrives to investigate Smith and delivers his verdict with unsettling certainty.

## Who they are

Dr. Cyrus Pym is the eminent criminological expert summoned to make sense of the charges against Innocent Smith, and he does so with elaborate theory and theatrical politeness. He argues that Smith is a genius of evil who disguises himself as a blameless Bohemian, exploiting the world's trust in eccentric good nature. His confident diagnosis clashes with the evidence of the reader's own eyes, making him both a comic figure and a serious challenge to the novel's central question of how we judge a man.

## Relationships

### [Michael Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/michael_moon)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym acts as a doctor and observer, professionally analyzing Michael's behavior.

### [Innocent Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/innocent_smith)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym professionally evaluates Innocent, treating him as a psychological case study.

### [Moses Gould](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/moses_gould)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym and Moses Gould have a professional relationship, often discussing the household's affairs.

### [Michael Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/michael_moon)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym acts as a doctor and observer, professionally analyzing Michael's behavior.

### [Innocent Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/innocent_smith)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym professionally evaluates Innocent, treating him as a psychological case study.

### [Michael Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/michael_moon)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym acts as a doctor and observer, professionally analyzing Michael's behavior.

### [Moses Gould](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/moses_gould)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym and Moses Gould have a professional relationship, often discussing the household's affairs.

### [Moses Gould](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/moses_gould)

_professional_

Dr. Cyrus Pym and Moses Gould have a professional relationship, often discussing the household's affairs.

## In the story

### [The Garden of the God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/iv-the-garden-of-the-god)

Not directly present in the excerpts, but the stranger who arrives screaming 'Murder!' is implied to be Dr. Pym.

### [The Allegorical Practical Joker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/v-the-allegorical-practical-joker)

Pym is introduced as a criminological expert who presents a detailed case against Smith, accusing him of being a 'genius of evil' who uses a disguise of eccentric good-nature to commit crimes; he is initially opposed to the idea of a private trial but later shows openness to it.

### [Part II: The Explanations of Innocent Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/part-ii-the-explanations-of-innocent-smith)

Challenges Smith's explanations, attempting to expose him as a fraud.

### [I: The Eye of Death; or, the Murder Charge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/i-the-eye-of-death-or-the-murder-charge)

Prosecutor in the Court of Beacon, delivering a clinical, pseudo-scientific opening statement about murder.

### [II: The Two Curates; or, the Burglary Charge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/ii-the-two-curates-or-the-burglary-charge)

Prosecutor who muses on hypnotism and dual personality as alternative explanations.

### [III: The Round Road; or, the Desertion Charge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/iii-the-round-road-or-the-desertion-charge)

Opens the desertion charge, questioning the defense's evidence and expressing embarrassment over the proceedings.

### [IV: The Wild Weddings; or, the Polygamy Charge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/chapters/iv-the-wild-weddings-or-the-polygamy-charge)

Prosecutes Smith on the polygamy charge, presenting evidence from Lady Bullingdon and the Maidenhead Gazette.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters/dr_cyrus_pym
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/manalive_se/characters