Character guide

Narrator

major

Also known as Unknown, your, mine, myself

Rutherford is a first-person narrator whose editor warns readers he is no hero—weak, impressionable, and prone to self-created torments—yet possessed of passionate affection and unflinching honesty. Newly lodged in Camden Town with ten pounds and no prospects, he schemes to secure newspaper commissions covering parliamentary debates, only to find both engagements serve the same district. His ceaseless speculations and inability to solve his own problems make him a type of the century's troubled, earnest seekers.

Job

supporting

Also known as Himself, mine, himself

Job surfaces in Rutherford's theological notes as a figure whose story the narrator analyzes and identifies with, a righteous man crushed by calamity and demanding answers from heaven. His refusal to accept easy consolations resonates with Rutherford's own propensity to entangle himself in problems he cannot solve. Job matters because he gives shape to the narrator's central spiritual struggle: how to endure suffering without surrendering either honesty or faith.

Clement

supporting

Also known as Clem, himself

Clement belongs to the intimate circle of Rutherford's daily life, one of the few figures who knows him well enough to witness his self-created impressions and morbid speculations at close range. Where Rutherford is weak and impressionable, Clement functions as a grounding presence, someone to whom the narrator can speak plainly. His role in the early-middle arc is to humanize Rutherford's isolation, showing that even a man tormented by unanswerable questions is not entirely alone.

Mrs. Butts

supporting

Also known as Butts, herself

Mrs. Butts is part of the small domestic world Rutherford inhabits after taking his single room near the Camden Road, one of the recurring figures of his daily rounds. Her plain, unphilosophical concerns stand in quiet contrast to his ceaseless speculations, and their interactions reveal how a man of intense inward life must still negotiate rent, gossip, and neighborly obligation. She matters as a reminder that the story's spiritual drama unfolds within ordinary social fabric.

Narrator's Wife

major

Also known as his wife, Hers, His wife, herself

She is the woman who shares Rutherford's home and endures alongside him the uncertainties of his employment and the heaviness of his temperament. Where he is weak, impressionable, and prone to morbid speculation, she offers constancy—a love that asks for no philosophical resolution, only presence. Her role in the early-middle arc is to show what Rutherford stands to lose or preserve: a domestic anchor that his ceaseless questions might either strengthen or erode.

Clark

minor

Also known as himself

An acquaintance or colleague of the narrator, appearing in social contexts.

Miss Leroy

supporting

Also known as Leroy, old Leroy, herself, hers

Miss Leroy—sometimes called old Leroy—is an elderly presence whose path crosses Rutherford's and whose needs or history gradually make her more than a passing acquaintance. Her age and vulnerability engage the narrator's deep sincerity and his tendency to entangle himself emotionally in the problems of others. She matters to the early-middle arc because she tests and reveals Rutherford's capacity for compassionate attachment, offering a relationship in which his much-criticized impressionability becomes a form of care rather than weakness.

Ellen Butts

supporting

Also known as Ellen, Butts

A young woman bound to the Butts family, whose personal story quietly tests Rutherford's sympathies and his instinct for entangling himself in other people's troubles.

Marie

supporting

Also known as little Marie, herself

A child under Rutherford's roof, whose small presence asks for tenderness from a man more accustomed to speculating about himself than caring for anyone.

John

minor

A minor character, possibly a servant or neighbor.

Eliphaz the Temanite

minor

Also known as Eliphaz, your

One of Job's friends, appearing in the biblical commentary.

Mark Rutherford

major

Also known as Rutherford, the Rutherford, Unknown Greek Author Mark Rutherford, Mark, himself

A morbid, impressionable London journalist with ten pounds in his pocket, who turns his own spiritual struggles into the autobiography we are reading.

Jesus

minor

Also known as Himself, himself

Religious figure discussed in theological contexts.

Mrs. M'Kay

supporting

Also known as M'Kay

The landlady of Rutherford's Camden Town lodgings, whose ordinary domestic presence measures the distance between his restless mind and the world of plain, working people.

Mrs. Taylor

minor

Also known as Taylor, himself

A neighbor or acquaintance of the narrator.

George Butts

minor

Also known as George

A member of the Butts family, possibly Ellen's relative.

Mrs. Cardinal

minor

Also known as Cardinal, himself

A minor character, possibly a neighbor or acquaintance.

The Almighty

minor

Also known as Himself, thee, thy, thou, thine

God as referenced in prayer and theological discussion.

Bildad the Shuhite

minor

Also known as Bildad, himself

One of Job's friends in the biblical commentary.

Satan

minor

Also known as himself

Adversary figure in the biblical commentary on Job.

Jehovah

minor

Also known as mine

Name of God used in theological contexts.

Christ

minor

Also known as himself

Central religious figure referenced in the narrator's theological reflections.

Noah

minor

Also known as himself

Biblical figure mentioned in passing or in commentary.

Mr. Butts

minor

Also known as Butts

The husband or father in the Butts household.

Zophar the Naamathite

minor

Also known as Zophar, himself

One of Job's friends in the biblical commentary.

Mrs. Mobbs

minor

A minor character, possibly a servant or neighbor.

Paul

minor

Also known as the Apostle Paul, St. Paul

Apostle referenced in theological discussions.

Richard

minor

A minor character, possibly a friend or relative.

Chalmers

minor

A minor character, possibly a colleague or acquaintance.

Mrs. George Andrews

minor

A minor character mentioned in passing.