# Bernard Higginbotham — Martin Eden character guide

> Bernard Higginbotham in Martin Eden by Jack London.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Higginbotham, Mr. Higginbotham

**First appearance:** 0003-ii

## Snapshot

Martin's brother-in-law, a petty grocer who equates worth with wages and flies into rages over newspaper talk of his wife's writing relative.

## Who they are

Bernard Higginbotham presides over a small shop and a smaller sense of possibility, resenting every hour Martin spends at books instead of earning. The newspaper publicity around Martin's stories enrages him—Gertrude reports she never saw him so mad—because it threatens the tidy respectability he has scraped together. He is the novel's first and most intimate portrait of the philistinism Martin must escape, and the reason Martin avoids his sister's house even when he needs her.

## Relationships

### [Martin Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/characters/martin_eden)

_rivalry_

Bernard is Martin's brother-in-law who constantly belittles and exploits him, embodying the narrow-mindedness of the petit bourgeoisie.

### [Martin Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/characters/martin_eden)

_rivalry_

Bernard is Martin's brother-in-law who constantly belittles and exploits him, embodying the narrow-mindedness of the petit bourgeoisie.

### [Martin Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/characters/martin_eden)

_rivalry_

Bernard is Martin's brother-in-law who constantly belittles and exploits him, embodying the narrow-mindedness of the petit bourgeoisie.

## In the story

### [Martin Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/martin-eden)

Martin's brother-in-law, with whom Martin has conflict, highlighting class and family tensions.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/iii)

Accuses Martin of being drunk, displaying his petty, cruel, and miserly nature; resents Martin's presence in the household.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/iv)

Martin's brother-in-law, whose thriftiness and demeanor cause Martin's 'blood to crawl' as he enters his room.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as Gertrude's husband, whom Martin considers a brute for working her so hard.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/vi)

Charges Martin extra for gas and water, and disapproves of his new habits.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/ix)

Sneers at Martin's literary ambitions during mealtime.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/x)

Hosts a heavy Sunday dinner as an advertisement of his worldly success; delivers platitudinous sermonettes on American institutions.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xi)

His jeering face is mentioned as part of the mundane reality that contrasts with Martin's creative inner world.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xii)

Jeers at Martin for receiving a call from a lady and sneers about his dating, but Martin remains detached.

### [Chapter XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xiv)

Expresses open and nagging contempt for Martin's writing efforts.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xvi)

Bernard is mentioned as charging Martin half a dollar for a packing-case used as a trunk, highlighting Martin's strained family relations.

### [Chapter XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xxiv)

Mentioned indirectly as part of Martin's family; Martin avoids going to his sister's house out of shame.

### [Chapter XXXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xxxiv)

Sends anonymous hate letters to editors accusing Martin of plagiarism.

### [XLIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xliv)

Bernard invites Martin to dinner and accepts his financial help for Marian, revealing his opportunistic nature.

### [XLVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/chapters/xlvi)

Bernard Higginbotham visits Martin with the family to say goodbye, part of the 'sore trial' of the last day.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/characters/bernard_higginbotham
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/martin_eden_se/characters