# Cribbens — McTeague character guide

> Cribbens in McTeague by Frank Norris.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** evening Cribbens

**First appearance:** 0018-xvii

## Snapshot

A weathered, wandering companion McTeague falls in with on the road, offering rough fellowship when the dentist has nothing left.

## Who they are

Cribbens is a drifting, hard-luck prospector type who crosses McTeague's path once the dentist's settled life has come apart and he is moving through the world unmoored. He offers the kind of casual, unjudging male company McTeague once had in Marcus, but stripped of Polk Street's comforts and rivalries. His appearance signals how far McTeague has fallen from the dental parlors, and his schemes and talk of gold keep the story's pull toward the mining country alive.

## Relationships

### [McTeague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/mcteague)

_friendship_

Cribbens is a friend and fellow miner who helps McTeague escape after he kills Trina.

### [McTeague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/mcteague)

_friendship_

Cribbens is a friend and fellow miner who helps McTeague escape after he kills Trina.

### [McTeague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/mcteague)

_friendship_

Cribbens is a friend and fellow miner who helps McTeague escape after he kills Trina.

## In the story

### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/xxi)

Mentioned as having told McTeague about the Armagosa Mountains and the difficulty of crossing Death Valley.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/cribbens
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters