# Old Grannis — McTeague character guide

> Old Grannis in McTeague by Frank Norris.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Grannis, Mister Grannis, Mr. Grannis

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

A shy, elderly lodger who binds pamphlets by night and has loved Miss Baker silently across the hall for years.

## Who they are

Old Grannis keeps to his tiny room, tending a little dog hospital and avoiding the conversation he most wants to have. He and Miss Baker share a wall, a wallpaper pattern, and a mutual, unspoken devotion that neither can bring themselves to name. Their gentle, stalled courtship is the flat's quiet countermelody to the louder hungers around them.

## Relationships

### [Trina Sieppe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/trina_sieppe)

_social_

Old Grannis is a shy, elderly neighbor who shares a quiet, friendly rapport with Trina.

### [Maria Macapa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/maria_macapa)

_social_

Maria and Old Grannis are fellow boarders who share a quiet, neighborly acquaintance.

### [Marcus Schouler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/marcus_schouler)

_social_

Marcus and Old Grannis are fellow boarders with a distant, polite relationship.

### [Trina Sieppe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/trina_sieppe)

_social_

Old Grannis is a shy, elderly neighbor who shares a quiet, friendly rapport with Trina.

### [Maria Macapa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/maria_macapa)

_social_

Maria and Old Grannis are fellow boarders who share a quiet, neighborly acquaintance.

### [Trina Sieppe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/trina_sieppe)

_social_

Old Grannis is a shy, elderly neighbor who shares a quiet, friendly rapport with Trina.

### [Marcus Schouler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/marcus_schouler)

_social_

Marcus and Old Grannis are fellow boarders with a distant, polite relationship.

### [Maria Macapa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/characters/maria_macapa)

_social_

Maria and Old Grannis are fellow boarders who share a quiet, neighborly acquaintance.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/i)

A gentle, simple-minded old man who runs a dog hospital and employs Marcus as an assistant. He lives in one of the back rooms of McTeague's flat.

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/ii)

Lives next to Miss Baker; shares a quiet, unspoken romance with her; spends afternoons sitting near the wall, aware of her presence.

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

Interrupted by Maria while binding pamphlets; reluctantly gives her a yellow pitcher; leaves his door open for Miss Baker.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/vii)

Listens to Maria's story about lost gold; later retreats to his room, acutely aware of Miss Baker's presence next door.

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

Acts as best man; reflects on marriage as a noble institution; sits beside Miss Baker at supper, feeling trepidation.

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

Buys back the McTeagues' wedding photograph at the sale and presents it to Trina as a gift.

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

Sells the patent for his bookbinding device for a sum of money; Trina urges him to propose to Miss Baker.

### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/xvii)

Sits sadly in his room after selling his binding apparatus, feeling he has lost his connection to Miss Baker.

## Links

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