# Zerkow — McTeague character guide

> Zerkow in McTeague by Frank Norris.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the ragman Zerkow, old Zerkow

**First appearance:** 0003-ii

## Snapshot

A ragman and junk dealer whose avarice fixes on Maria Macapa's story of a golden service and will not let go.

## Who they are

Zerkow trades in other people's discards, hoarding and scheming in a shop thick with refuse, and he listens to Maria's tale of the gold service with a greed that borders on worship. He wants the story to be true and wants Maria to be the proof of it, which makes his interest in her something between courtship and appetite. His fixation turns a piece of flat gossip into a slow fuse.

## Relationships

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

_psychological_

Zerkow obsessively manipulates Maria to extract her stories about a mythical gold service, driven by greed.

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

_social_

Trina is a neighbor and occasional acquaintance of the miserly Zerkow.

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

_social_

Marcus and Zerkow are acquaintances in the boarding house, with Marcus often disdainful of Zerkow's miserliness.

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

_psychological_

Zerkow obsessively manipulates Maria to extract her stories about a mythical gold service, driven by greed.

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

_psychological_

Zerkow obsessively manipulates Maria to extract her stories about a mythical gold service, driven by greed.

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

_social_

Trina is a neighbor and occasional acquaintance of the miserly Zerkow.

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

_social_

Marcus and Zerkow are acquaintances in the boarding house, with Marcus often disdainful of Zerkow's miserliness.

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

_social_

Marcus and Zerkow are acquaintances in the boarding house, with Marcus often disdainful of Zerkow's miserliness.

## In the story

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

Introduced as a ragman who is obsessed with Maria's story of the gold dishes.

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

Buys junk from Maria; becomes obsessed with her tale of a golden service; suffers from greed and anguish.

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

Mentioned as the ragman who has proposed to Maria Macapa.

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

Married to Maria, obsessed with the gold plate story, and becomes frustrated when Maria refuses to recount it after their child's death.

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

Attends the sale and buys some of McTeague's dental instruments and gold tape.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/xv)

Becomes more obsessive and paranoid, spying on Maria and tearing down part of the wall; threatens to kill her if she doesn't reveal the location of the gold dishes.

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

Becomes increasingly obsessed with finding the gold plate; digs holes in walls and yard; beats Maria and has fits of rage.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/mcteague_se/chapters/xviii)

The house where he killed Maria becomes the McTeagues' new home.

## Links

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