# Mr. Crimble — Memoirs of a Midget character guide > Mr. Crimble in Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Crimble, poor Mr. Crimble **First appearance:** 0006-ii ## Snapshot A gentle, soft-hatted scholar whose hopeless love for Fanny Bowater turns him into a man groping blindly for a door that will not open. ## Who they are Small-handed and large-eyed, he pours his bewilderment into the narrator's unwilling ear, unable to bear the thought of Fanny and others, unable to speak to her mother, unable to let her go. His helplessness is both touching and suffocating, and the narrator's cowardly acquiescence in Fanny's deceits speeds him toward his Jericho. He is the book's first great study in love as a sealed book — and the cost of being unable to read it. ## In the story ### [Beechwood](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/beechwood) Mr. Crimble is a frequent visitor at Beechwood, involved in the social and romantic tensions. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/ix) His sermons are quoted by Mrs. Bowater; the narrator hears fragments of his preaching. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xii) Accompanies Dr. Phelps, attempts to smooth over social tensions, and invites Miss M. to a New Year's Eve gathering, showing his role as a peacemaker. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xiv) Visits twice, has tea with the narrator; shows interest in Fanny and discusses pessimism and religion. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xv) Mentioned as the subject of Fanny's mockery for his apology at the concert. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xvi) Seen in the street; his presence adds to the narrator's distress. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xvii) Visits to confess his guilt about the High Street incident and asks the narrator not to tell Fanny. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xviii) Mr. Crimble has proposed marriage to Fanny, and she is delaying her answer. The narrator imagines him as dark and uncomfortable. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xix) Pale and absent, retrieves a fallen scone, defends his mother's memory, and praises the narrator's memory. ### [XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xx) Receives the narrator's message from Fanny, reacts with despair and hope, and later drinks tea with the narrator. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxi) Sends narcissuses to the narrator with a note of hope, having received a ray of hope from Fanny. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxii) Briefly referenced in the narrator's thoughts as 'the dark bark of Mr. Crimble tossing in jeopardy.' ### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxiv) Mr. Crimble speaks up to defend Mrs. Bowater and mentions the tragic story of Wanderslore, causing a blush from the narrator. ### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxv) Recalled as a peering guest at Brunswick House, ignored by Mrs. Monnerie, and linked to Fanny's 'pin' that keeps them together. ### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxvii) Visits the narrator looking nervous and hollow-eyed; reveals his despair over Fanny's evasive letter and his plan to consult Mrs. Bowater. ### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxviii) Mentioned as being in love with Miss Bowater and as a source of the narrator's sleeplessness. ### [XXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxix) Reported as ill and then dead; his death is a central revelation in the chapter. ### [The Inquest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxx) His suicide is reported in the newspaper; the narrator is haunted by his death. ### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxxi) Referenced in the conversation between Fanny and the narrator as a haunting presence and source of guilt. ### [XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxxiii) His suicide is discussed; described as a dark, short clergyman in his twenty-ninth year who died by cutting his throat. ### [XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxxvii) The narrator recalls visiting him in his mother's outhouse after Mrs. Monnerie mentions him. ### [XXXIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xxxix) Referenced as the subject of a closed chapter; Fanny forbids mentioning his name in the house. ### [XLVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/chapters/xlvi) Mentioned in the final line as having left the narrator's earlier debut unacclaimed. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/characters/mr_crimble - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_midget_se/characters