# Mr. Wingrove — On a Chinese Screen character guide

> Mr. Wingrove in On a Chinese Screen by W. Somerset Maugham.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Wingrove

**First appearance:** 0003-ii-my-lady-s-parlour

## Snapshot

A missionary whose lips praise the Chinese while his face, when a native teacher enters, twists with a disgust he cannot quite hide.

## Who they are

Mr. Wingrove lives among missionaries who call the Chinese lying, cruel, and dirty; he alone insists on their good-nature, their devotion to parents, their love of children. But when a Chinese teacher steps into the room, his face contorts with physical repulsion before he forces it into a pleasant smile, and his measured praise comes out in a voice not quite his own. He will not read his books, will not go home, will not see what he loves — a man martyring his own soul with passionate exasperation, and the narrator watches him with the excitement of an explorer sighting new country.

## Relationships

### [The Consul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/the_consul)

_social_

Mr. Wingrove is a fellow colonial resident who interacts with the Consul in social and ceremonial contexts.

### [The Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/the_officer)

_social_

Mr. Wingrove and the Officer share a casual acquaintance, meeting at colonial social events and clubs.

## In the story

### [VI: Dinner Parties](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/vi-dinner-parties)

Not directly named but the Treaty Port gathering includes figures like the manager of the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank, consistent with Wingrove's circle.

### [VIII: The Servants of God](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/viii-the-servants-of-god)

The younger English missionary, about fifty, a former soldier turned Church Mission member, jovial and kind-hearted, with a round face and toothbrush moustache.

### [XI: Fear](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/chapters/xi-fear)

A former Oxford tutor turned missionary, now haunted by disgust for his work and the Chinese people, yet bound by religious duty.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters/mr_wingrove
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_a_chinese_screen_se/characters