Character guide

Narrator

major

Also known as Unknown, I, me, myself, mine

He is the inquiring voice of the book, a man who has tried doubt, materialism, and the fashionable creeds of his day and found each one quietly unlivable. His central tension is that he cannot believe in himself — he calls self-confidence a rotter's religion — yet he refuses to stop until he finds something solid to stand on. That stubborn, self-deprecating honesty is what makes his slow turn toward orthodoxy feel earned rather than argued.

Jesus Christ

major

Also known as Christ, Jesus

He stands behind every argument in the book as the thing being approached, the fixed point the narrator's wandering is finally measured against. The tension he embodies is the one the narrator keeps returning to: that Christianity is attacked from opposite directions at once, as too gloomy and too optimistic, too severe and too soft. He matters because the book's whole arc is the narrator discovering that this contradiction is not a flaw in the faith but a fingerprint of something real.

Nietzsche

supporting

Also known as Friedrich Nietzsche

He is the book's chief intellectual foil, the bold thinker everyone praises whom the narrator insists is not bold at all. The charge is specific: Nietzsche says 'beyond good and evil' because he lacks the nerve to say 'more good than good and evil,' and 'overman' because 'purer man' would commit him to an idea. He matters because dismantling this supposed strength lets the narrator argue that modern thought, for all its swagger, is afraid of its own conclusions.

Mr. Bernard Shaw

supporting

Also known as Mr. Shaw, Shaw, Bernard Shaw

He represents the clever, articulate, self-assured spirit of the age — the kind of man whose brilliance makes his assumptions hard to see. The narrator's quarrel with him is not that he is stupid but that his very cleverness lets him skate past the questions that matter, substituting wit for wonder. He matters because arguing with Shaw forces the narrator to say plainly what he actually believes, rather than what he merely doubts.

Christianity

supporting

Also known as the Christian religion

It is less a doctrine in the book than a puzzle: a thing accused of being too pessimistic and too optimistic, too austere and too indulgent, too Eastern and too Western, all in the same breath. The narrator's turning point is noticing that these contradictory attacks cancel each other out, leaving something strangely coherent standing. It matters because the book's whole movement is from seeing Christianity as an absurdity to seeing it as a shape that fits the world better than the alternatives.

Mr. Blatchford

supporting

Also known as Robert Blatchford

He is the book's example of a good man whose goodness has escaped its proper frame — charity untethered from any doctrine of sin. The narrator's charge is affectionate and sharp: Blatchford forgives so eagerly that he abolishes the offense, and mercy without judgment becomes mere anarchy. He matters because he shows how the modern world is full of old Christian virtues gone mad, each one isolated and wandering alone.

Shakespeare

minor

Also known as William Shakespeare

Poet and playwright, cited as an example of artistic and moral insight.

Swinburne

minor

Also known as Algernon Charles Swinburne

Poet whose pagan and rebellious themes are discussed in relation to joy.

Joan of Arc

minor

Also known as Joan

French saint and warrior, used as an example of practical mysticism.

Mr. H. G. Wells

minor

Also known as Mr. Wells

Novelist and futurist, whose utopian ideas are critiqued as narrow.

Herbert Spencer

minor

Philosopher of evolution and individualism, whose system is challenged.

Mr. McCabe

minor

Also known as Poor Mr. McCabe

Rationalist writer, used as a foil for the narrator's arguments.

Tolstoy

minor

Also known as Leo Tolstoy

Russian novelist and moralist, whose extreme pacifism is discussed.

Marcus Aurelius

minor

Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, critiqued for his lack of hope.

Cowper

minor

Also known as William Cowper

English poet, cited for his depiction of madness and despair.

Robinson Crusoe

minor

Also known as Crusoe

Fictional castaway, used as a symbol of practical human reason.

Cinderella

minor

Fairy-tale heroine, representing the logic of transformation and joy.

Dryden

minor

Also known as John Dryden

English poet and playwright, cited for his religious poetry.

Mr. G. S. Street

minor

Also known as Mr. Street, specially Mr. G. S. Street

Contemporary writer and critic, quoted on the nature of orthodoxy.

Tennyson

minor

Also known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Poet laureate, cited for his lines on faith and doubt.

Mr. W. B. Yeats

minor

Also known as Mr. Yeats

Irish poet, whose mystical and folkloric interests are noted.

Plato

minor

Greek philosopher, referenced for his theory of forms and idealism.

Huxley

minor

Also known as Thomas Henry Huxley

Biologist and agnostic, whose evolutionary views are discussed.

Bradlaugh

minor

Also known as Bradlaugh the Malthusian

Secularist and politician, whose Malthusian views are criticized.

Adam

minor

Biblical first man, used in discussion of original sin and fall.

Poe

minor

Also known as Edgar Allan Poe

American writer, cited for his tales of horror and madness.

Haeckel

minor

Also known as Ernst Haeckel

German biologist, whose materialist philosophy is mentioned.

King Bomba

minor

Also known as Bomba

Nickname for King Ferdinand II of Naples, symbol of tyranny.

Mrs. Besant

minor

Also known as Annie Besant

Theosophist and social reformer, whose views are briefly critiqued.

Tommy Paine

minor

Also known as Tom Paine

Thomas Paine, revolutionary writer, cited for his deism.

Mr. Gradgrind

minor

Also known as Gradgrind

Dickensian character representing cold, utilitarian education.

Mr. John Davidson

minor

Also known as Mr. Davidson

Scottish poet and playwright, whose nihilistic views are referenced.

The Christian

minor

Also known as Christian, the Christian

Generic figure representing the orthodox believer under discussion.

Becket

minor

Also known as Thomas Becket

Archbishop of Canterbury, martyr, used as an example of spiritual authority.

Renan

minor

Also known as Ernest Renan

French historian of religion, whose skeptical view of Christ is countered.

Descartes

minor

Also known as René Descartes

Philosopher, whose method of doubt is critiqued as leading to madness.

Homer

minor

Ancient Greek poet, cited for the epic worldview.

St. John the Evangelist

minor

Apostle and gospel writer, quoted on the nature of God as love.

Benjamin Disraeli

minor

British prime minister and novelist, quoted on the Church of England.