# The Practical Man — Practical Mysticism character guide > The Practical Man in Practical Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** the practical man, The practical man **First appearance:** 0003-practical-mysticism ## Snapshot The brisk sceptic every mystic must win over — busy, literal, faintly exasperated, he keeps asking what mysticism actually is and refuses to be fobbed off with tea-party definitions. ## Who they are He is the recurring foil of Underhill's little book: the sensible person of business and common sense who suspects that mysticism means visions, conjuring tricks, and neglected duties, and who wants a plain answer before committing himself. His impatience is genuine, but so is his underlying hunger — he keeps inquiring, which already distinguishes him from the merely disdainful. Underhill treats him not as an enemy but as her true reader, the one she hopes to persuade toward the one satisfactory course: discovering the answer for himself. ## Relationships ### [William Blake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters/william_blake) _psychological_ This repeated interaction underscores Blake's role as the Practical Man's primary spiritual antagonist, forcing him to confront the limits of reason. ### [John Keats](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters/john_keats) _psychological_ Keats's poetic sensibility challenges the Practical Man's utilitarian worldview, representing the conflict between aesthetic intuition and material concerns. ### [Plotinus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters/plotinus) _psychological_ Plotinus's abstract Neoplatonic philosophy presents a challenging intellectual puzzle for the Practical Man's concrete mindset. ### [Jan van Ruysbroeck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters/jan_van_ruysbroeck) _psychological_ Ruysbroeck's contemplative mysticism offers a deep, passive spirituality that contrasts sharply with the Practical Man's active, worldly approach. ### [William Blake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters/william_blake) _psychological_ The Practical Man is repeatedly confronted by Blake's mystical visions, creating a tension between pragmatic skepticism and imaginative transcendence. ## In the story ### [Practical Mysticism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/practical-mysticism) The practical man is addressed as the reader who questions the value of mysticism in everyday life. ### [I: What Is Mysticism?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/i-what-is-mysticism) The primary audience addressed; he is depicted as living in a world of labels and superficial knowledge, needing to be persuaded to look beyond appearances. ### [The World of Reality](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/ii-the-world-of-reality) The practical man is the primary interlocutor, whose worldview of single vision and common sense is questioned and shown to be a limited construction. ### [III: The Preparation of the Mystic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/iii-the-preparation-of-the-mystic) Addressed directly as the reader and potential contemplative; challenged to recognize his own capacity for mystical experience. ### [IV: Meditation and Recollection](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/iv-meditation-and-recollection) The practical man is the primary audience being addressed and invited to learn the art of recollection. ### [Self Adjustment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/v-self-adjustment) The practical man's attitude is described as a limpet-like adherence to the unreal, his mind full of conflicting desires and whirlpools, enslaved by habit and the pursuit of impermanent things. ### [The First Form of Contemplation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/vii-the-first-form-of-contemplation) The practical man is led through concentration, recollection, and self-criticism to achieve a state of disinterested love and begin his contemplative journey. ### [VIII: The Second Form of Contemplation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/viii-the-second-form-of-contemplation) Mentioned as one who suppresses and disguises the innate craving for the Infinite. ### [X: The Mystical Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/chapters/x-the-mystical-life) Reappears to question the utility of the mystical life, representing the skeptical, pragmatic viewpoint. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters/the_practical_man - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/practical_mysticism_se/characters