# Mr. Bons — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Bons in Short Fiction by E. M. Forster.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Dear Mr. Bons, Bons, that Mr. Bons of whom I told you yesterday

**First appearance:** 0018-the-celestial-omnibus

## Snapshot

A cultivated, church-voiced aesthete who finds himself on a supernatural omnibus and lectures his young companion on how a truly cultured person ought to behave.

## Who they are

Trembling before the cadaverous driver and the immortals beyond, Bons insists on reverence, meditation on beauty, and proper conduct, while the boy chatters about Dickens and races with Achilles. He confiscates the return tickets and wishes aloud for a more sympathetic companion. His anxious, self-conscious cultivation sharpens the story's contrast between genuine imaginative delight and mere taste.

## Relationships

### [the boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/the_boy)

_psychological_

Mr. Bons has a manipulative or obsessive relationship with the boy, possibly as a mentor with dark undertones.

### [the boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/the_boy)

_psychological_

Mr. Bons has a manipulative or obsessive relationship with the boy, possibly as a mentor with dark undertones.

### [the boy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/the_boy)

_psychological_

Mr. Bons has a manipulative or obsessive relationship with the boy, possibly as a mentor with dark undertones.

## In the story

### [The Celestial Omnibus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/the-celestial-omnibus)

A skeptical adult who dismisses the boy's claims about the omnibus.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/i)

A wise and serious visitor who explains the signpost as a joke by Shelley.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned indirectly as 'that Mr. Bons of whom I told you yesterday' in the context of the boy's prior knowledge, though not present in this chapter.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/iii)

Initially skeptical, he becomes intrigued by the boy's story and agrees to investigate. He recognizes the omnibus driver as the author of his vellum books, but becomes terrified during the journey and demands to return.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/mr_bons
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters