# Mr. Lucas — Short Fiction character guide

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

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** the fastidious Mr. Lucas

**First appearance:** 0005-the-road-from-colonus

## Snapshot

A fastidious, aging Englishman touring Greece who slips away from his party to chase a private dream of Hellenism before old age closes in.

## Who they are

Tired of being managed by his daughter Ethel and lectured by Mrs. Forman, he rides ahead to a plane-tree khan and savors the small freedom of arriving first. Forty years of longing for Greece have left him stiff, forgetful, and quietly disappointed by Athens and Delphi. His stubborn independence and his hunger for one last meaningful experience drive the story's central conflict.

## Relationships

### [Ethel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/ethel)

_family_

Ethel and Mr. Lucas are likely daughter and father, with Ethel caring for or managing Mr. Lucas.

### [Ethel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/ethel)

_family_

Ethel and Mr. Lucas are likely daughter and father, with Ethel caring for or managing Mr. Lucas.

### [Ethel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/ethel)

_family_

Ethel and Mr. Lucas are likely daughter and father, with Ethel caring for or managing Mr. Lucas.

## In the story

### [The Road from Colonus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/the-road-from-colonus)

The protagonist, an elderly man who experiences a moment of transcendence at the plane tree spring, longing to stay in Colonus.

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

The aging protagonist who experiences a transformative moment inside the hollow plane tree, feeling a renewed sense of life and connection to nature.

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

Complains about noise and sleeplessness; dismisses Ethel's revelation about the near-fatal accident.

## Links

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