Short Fiction · Character
Mr. Coombes
A henpecked small shopman who, fleeing his wife's nagging and his own despair, stumbles upon a purple fungus in the woods.
supporting
Also known as The Purple Pileus Mr. Coombes, little Coombes, Coombes
First appearance: The Purple Pileus
As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, Mr. Coombes is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.
The protagonist, a pale-faced little man with a black moustache, sick of his unhappy marriage and driven to despair by his wife's friend Jennie.
Coombes is a mild, self-denying shopkeeper whose marriage has curdled into a trap: his wife married him to escape the workroom, and now she and her relatives eat up his capital and his patience. On a Sunday walk through the woods, brooding on razors and bread-knives, he finds a purple pileus among the fungi—and destiny, as the narrator notes, has planted his path with more than one kind of temptation. His quiet desperation and his sudden encounter with the mushroom set the story's strange transformation in motion.
Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.
Character Web
17 connectionsA slice of how Mr. Coombes sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.
Relationship types
- Other
Character groups
- Dynamos and dreams
- Fantastical experiments and doors
- Diverse strange tales
- Prehistoric survival story
+12 more in the full Character Web
Open in readerNarrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the protagonist realizes the green door and its enchanted gar…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingIn the story
Mr. Coombes appears across 4 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.
Chapter companion notes
Spoil-light check-ins for Mr. Coombes unlock in the free preview.
See Mr. Coombes in The Purple Pileus