# Oberlus — Short Fiction character guide

> Oberlus in Short Fiction by Herman Melville.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** this King Oberlus, the Hermit Oberlus, Fatherless Oberlus, Emperor Oberlus

**First appearance:** 0011-sketch-ninth-hood-s-isle-and-the-hermit-oberlus

## Snapshot

A red-haired misanthrope who crowns himself emperor of Hood's Isle, Oberlus turns shipwrecked sailors into slaves and broods on revenge against all humanity.

## Who they are

Oberlus scrapes a living from potatoes and tortoises on a barren island, hoarding dollars and grudges in equal measure. After smugglers whip him and destroy his hut, he conceals his rage and lures passing seamen with false hospitality, drugging them into bondage. His petty tyranny among the clinkers of the Enchanted Isles becomes a grim case study in what isolation and humiliation can make of a man.

## Relationships

### [The Narrator (Bartleby)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/the_narrator_bartleby)

_psychological_

Oberlus, a misanthropic hermit, serves as a dark mirror to the Bartleby narrator's own tendencies toward withdrawal and alienation.

### [The Narrator (Bartleby)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/the_narrator_bartleby)

_psychological_

Oberlus, a misanthropic hermit, serves as a dark mirror to the Bartleby narrator's own tendencies toward withdrawal and alienation.

## In the story

### [The Encantadas](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/the-encantadas)

The hermit and tyrant of the islands, representing misanthropy and cruelty.

### [Sketch Seventh: Charles's Isle and the Dog-King](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/sketch-seventh-charles-s-isle-and-the-dog-king)

Not present in this sketch; the focus is on the Creole Dog-King and the island's history.

### [Sketch Ninth: Hood's Isle and the Hermit Oberlus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/sketch-ninth-hood-s-isle-and-the-hermit-oberlus)

The hermit of Hood's Isle, a European castaway who becomes a tyrannical slave master, kidnapping sailors and arming them as his army.

### [Sketch Tenth: Runaways, Castaways, Solitaries, Gravestones, etc.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/sketch-tenth-runaways-castaways-solitaries-gravestones-etc)

His hut partially remains at the head of the clinkered valley, a relic of his solitary life.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/endnotes)

Referenced in endnotes regarding sources for his character depiction and the letter found in his hut.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters/oberlus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/characters