# The Narrator (I and My Chimney) — Short Fiction character guide

> The Narrator (I and My Chimney) in Short Fiction by Herman Melville.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Unknown, the man, this man

**First appearance:** 0026-i-and-my-chimney

## Snapshot

A stubborn old householder who will surrender his farm, his fortune, and his peace before he surrenders the enormous chimney at the heart of his home.

## Who they are

He is a genial, digressive country gentleman whose house is dominated by a vast central chimney, and whose wife and daughters have decided the chimney must go. What begins as domestic nagging becomes a siege, with architects, relatives, and even a visiting clergyman enlisted against him. His long, amused, immovable defense of the chimney is both a comic set-piece and a quiet argument for the claims of habit, memory, and a man's right to his own hearth.

## In the story

### [Jimmy Rose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/jimmy-rose)

The narrator, who also appears in other stories, here recounts his observations of Jimmy Rose.

### [I and My Chimney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/i-and-my-chimney)

The narrator is the owner of the house and the chimney, who values oldness and tradition, and staunchly defends his chimney against his wife's schemes.

### [I and My Chimney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_28_se/chapters/i-and-my-chimney)

The narrator is the owner of the house and the chimney, who values oldness and tradition, and staunchly defends his chimney against his wife's schemes.

## Links

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