# Wetzmann — Short Fiction character guide

> Wetzmann in Short Fiction by Hjalmar Söderberg.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** sweeper Wetzmann, Mrs. Wetzmann

**First appearance:** 0002-the-chimney-sweeper-s-wife

## Snapshot

A prosperous chimney-sweep kind to the poor and harsh to his apprentices, whose second wife rules his home with wrath and pride.

## Who they are

Old Wetzmann has done well in life, drinks toddy at the tavern every evening, and endures a joyless house presided over by the former maidservant he married. His second wife, once ruled by Envy and Lust, now governs through Wrath and Pride, and she keeps a mistrustful eye on the charwoman's daughter Magda, who reads aloud to Wetzmann's convalescent son Frederick. The courtyard linden, the cobblestones, and the mismatched household set the stage for a grim story the narrator heard told and shuddered at as a child.

## Relationships

### [Frederick Richard Fant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/characters/frederick_richard_fant)

_professional_

Frederick Richard Fant and Wetzmann have a professional relationship, possibly as colleagues or business partners.

### [Magda](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/characters/magda)

_rivalry_

Magda and Wetzmann are rivals, clashing over personal or professional matters.

## In the story

### [The Chimney-Sweeper's Wife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/chapters/the-chimney-sweeper-s-wife)

The master chimney-sweep, good-natured but weak at home, who mourns his son's fate and dies of grief.

### [The Chimney-Sweeper's Wife](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/chapters/the-chimney-sweeper-s-wife)

Mrs. Wetzmann, the second wife, harsh and prideful, who discovers the kiss, beats Magda to death, and later remarries without remorse.

### [The Blue Anchor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/chapters/the-blue-anchor)

Wetzmann is mentioned in connection with the funeral.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/characters/wetzmann
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_29_se/characters