# Mr. Barnet — Short Fiction character guide > Mr. Barnet in Short Fiction by Thomas Hardy. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** old Mr. Barnet, Barnet, Dear Barnet, George Barnet, Mr. George Barnet, Dear Mr. Barnet **First appearance:** 0002-destiny-and-a-blue-cloak ## Snapshot A sensitive, unhappily married townsman who avoids the harbour-road where a gentler past still lives, dreading the very sight of his wife's temper. ## Who they are Barnet sits on the corporation and once shared in the family rope-walks, but his real life is elsewhere — in the memory of a pleasing, gentle woman whose face rises whenever his domestic scene grows unbearable. He steers his walks northward, away from the harbour-road, as another man might avoid a dangerous dram, and turns from the window when his commanding wife passes. His raw nerves and old-school delicacy make him the story's quiet measure of what a marriage can cost. ## In the story ### [Fellow-Townsmen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/fellow-townsmen) A key townsman involved in the unfolding events. ### [Fellow-Townsmen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/fellow-townsmen) An elder townsman whose actions influence the plot. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/i) Returns home to a cold reception from his wife, reflecting on his unhappy marriage. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/ii) Barnet walks through the town, reflecting on his father's busy life and questioning if it was happier than his own. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/iii) Avoids his wife and the harbor road, takes walks northward, and discusses his marital troubles with Downe. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/iv) Inspects his building works, then walks to the harbor; discovers his wife drowned after a boating accident. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/v) Struggles with the temptation to let his wife die, but ultimately works to revive her and supports his friend Downe after Mrs. Downe's death. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/vi) Visits Downe to suggest Lucy Savile as a governess; later his wife leaves him and he meets Lucy by the shore. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/vii) Barnet spends his leisure time overseeing the construction of his new house, finding it a welcome distraction from his estranged wife and lonely existence. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/viii) Receives news of his wife's death, then learns Lucy Savile is marrying Downe; later attends their wedding, burns his papers, and disappears. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/ix) Returns after 21 years, reveals his unrequited love for Lucy, and proposes to her. ### [First Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/first-night) The old shepherd who leaves the boy in charge of the ewes and later returns to scold him for letting the fire go out. ### [Second Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/second-night) The old shepherd who leaves the boy alone on the downs for the night. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/xvii) Not present in this chapter. ### [A Tryst at an Ancient Earth Work](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/a-tryst-at-an-ancient-earth-work) The elderly antiquary who arranges the nocturnal tryst to dig illegally at the earthwork. ### [VIII: She Travels in Pursuit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/viii-she-travels-in-pursuit) Accompanies the narrator; initially confused but later sides with Caroline upon learning of the deception. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/i) The millwright father, who has become an alcoholic, causing the family's decline and the loss of the mother's legacy. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/ii) The father of Joshua and Cornelius, a millwright who has remarried a gipsy woman and causes Joshua public embarrassment. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/iv) The brothers' father, a millwright whose drunken behavior and accidental drowning threaten the family's reputation. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/i) Mentioned as the narrator who heard the story from Phyllis when she was an old lady of seventy-five. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/iii) Phyllis's father, who dismisses the hearsay about Humphrey Gould, forbids Phyllis from meeting the Hussar, and plans to send her to her aunt's house as punishment. ### [Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/tony-kytes-the-arch-deceiver) Tony's father, who advises him to stick with Milly. ### [Old Andrey's Experience as a Musician](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/old-andrey-s-experience-as-a-musician) The narrator of the tale, a former choirboy who recalls the events. ### [Absentmindedness in a Parish Choir](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/absentmindedness-in-a-parish-choir) The squire who, outraged by the choir's mistake, bans them from playing in the church and replaces them with a barrel-organ. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/ii) Jim's father, encounters Rosalys on the street and speaks casually about his business and Jim's upcoming departure for Burma. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/chapters/i) Referred to as Jacob, Selina's father, who initially opposed the match but later forgave her. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters/old_mr_barnet - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_53_se/characters