# Roelf Pool — So Big character guide

> Roelf Pool in So Big by Edna Ferber.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Roelf, Pool, Little Roelf Pool

**First appearance:** 0002-iii

## Snapshot

A poor High Prairie farmer's boy who once carved and read in secret, he escapes to Paris and returns a sculptor with gray in his hair.

## Who they are

Roelf is the Klaas Pool family's unlikely yield — a boy who read too much and saw too sharply for the flat, thrifty prairie that raised him, and who left it to become an artist. His sculpture The Seine scandalizes High Prairie with its nude, sinuous figure, and Selina, who once taught him, is the only one who understands what he has made. He returns late in the book as a famous, gentle man of forty-five, proof that the prairie could produce something other than crops and thrift — and a quiet rebuke to what Dirk settled for.

## Relationships

### [Selina DeJong](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/selina_dejong)

_friendship_

A close, supportive friendship rooted in mutual respect and artistic sensibility, with Roelf often serving as Selina's confidant.

### [Maartje Pool](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/maartje_pool)

_family_

Mother and son in a loving but strained relationship as Roelf's artistic dreams clash with Maartje's practical expectations.

### [Selina DeJong](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/selina_dejong)

_friendship_

A close, supportive friendship rooted in mutual respect and artistic sensibility, with Roelf often serving as Selina's confidant.

### [Selina DeJong](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/selina_dejong)

_friendship_

A close, supportive friendship rooted in mutual respect and artistic sensibility, with Roelf often serving as Selina's confidant.

### [Maartje Pool](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/maartje_pool)

_family_

Mother and son in a loving but strained relationship as Roelf's artistic dreams clash with Maartje's practical expectations.

### [Maartje Pool](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/maartje_pool)

_family_

Mother and son in a loving but strained relationship as Roelf's artistic dreams clash with Maartje's practical expectations.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/ii)

Klaas's twelve-year-old son who works on the farm instead of attending school.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/iv)

Carves wood in the shed, dreams of buying his mother a silk dress and driving to market alone, shows Selina his sketch of the Haymarket.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/v)

Reluctantly attends church; later at the social, he is restrained by Maartje from approaching Selina.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/vi)

Jealous of Pervus; acts out but later isolates himself in the work-shed; has a deep appreciation for beauty.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/vii)

Hurt by Selina's marriage, he gives her a hand-carved bride's chest as a wedding gift.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/viii)

Helps Selina with gardening, shares her aesthetic interests, and flees the farm for Chicago after his mother's death.

### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xiii)

Becomes a celebrated sculptor in Paris; his work 'The Seine' is featured in an illustrated magazine, causing Selina great excitement.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xix)

Returning as a celebrated French sculptor accompanying General Goguet; his visit stirs Selina's memories.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xx)

Returns from Paris with General Goguet, joyfully reunites with Dirk and later with Selina on the farm.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/chapters/xxi)

Shares a deep conversation with Selina, calling her 'wheat'; kisses her hand; later rides back to Chicago with Dallas and Dirk.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters/roelf_pool
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/so_big_se/characters