# Master — Songs of a Sourdough character guide

> Master in Songs of a Sourdough by Robert W. Service.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Thou, Thy

**First appearance:** 0003-the-law-of-the-yukon

## Who they are

A divine or authoritative figure addressed in prayer-like poems.

## In the story

### [The Law of the Yukon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-law-of-the-yukon)

The Yukon itself is personified as a speaking entity, addressing the reader directly.

### [The Parson's Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-parson-s-son)

The parson's son, the narrator and protagonist, who recounts his life and dies alone.

### [The Spell of the Yukon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-spell-of-the-yukon)

The speaker, a prospector who sought gold and found a deeper connection to the Yukon wilderness.

### [The Heart of the Sourdough](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-heart-of-the-sourdough)

The speaker, a seasoned sourdough, addresses the God of the trails and reflects on his personal battle with the wild.

### [The Three Voices](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-three-voices)

Referenced as 'the mighty Master' whose fingers span the loom of creation, singing of the God in man.

### [The Lure of Little Voices](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-lure-of-little-voices)

Referenced as 'His Loneliness' and 'God,' the divine authority whose calling the speaker must obey.

### [The Song of the Wage-Slave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-song-of-the-wage-slave)

The speaker addresses 'Master' (or 'Big Master') throughout the poem, pleading for rest after a lifetime of labor.

### [Quatrains](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/quatrains)

Addressed as 'Thy' in the opening quatrain, representing the voice of agency and choice.

### [The Rhyme of the Remittance Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-rhyme-of-the-remittance-man)

The narrator, a remittance man who has left his former life behind to live in the Yukon.

### [The Low-Down White](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-low-down-white)

The narrator, a fallen gentleman now living in squalor, awaiting his death.

### [Fighting Mac](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/fighting-mac)

The protagonist, a Highland warrior, reflects on his life from boyhood to battlefield glory, ending in suicide in Paris.

### [The Woman and the Angel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-woman-and-the-angel)

The Master pities the angel and grants him a pass to Earth, then later recalls him to protect him from temptation.

### [Premonition](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/premonition)

The narrator, reflecting on a past walk with his love and mourning her death a year later.

### [The Tramps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/the-tramps)

The speaker addresses a dear comrade from past tramping days.

### [L’Envoi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/chapters/l-envoi)

Addressed directly as 'You who have lived in the Land,' representing the collective of hardened northern adventurers.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters/master
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/songs_of_a_sourdough_se/characters