# Peter Pupkin — Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town character guide

> Peter Pupkin in Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Pupkin, young Pupkin, Pupkin senior, Peter

**First appearance:** 0001-sunshine-sketches-of-a-little-town

## Snapshot

A young bank clerk who falls in love with Zena Pepperleigh and becomes entangled in local affairs.

## Who they are

Pupkin is the junior teller at the Exchange Bank, a Maritime transplant with a good salary and a hopeless passion for the judge's daughter. He paddles Zena across the lake, buys her ice cream and neckties, and rehearses confessions he never quite makes. His romantic agonies and small vanities make him the town's most endearing fool, and his fortunes drive the book's central courtship.

## Relationships

### [Judge Pepperleigh](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/judge_pepperleigh)

_romantic_

Judge Pepperleigh is the stern but ultimately approving father of Zena, and Peter Pupkin is her suitor, leading to a tense but ultimately positive dynamic.

### [Mallory Tompkins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/mallory_tompkins)

_friendship_

Mallory Tompkins is a local businessman and friend to Peter Pupkin, often involved in town social life.

### [Rev. Dean Drone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/rev_dean_drone)

_social_

Peter Pupkin is a young bank clerk who interacts with Reverend Dean Drone as a member of the church community.

### [Mr. Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/mr_smith)

_friendship_

Mr. Smith, the hotel owner, is a friendly acquaintance and occasional confidant to Peter Pupkin.

### [Miss Lawson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/miss_lawson)

_social_

Miss Lawson is a local woman who interacts with Peter Pupkin as a fellow member of the town's social circle.

### [Mr. Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/mr_smith)

_friendship_

Mr. Smith, the hotel owner, is a friendly acquaintance and occasional confidant to Peter Pupkin.

## In the story

### [Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/chapters/sunshine-sketches-of-a-little-town)

Mentioned as a young man in the town, likely a bank clerk.

### [IV: The Ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Drone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/chapters/iv-the-ministrations-of-the-rev-mr-drone)

The bank teller who meets Zena Pepperleigh for the first time while writing endless chain letters.

### [VII: The Extraordinary Entanglement of Mr. Pupkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/chapters/vii-the-extraordinary-entanglement-of-mr-pupkin)

The junior bank teller, deeply in love with Zena Pepperleigh, struggles with nerves when visiting the judge's house.

### [VIII: The Foreordained Attachment of Zena Pepperleigh and Peter Pupkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/chapters/viii-the-foreordained-attachment-of-zena-pepperleigh-and-peter-pupkin)

Hopelessly in love with Zena, struggles with shame over his wealthy parents and his low salary.

### [The Mariposa Bank Mystery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/chapters/ix-the-mariposa-bank-mystery)

Junior teller of the bank; attempts suicide but is distracted by the drug store; later confronts a bank robber and is shot in the head, becoming a local hero.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters/peter_pupkin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/sunshine_sketches_of_a_little_town_se/characters