# The Noble Captain — Suspiria de Profundis character guide

> The Noble Captain in Suspiria de Profundis by Thomas De Quincey.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** himself

**First appearance:** 0004-the-english-mail-coach

## Snapshot

A heroic captain of the mail-coach world whose dignity and dash embody the vanished grandeur the narrator associates with youth and motion.

## Who they are

He rides through the narrator's recollections of the mail-coach era, a figure of rank and elegance set against the narrator's own carefully middling childhood, neither too high nor too low. His distinction is a kind of noble bearing that the modern, steam-driven world is already rendering obsolete, making him a vessel for the narrator's nostalgia. He matters because he links the personal dream-memories to a broader elegy for a passing England, giving the Suspiria their historical ache.

## In the story

### [The Glory of Motion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/chapters/i-the-glory-of-motion)

Implied as a figure of military heroism; the 23rd Dragoons, mentioned in connection with a mother's son, made a memorable charge at Talavera.

### [Going Down with Victory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/chapters/going-down-with-victory)

Referenced indirectly through the mention of the 23rd Dragoons and their memorable charge, though not directly present in the scene.

### [III: Dream-Fugue: Founded on the Preceding Theme of Sudden Death](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/chapters/iii-dream-fugue-founded-on-the-preceding-theme-of-sudden-death)

Mentioned in the context of the frigate chase and the captain's role in the vision.

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

Implied as part of the company on the triumphal car, sharing the privilege of publishing the tidings.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/characters/the_noble_captain
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/suspiria_de_profundis_se/characters