# Greta Forzane — The Big Time character guide

> Greta Forzane in The Big Time by Fritz Leiber.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Greta, Greta girl

**First appearance:** 0000-i-enter-three-hussars

## Snapshot

An Entertainer who must be nurse, psychologist, actress, and reliable friend at once, and who shifts to Illy the moment the call comes.

## Who they are

Greta narrates the Place from the inside, reading its tensions and tending its wounded with a practical ethnologist's eye. She chooses Ilhilihis over Erich not from romance but from simpatico, and her running commentary on Ghostgirls, Change Winds, and who needs nursing reveals the outfit's fragile emotional economy. When the Maintainer vanishes and the Snakes close in, her instinct to squunch under Sid's shoulder is both girlish and tactical.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_social_

Greta is a fellow performer and acquaintance of the narrator, sharing a casual but friendly rapport.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_social_

Greta is a fellow performer and acquaintance of the narrator, sharing a casual but friendly rapport.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_social_

Greta is a fellow performer and acquaintance of the narrator, sharing a casual but friendly rapport.

## In the story

### [I: Enter Three Hussars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/i-enter-three-hussars)

Narrator and Entertainer, describes her role and the arrival of the three Soldiers.

### [II: A Right-Hand Glove](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/ii-a-right-hand-glove)

Mentioned only in passing as part of the group, but not directly active in this chapter.

### [III: Nine for a Party](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/iii-nine-for-a-party)

Greta is present at the party, exchanges drinks, and later dances with Erich. She reflects on her past as a Spider nurse and her feelings about the Change.

### [V: Sid Insists on Ghostgirls](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/v-sid-insists-on-ghostgirls)

The narrator reflects on her role as an Entertainer and decides to pump Illy for information despite Sid's orders.

### [VIII: A Place to Stand](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/viii-a-place-to-stand)

Narrates the scene, observes the reactions of others, and feels torn between Bruce's spell and Erich's cockiness. Notes her own impatience with Maud's need to act.

### [IX: A Locked Room](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/ix-a-locked-room)

Narrates the chapter, leads the search, and reflects on the Maintainer's disappearance and the group's predicament.

### [X: Motives and Opportunities](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/x-motives-and-opportunities)

Greta is mentioned as the narrator addresses herself, reminding herself to stick to the facts.

### [XI: The Western Front, 1917](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/xi-the-western-front-1917)

The narrator; observes the scene and reflects on her own feelings about love and Change Winds.

### [XII: A Big Opportunity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/xii-a-big-opportunity)

Narrates the chapter, observing the emotional dynamics and reflecting on hope and the future.

### [XIV: “Now Will You Talk?”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/xiv-now-will-you-talk)

Narrator who deduces the truth about the inverted glove and the Maintainer, then sneaks into Surgery to invert the sculpture back.

### [XV: Lord Spider](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/chapters/xv-lord-spider)

Narrates the events; feels the Change Winds and is shocked by Sid's deception and Bruce's actions.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/characters/greta_forzane
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_big_time_se/characters