# Uncle Pio — The Bridge of San Luis Rey character guide

> Uncle Pio in The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Pio

**First appearance:** 0001-the-bridge-of-san-luis-rey

## Snapshot

A wily Castilian adventurer turned acting coach, who worships beautiful women and Spanish verse with equal devotion.

## Who they are

Uncle Pio has lived by his wits from Madrid to Lima — training bears, spreading slanders, selling Inca pills, and slipping through the back stairs of palaces — driven by three aims: secret omniscience, the company of beautiful women, and proximity to great theatre. He discovered the Perichole's genius when no one else in Lima could see it, and his absurd, self-effacing devotion to her art is both his triumph and his vulnerability. His connoisseurship of beauty and literature makes him the novel's unlikely conscience about what art costs.

## Relationships

### [Camila Perichole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/camila_perichole)

_professional_

Uncle Pio is Camila's devoted manager and mentor, guiding her career as an actress while harboring a deep, unrequited love for her.

### [Don Jaime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/don_jaime)

_friendship_

Uncle Pio tutors Don Jaime and becomes a caring surrogate father, teaching him about art and life.

### [Pepita](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/pepita)

_social_

Pepita and Uncle Pio have a brief, polite acquaintance through their connections to Camila and the Abbess.

### [Camila Perichole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/camila_perichole)

_professional_

Uncle Pio is Camila's devoted manager and mentor, guiding her career as an actress while harboring a deep, unrequited love for her.

### [Camila Perichole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/camila_perichole)

_professional_

Uncle Pio is Camila's devoted manager and mentor, guiding her career as an actress while harboring a deep, unrequited love for her.

### [Don Jaime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/don_jaime)

_friendship_

Uncle Pio tutors Don Jaime and becomes a caring surrogate father, teaching him about art and life.

## In the story

### [Part One: Perhaps an Accident](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/chapters/part-one-perhaps-an-accident)

One of the five victims; Brother Juniper's research fails to uncover the central passion of his life.

### [Part Four: Uncle Pio; Don Jaime](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/chapters/part-four-uncle-pio-don-jaime)

Protagonist of the chapter; his three life aims and his role as Camila's mentor and servant are detailed.

### [Part Five: Perhaps an Intention](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/chapters/part-five-perhaps-an-intention)

Remembered by Camila Perichole as one of the victims of the bridge collapse.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters/uncle_pio
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridge_of_san_luis_rey_se/characters