# Mercedes — The Call of the Wild character guide

> Mercedes in The Call of the Wild by Jack London.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mercy

**First appearance:** 0006-v-the-toil-of-trace-and-trail

## Snapshot

A pampered woman who joins the northbound rush with her husband and brother, mistaking tenderness for competence on the trail.

## Who they are

Mercedes arrives at the camp of Buck's new owners as part of a 'nice family party,' fluttering and chattering while the men load a sled so top-heavy it cannot move. She wrenches the whip from her brother Hal's hand to spare the dogs, yet her helplessness and refusal to abandon a single comfort—the tent, the clothes-sack, the unwashed dishes—make the journey harder for everyone, dogs included. Her good intentions and her uselessness are the same thing, and the trail will not forgive either.

## Relationships

### [Hal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/characters/hal)

_family_

Hal and Mercedes are brother and sister, sharing a spoiled and impractical attitude that leads to disaster on the trail.

### [Buck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/characters/buck)

_social_

Mercedes is a pampered, impractical woman who treats Buck as a burden and contributes to the team's suffering.

### [Hal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/characters/hal)

_family_

Hal and Mercedes are brother and sister, sharing a spoiled and impractical attitude that leads to disaster on the trail.

### [Buck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/characters/buck)

_social_

Mercedes is a pampered, impractical woman who treats Buck as a burden and contributes to the team's suffering.

## In the story

### [The Toil of Trace and Trail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/chapters/v-the-toil-of-trace-and-trail)

Charles's wife and Hal's sister, hysterical and demanding, dies with the others.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/characters/mercedes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_call_of_the_wild_se/characters