# Theodore Ward — The Case of Charles Dexter Ward character guide

> Theodore Ward in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Ward, the senior Ward, the elder Ward, Dear Theodore

**First appearance:** 0001-the-case-of-charles-dexter-ward

## Snapshot

Charles's prosperous banker father, a decent, orderly man whose love for his son is slowly overtaken by a dread he cannot name or explain to anyone.

## Who they are

Theodore Ward presides over a comfortable Providence household and a family name he assumes is unremarkable, until his son's researches begin to disturb the house's peace and his wife's sleep. He is not a man of occult curiosity; he is a father trying to decide how much of his son's strangeness is illness, how much is defiance, and how much is something he would rather not understand. His reluctant consent to institutionalize Charles opens the novel and frames its central grief.

## Relationships

### [Charles Dexter Ward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/characters/charles_dexter_ward)

_family_

Theodore is Charles's father, who is increasingly alarmed by his son's bizarre behavior and reclusive nature.

## In the story

### [The Case of Charles Dexter Ward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/chapters/the-case-of-charles-dexter-ward)

Charles's father, who is deeply concerned about his son's obsession and strange activities, and eventually consults Dr. Willett.

### [I: A Result and a Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/chapters/i-a-result-and-a-prologue)

Ward's grieving father, who reluctantly placed him under restraint and was informed of his escape.

### [III: A Search and an Evocation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/chapters/iii-a-search-and-an-evocation)

Requests Dr. Willett's interview with Charles; later confronts Charles about his activities; discovers the portrait has crumbled.

### [IV: A Mutation and a Madness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/chapters/iv-a-mutation-and-a-madness)

Deeply worried by his son's behavior; holds conferences with Dr. Willett and later with bank officials; summons alienists after the forgery discovery.

### [V: A Nightmare and a Cataclysm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/chapters/v-a-nightmare-and-a-cataclysm)

Conferring with Willett, he is horrified by the revelations about his son and agrees to a secret exploration of the bungalow.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/characters/theodore_ward
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_case_of_charles_dexter_ward_se/characters