# Gonsalvo — The Charwoman’s Shadow character guide

> Gonsalvo in The Charwoman’s Shadow by Lord Dunsany.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Pen Gonsalvo

**First appearance:** 0027-xxviii-gonsalvo-sings-what-had-been-the-latest-air-from-provence

## Snapshot

A poet-scribe whose songs carry Provence's latest airs into the magician's gloomy quarter, and whose borrowed shadow becomes a gift he cannot give away.

## Who they are

Gonsalvo moves between the bright world of Provence's newest verses and the shadow-haunted house where the Master works, a young man whose charm and generosity outrun his judgment. He begs the magician to fashion a shadow for the charwoman, invoking his grandfather's name to win the favor, then watches his own sleek grey shadow—already traded away—reduce her to weeping instead of joy. His well-meant errand sets the story's central bargain in motion and reveals how casually the young spend what the old cannot replace.

## Relationships

### [Gulvarez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/gulvarez)

_professional_

Gonsalvo serves under Gulvarez as a subordinate in the Duke's forces.

### [Father Joseph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/father_joseph)

_friendship_

Father Joseph and Gonsalvo share a bond of mutual respect and occasional cooperation.

### [The Duke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/the_duke)

_professional_

Gonsalvo is a soldier in the Duke's army, bound by duty and fear.

### [Father Joseph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/father_joseph)

_friendship_

Father Joseph and Gonsalvo share a bond of mutual respect and occasional cooperation.

### [The Duke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/the_duke)

_professional_

Gonsalvo is a soldier in the Duke's army, bound by duty and fear.

### [Gulvarez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/gulvarez)

_professional_

Gonsalvo serves under Gulvarez as a subordinate in the Duke's forces.

### [Father Joseph](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/father_joseph)

_friendship_

Father Joseph and Gonsalvo share a bond of mutual respect and occasional cooperation.

## In the story

### [XVIII: The Love-Potion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/chapters/xviii-the-love-potion)

Expresses distress and commiseration over the Duke's anger and the household's anxiety.

### [XXVIII: Gonsalvo Sings What Had Been the Latest Air from Provence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/chapters/xxviii-gonsalvo-sings-what-had-been-the-latest-air-from-provence)

Sings an old Provençal song, stirring melancholy; plans with Gulvarez to avoid the Duke's wrath.

### [XXIX: The Casket of Silver and Oak Is Given to Señor Gulvarez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/chapters/xxix-the-casket-of-silver-and-oak-is-given-to-se-or-gulvarez)

Gonsalvo visits his three beloved fields, dictating a letter to Father Joseph, and later walks them at evening, feeling a deep connection to the land.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters/gonsalvo
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_charwoman_s_shadow_se/characters