# Robin — The Cords of Vanity character guide

> Robin in The Cords of Vanity by James Branch Cabell.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Rob, Bobbie, Bob, Mr. Bob

**First appearance:** 0010-i-he-sits-out-a-dance

## Snapshot

A returned wanderer with a book to his name and a scandal to it, Robin finds Fairhaven's welcome colder than the half-world he crossed an ocean to escape.

## Who they are

Robin is the narrator's old friend and, by his own account, the man who sailed half the world to propose marriage to a girl who turns him down flat. Lichfield tolerates him as a Townsend, credits him with seductions and arsons on unimpeachable authority, and lets him reopen the family house while he talks to every woman as though she were the only one in the room. His bruised vanity and his habit of leaving towns at the first sting of discomfort make him the mirror in which the novel's hero sees his own evasions.

## Relationships

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

_friendship_

Robin is a friend or younger companion who engages with the narrator in various activities.

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

_friendship_

Robin is a friend or younger companion who engages with the narrator in various activities.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cords_of_vanity_se/chapters/iii)

Addressed by Bettie during the conversation; the narrator is implied to be Robin.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cords_of_vanity_se/chapters/v)

Is scolded by Bettie and dismisses her talk as nonsense.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cords_of_vanity_se/characters/robin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cords_of_vanity_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_cords_of_vanity_se/characters