# Sir Colenso Ridgeon — The Doctor’s Dilemma character guide

> Sir Colenso Ridgeon in The Doctor’s Dilemma by George Bernard Shaw.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Sir Colenso, Ridgeon, Ridgeon Indeed, Ridgeon Shaking, Ridgeon Proceeding, Ridgeon Quivering, Ridgeon Thunderstruck, old Colly Ridgeon, Colly, Ridgeon Exasperated, Ridgeon No, Ridgeon Good Lord, Ridgeon Continuing, Ridgeon Furious, Ridgeon About Dubedat, Ridgeon B.B., Ridgeon Phagocytes, Ridgeon Death, Ridgeon Chut, Ridgeon Jane Marsh

**First appearance:** 0003-act-i

## Snapshot

A newly knighted physician with a genuine cure for tuberculosis and only ten doses to give, he must play God among patients who each want to live.

## Who they are

Ridgeon has just been honored for a tuberculosis treatment that works, but his supply of the cure is cruelly limited, and the choice of whom to save falls to him. He is scientific, skeptical, and quietly vain, dismissing the soul as an organ he has never found in his anatomical work. When Jennifer Dubedat pleads for her husband's life, Ridgeon's judgment becomes entangled with his own feelings, making the play's central dilemma intensely personal.

## Relationships

### [Louis Dubedat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/louis_dubedat)

_rivalry_

Ridgeon is both professionally and personally conflicted about Louis, seeing him as a brilliant but morally corrupt rival for Jennifer's affections and his own medical principles.

### [Sir Patrick Cullen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/sir_patrick_cullen)

_professional_

They are senior medical colleagues with a respectful but often contentious relationship, as Sir Patrick challenges Ridgeon's ethical decisions.

### [Jennifer Dubedat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/jennifer_dubedat)

_psychological_

Ridgeon becomes obsessed with Jennifer, and she manipulates him emotionally to save her husband, creating a tense dynamic of unrequited attraction and moral compromise.

### [Cutler Walpole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/cutler_walpole)

_professional_

They are colleagues in the medical profession, with Walpole often acting as a blunt, competitive foil to Ridgeon's more idealistic approach.

### [Emmy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/emmy)

_professional_

Emmy is Ridgeon's housekeeper, managing his household with a no-nonsense attitude and a protective, maternal concern for him.

### [Minnie Tinwell](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/minnie_tinwell)

_professional_

Minnie is Ridgeon's nurse, assisting him in his medical practice with efficient professionalism.

### [Schutzmacher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/schutzmacher)

_professional_

They are medical colleagues, with Schutzmacher often serving as a quiet, observant presence in Ridgeon's circle.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters/sir_colenso_ridgeon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_doctor_s_dilemma_se/characters