# Arun — The Four Men character guide

> Arun in The Four Men by Hilaire Belloc.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0005-the-thirtieth-of-october-1902

## Snapshot

The river Arun, both a trickle in a dale and a king married to salt water, the destination and the promise of the travelers' whole pilgrimage.

## Who they are

Arun is the object of the journey and something more: a river that makes a man forget everything since his eighteenth year, or possibly his twenty-seventh. The travelers argue over whether to honor its humble source or wait for its majesty, and the disagreement exposes what each wants from the past. Arun matters because it turns the walk into a quest for lost youth, and because the river's slow, doubtful course toward the sea mirrors their own.

## In the story

### [The First of November 1902](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/chapters/the-first-of-november-1902)

The river the group approaches and crosses, a key landmark in their journey home.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/characters/arun
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_four_men_se/characters