# Dexter — The Gold Bat character guide

> Dexter in The Gold Bat by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Dexter, Bertie, Mr. Gilbert, Herbert, Mr. Robert Dexter

**First appearance:** 0000-i-the-fifteenth-place

## Snapshot

A Wrykyn housemaster whose teasing of O'Hara and his measles-stricken house set the Irish boy's mischief in motion.

## Who they are

Dexter is the master whose house has been shunted to the baths after a measles outbreak, and whose needling of O'Hara about Irish politics sparks a scheme the boys must keep secret. He is the butt of O'Hara's elaborate rags—like the unscrewed desk that collapses beneath the French master—yet remains a watchful, needling presence. His running feud with O'Hara gives the early chapters their comic engine and keeps the boys scheming.

## Relationships

### [Trevor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/characters/trevor)

_friendship_

Dexter and Trevor are friends, interacting positively in school life.

### [Trevor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/characters/trevor)

_friendship_

Dexter and Trevor are friends, interacting positively in school life.

## In the story

### [The Gold Bat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/chapters/ii-the-gold-bat)

Housemaster of Dexter's, described as ineffective and overly focused on catching rule-breakers.

### [III: The Mayor’s Statue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/chapters/iii-the-mayor-s-statue)

O'Hara's house master, who taunts him about the Irish and locks the dormitory at night.

### [XVII: The Watchers in the Vault](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/chapters/xvii-the-watchers-in-the-vault)

The housemaster who discovers the boys in the vault and attempts to catch them, but is outwitted.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/characters/dexter
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gold_bat_se/characters