# Robert Matthews — The Humbugs of the World character guide

> Robert Matthews in The Humbugs of the World by P. T. Barnum.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Matthews

**First appearance:** 0057-xlv

## Snapshot

A fiery American preacher who reinvented himself as the prophet Matthias, gathering followers and scandal in equal measure.

## Who they are

Robert Matthews is one of Barnum's prime specimens of religious humbug: a man who claims divine authority and builds a small kingdom of believers around his person. His power rests on charisma, scriptural improvisation, and the willingness of devotees to surrender judgment and property. His career matters to the book's argument because it shows how the machinery of faith can be hijacked by a confident impostor, and how thoroughly ordinary people will follow a voice that promises certainty.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_humbugs_of_the_world_se/characters/robert_matthews
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