# Norton — The Moon Maid character guide

> Norton in The Moon Maid by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** young Norton, Mr. Norton, Moon Norton

**First appearance:** 0016-part-ii-the-moon-men

## Snapshot

A young officer aboard the Barsoom, Norton crawls through flooded compartments and faces death with a calm that shames the saboteur who doomed them.

## Who they are

Norton serves under the commander on the first voyage to the Moon, the man sent into the ship's guts to find why they are falling. He discovers the opened intake valve and reports it without panic, then learns the radio is destroyed and greets the news with a smile and a single regret for the world's ignorance. His selflessness under sentence of death gives the doomed mission its moral weight and makes the coming crash on the Moon feel like a loss worth mourning.

## Relationships

### [West](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/characters/west)

_professional_

Norton and West are professional colleagues, possibly working together in a military or exploratory setting.

### [West](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/characters/west)

_professional_

Norton and West are professional colleagues, possibly working together in a military or exploratory setting.

## In the story

### [Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters/prologue)

The narrator, who assists in the interplanetary communication project and records the admiral's story.

### [The Flight of 'The Barsoom'](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters/i-the-flight-of-the-barsoom)

Young crew member under Orthis's influence; noted by Julian as a fine boy.

### [The Heart of the Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters/ii-the-heart-of-the-moon)

On watch, discovers the ship's fall, investigates the sabotaged Lunar Eighth Ray tank, and theorizes about the ship's circular descent.

### [III: Human Quadrupeds](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters/iii-human-quadrupeds)

Crew member; first to leap from the ship and land in the river due to low gravity; collects water sample.

### [Back to "The Barsoom"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters/xiv-back-to-the-barsoom)

Saves Julian by striking aside West's revolver and reveals he repaired the engine using information from Orthis.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/characters/norton
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_moon_maid_se/characters