The Origin of Species · Character

Mr. Mivart

A biologist whose detailed objections to natural selection Darwin takes seriously enough to answer at length, treating criticism as a necessary test.

supporting

Also known as Mr. Mivart, Mr. St. George Mivart, himself

First appearance: VII: Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection

As a supporting figure in The Origin of Species, Mr. Mivart is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Cited for noting exceptions to the rule about abnormal dermal covering and teeth in mammals.

In the storyCorrelated VariationOpen this moment free

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Mivart is the critic Darwin cannot ignore, the one whose questions about the Apteryx and the Red Grouse—how did they first appear in their homes, by what process?—cut to the heart of the theory's explanatory gaps. Darwin responds not with dismissal but with chapter after chapter of rebuttal, and the book's middle sections gain their momentum from this duel. Mivart matters because he forces the argument to become more precise, and because his objections reveal what Darwin himself considers the weakest joints.

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See Mr. Mivart in VII: Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection

Character Web

5 connections

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Character groups

Broad intellectual network
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This passage marks the story's dramatic climax because Darwin shifts from a defensive posture against objectio…

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In the story

Mr. Mivart appears across 6 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Correlated Variation
Cited for noting exceptions to the rule about abnormal dermal covering and teeth in mammals.
Organs of Extreme Perfection and Complication
Implied as an objector to the theory, as Darwin addresses objections to simultaneous modifications.
Utilitarian Doctrine, How Far True: Beauty, How Acquired
Referenced as one of the naturalists protesting against the utilitarian doctrine.
VII: Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection
Darwin responds to Mivart's collected objections, particularly the claim that natural selection cannot account for incipient stages of useful structures.
Instinct
Critic whose objection that instinct and structure must change simultaneously is addressed; Darwin argues the changes can be gradual.
Analogical Resemblances
Mentioned in context of the resemblance between a mouse and a marsupial, which Darwin explains as adaptive convergence.

Chapter companion notes

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See Mr. Mivart in VII: Miscellaneous Objections to the Theory of Natural Selection

See Mr. Mivart in Correlated Variation