# Mr. Harby — The Rainbow character guide

> Mr. Harby in The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Harby

**First appearance:** 0016-xiii-the-man-s-world

## Snapshot

The school's authoritarian headmaster, a small tyrant of the classroom whose discipline Ursula must endure and quietly resist.

## Who they are

Harby rules his school through inspection, fear, and the relentless machinery of routine, treating teachers and children alike as instruments of order. He is the embodiment of the institutional world Ursula enters as a young woman — narrow, punitive, and utterly certain of its own rightness. His petty cruelties sharpen Ursula's growing hunger for a life larger than obedience, making him the necessary antagonist against which her early independence is forged.

## Relationships

### [Ursula Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/characters/ursula_brangwen)

_professional_

Mr. Harby is Ursula's harsh and authoritarian headmaster at the school where she teaches.

### [Ursula Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/characters/ursula_brangwen)

_professional_

Mr. Harby is Ursula's harsh and authoritarian headmaster at the school where she teaches.

### [Ursula Brangwen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/characters/ursula_brangwen)

_professional_

Mr. Harby is Ursula's harsh and authoritarian headmaster at the school where she teaches.

## In the story

### [XIII: The Man’s World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/chapters/xiii-the-man-s-world)

The headmaster of St. Philip's School, who maintains strict discipline and clashes with Ursula.

### [XIV: The Widening Circle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/chapters/xiv-the-widening-circle)

Mentioned as a figure from Ursula's past, representing the oppressive school environment she wishes to escape.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/characters/mr_harby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_rainbow_se/characters