# Falander — The Red Room character guide

> Falander in The Red Room by August Strindberg.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Falander, the melancholy Falander

**First appearance:** 0002-iii-the-artists-colony

## Snapshot

A melancholy habitué of the town-hall vaults, calm and indifferent as though he has already seen how every story ends.

## Who they are

Falander sits over his dinner and dissects the theatre manager's success with the precision of a man who has stopped expecting better from anyone, including himself. His gloom is not passive — it is a settled philosophy, and he offers it to Rehnhjelm like a consolation and a warning at once. He gives the bohemian circle its darkest voice, the one that asks whether any ambition is worth the disappointment it guarantees.

## Relationships

### [Agnes Rundgren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/agnes_rundgren)

_romantic_

Agnes Rundgren and Falander share a romantic relationship, with Falander being a suitor or lover to Agnes.

### [Rehnhjelm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/rehnhjelm)

_friendship_

Falander and Rehnhjelm are friends and fellow bohemians, often interacting in artistic and social settings.

### [Agnes Rundgren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/agnes_rundgren)

_romantic_

Agnes Rundgren and Falander share a romantic relationship, with Falander being a suitor or lover to Agnes.

### [Rehnhjelm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/rehnhjelm)

_friendship_

Falander and Rehnhjelm are friends and fellow bohemians, often interacting in artistic and social settings.

### [Agnes Rundgren](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/agnes_rundgren)

_romantic_

Agnes Rundgren and Falander share a romantic relationship, with Falander being a suitor or lover to Agnes.

### [Rehnhjelm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/rehnhjelm)

_friendship_

Falander and Rehnhjelm are friends and fellow bohemians, often interacting in artistic and social settings.

## In the story

### [XIV: Absinthe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xiv-absinthe)

The cynical actor who deconstructs Rehnhjelm's romantic notions of art and the stage.

### [XV: The Theatrical Company "Phoenix"](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xv-the-theatrical-company-phoenix)

The melancholy Falander comforts the company members and later has a tense conversation with Agnes about Rehnhjelm.

### [XVII: Natura…](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xvii-natura)

At home studying a part; receives Agnes; admits he lied about being tired of her and declares he still loves her.

### [XVIII: Nihilism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xviii-nihilism)

Mentioned in Montanus's letter as the model for the statue of Unbelief and as a Roman centurion in Lundell's altarpiece.

### [XX: On the Altar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xx-on-the-altar)

Falander delivers a cynical speech about pessimism as idealism, and shows suspicion about Agnes's activities.

### [A Soul Overboard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxi-a-soul-overboard)

Arranges the meeting, confronts Agnes about her infidelity, and supports Rehnhjelm afterward.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/falander
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters