# Struve — The Red Room character guide

> Struve in The Red Room by August Strindberg.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Struve, Journalist Struve, envier Struve

**First appearance:** 0004-v-at-the-publisher-s

## Snapshot

A journalist whose envy simmers beneath every courtesy, Struve carries coffins and grudges with the same self-important grip.

## Who they are

Struve moves through the artists' circle as an acquaintance of Arvid, a man whose ambitions outpace his talents and whose pride flares at the smallest audience. When he shoulders a coffin into the street, the watching crowd feeds a devil of vanity in him, and he scolds the driver with contemptuous familiarity to heighten the effect. That hunger for notice, tangled with quiet resentment of those who surpass him, makes him a volatile presence in the Red Room's orbit.

## Relationships

### [Arvid Falk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/arvid_falk)

_friendship_

Struve is a close friend and fellow bohemian who shares Arvid's literary ambitions and disillusionment with society.

### [Arvid Falk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/arvid_falk)

_friendship_

Struve is a close friend and fellow bohemian who shares Arvid's literary ambitions and disillusionment with society.

### [Arvid Falk](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/characters/arvid_falk)

_friendship_

Struve is a close friend and fellow bohemian who shares Arvid's literary ambitions and disillusionment with society.

## In the story

### [A Bird's-Eye View of Stockholm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/i-a-bird-s-eye-view-of-stockholm)

A journalist and friend who listens to Falk's story and offers pragmatic advice about earning a living.

### [Poor Mother Country](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/viii-poor-mother-country)

Acts as a conservative reporter, taking notes on the Bishop's speech and becoming more loud and conservative after lunch.

### [X: The Newspaper Syndicate “Grey Bonnet”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/x-the-newspaper-syndicate-grey-bonnet)

Hired by the Grey Bonnet to orchestrate a reversal of their criticism of Sellén; a cynical journalist with a history of switching political allegiances.

### [Marine Insurance Society “Triton”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xii-marine-insurance-society-triton)

Former socialist now seen creeping through the crowd at the shareholders' meeting, greeted by distinguished figures, to Falk's amazement.

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

Asks Falk for a dress-coat for his child's funeral; reveals he is unmarried and his child was unbaptized; discusses his wife's religious scruples.

### [From Churchyard to Public-House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xix-from-churchyard-to-public-house)

Struve is grieving the death of his infant child and hosts the funeral gathering.

### [XXV: Checkmate](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxv-checkmate)

The stout editor of the Copper-Snake, who cynically instructs Falk on how to write false reviews and boasts about the paper's unscrupulous methods.

### [XXVI: Correspondence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxvi-correspondence)

Recipient of Borg's letters; involved in financial schemes and newspaper work.

### [XXVII: Recovery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxvii-recovery)

Falk writes to him; he is a secret enemy and envier at the Red Room.

### [XXIX: Revue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xxix-revue)

Has become somewhat religious, treasurer for a new church fund, married, but bitter and deteriorated.

## Links

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