# William Morris — The Story of Utopias character guide

> William Morris in The Story of Utopias by Lewis Mumford.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Morris

**First appearance:** 0003-the-story-of-utopias

## Who they are

Socialist artist and craftsman whose News from Nowhere turns utopia from a blueprint into a living, workable dream of fellowship.

## In the story

### [The Two Utopias: Escape and Reconstruction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned in the context of his idyllic utopia where even in perfection, women are fickle and lovers disappointed, illustrating that even the best utopias of escape retain human imperfections.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/xi)

Morris's utopia is contrasted with Plato's, where novels drop out of existence due to life being an active ecstasy.

### [How William Morris and W. H. Hudson renew the classic tradition of utopias; and how, finally, Mr. H. G. Wells sums up and clarifies the utopias of the past, and brings them into contact with the world of the present.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/ix)

Renewed the classic tradition of utopias.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/i)

Cited as a utopian of escape whose work returns to Andreae's model; values creation over consumption.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/iv)

The dreamer who awakens to find his utopia in the Thames valley, after returning to his home in Hammersmith.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/v)

Invoked as the visionary who described the ideal of a simple, cooperative, and aesthetically fulfilling society.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/vii)

Mentioned in reference to 'News from Nowhere,' which is contrasted for its shirking.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/ix)

Cited for the idea that future societies might discard complex machines to live and work more happily.

### [How the half-worlds go, and how eutopia may come; and what we need before we can build Jerusalem in any green and pleasant land.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/chapters/xii)

Referenced as a key figure in the arts and crafts movement who envisioned a society integrating art, labor, and community.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/characters/william_morris
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_utopias_se/characters