Character guide

Jake Barnes

major

Also known as Jacob, Barnes, Jacob Barnes, old Jake, Old Jake, Good old Jake, Mr. Barnes, Monsieur Barnes, chez Barnes

American expatriate journalist in Paris who narrates the novel, carrying a war wound that shapes every intimacy he cannot have.

Lady Brett Ashley

major

Also known as Brett, Lady Brett, Lady Ashley, Ashley, Brett Ashley, Dear Brett

Charismatic British socialite with cropped hair and a racing-yacht figure, the woman Jake loves and can never keep.

Robert Cohn

major

Also known as Cohn, Robert, Hubert, Mr. Cohn, Mr. Robert Cohn

Wealthy Jewish-American novelist and former Princeton boxer, earnest and insecure, who mistakes Brett's attention for a promised land.

Bill Gorton

supporting

Also known as Bill, Old Bill

Jake's wisecracking American friend, arriving in Paris with a cable and a taste for fishing, drinking, and needling Cohn.

Mike Campbell

supporting

Also known as Mike, Michael, Good old Mike, Poor old Mike, Old Mike, Mr. Campbell

Brett's bankrupt Scottish fiancé, a war veteran whose drinking fuels loud, ugly confrontations with Cohn in Pamplona.

Pedro Romero

supporting

Also known as Romero

Young, gifted bullfighter from Pamplona whose grace in the ring and green pants captivate Brett and unsettle the men around her.

Montoya

supporting

Also known as Juanito Montoya, afición Montoya, old Montoya

Montoya runs the hotel in Pamplona where Jake's circle stays for the fiesta, and his real authority comes from his afición — a deep, almost religious devotion to bullfighting that he shares only with those he deems worthy. He prizes the young matador Pedro Romero above all others, and his protective loyalty to the boy becomes a quiet measure of who among the drinkers and tourists actually understands the corrida. His approval, or its absence, shapes how the fiesta chapters read: he is the moral barometer of a city that takes its rituals seriously.

Harvey Stone

minor

Also known as Harvey

Down-on-his-luck American expatriate, often found in Paris cafés.

Belmonte

minor

Famous but aging bullfighter who appears at the Pamplona fiesta.

Harris

minor

Also known as Good old Harris, Wilson - Harris

Englishman met by Jake and Bill during their fishing trip in Burguete.

Frances Clyne

minor

Also known as Frances, Poor Frances

Cohn's possessive and bitter girlfriend in Paris.

Edna

minor

American woman who flirts with Bill and others in Pamplona.

Braddocks

minor

Also known as Mrs. Braddocks

Expatriate acquaintances of Jake, hosts of a Paris dinner party.

Count Mippipopolous

minor

Wealthy Greek count who pursues Brett in Paris.

Georgette Leblanc

minor

Also known as Mademoiselle Georgette Leblanc, Georgette Leblanc, Mademoiselle Leblanc

French prostitute who dines with Jake early in the novel.

Krum

minor

Friend of Cohn from Princeton, briefly mentioned in conversation.

Henry Wilson

minor

Also known as Henry

Englishman who joins the fishing trip with Harris.

Marcial Lalanda

minor

Also known as Marcial

Bullfighter mentioned as a rival to Romero.

Madame Lecomte

minor

Owner of a restaurant where Jake and Brett dine.

Zizi

minor

Friend of Brett's, appears briefly in Paris.

Woolsey

minor

American expatriate, friend of Jake and Bill in Paris.

Bryan

minor

American acquaintance met in a Paris café.

Spider Kelly

minor

Also known as Spider

Boxing manager who trained Cohn at Princeton.

Lett

minor

Friend of Bill Gorton, mentioned in conversation.

Gallo

minor

Wine seller in Pamplona, supplies the group.

Don Manuel Orquito

minor

Also known as Don Manuel

Local Spanish official met during the fiesta.

Mademoiselle Hobin

minor

Also known as Hobin

French woman briefly encountered in Paris.

George

minor

Friend of the group, appears briefly in Pamplona.

Paula

minor

Woman mentioned in passing by Frances.

Ledoux

minor

Also known as IX The Ledoux - Kid Francis

Boxer mentioned in a conversation about fights.