# Dr. Hirsch — The Wisdom of Father Brown character guide

> Dr. Hirsch in The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the great Dr. Hirsch, Hirsch, old Hirsch, Paul Hirsch, Paul

**First appearance:** 0004-the-duel-of-dr-hirsch

## Snapshot

A carrot-haired, blue-spectacled doctor who refuses to meet Colonel Dubosc, sends seconds instead, and turns a Paris mob's fury into applause.

## Who they are

Dr. Hirsch is the absurd, pale figure on the balcony whose champagne-bottle neck and weedy beard make the crowd laugh before his prim decision silences them. He claims he will not face Dubosc because honour forbids it, offers to pay the barbaric bribe of a duel, and insists his real weapons are intellectual. His evasions and his theatrical self-defence make him the pivot of a mystery about courage, cowardice and what a gentleman actually owes.

## In the story

### [The Duel of Dr. Hirsch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wisdom_of_father_brown_se/chapters/the-duel-of-dr-hirsch)

The German doctor; his identity is assumed by Dubosc, and he is the one who appears on the balcony.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wisdom_of_father_brown_se/characters/dr_hirsch
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wisdom_of_father_brown_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_wisdom_of_father_brown_se/characters