# Mr. Falx — Those Barren Leaves character guide

> Mr. Falx in Those Barren Leaves by Aldous Huxley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Mr. Falx

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-an-evening-at-mrs-aldwinkle-s

## Snapshot

A white-bearded former Labour leader who would have been a minor prophet in another age, revered by the young Lord Hovenden as an oracle.

## Who they are

Mr. Falx presides at Mrs. Aldwinkle's table with the air of a minor prophet — flowing white hair, aquiline nose, dark liquid eyes — and Lord Hovenden hangs on his every word. Born mid-century and briefly destined for engine-driving, he became a Labour leader instead, and now lends his patriarchal gravity to a household of aesthetes and idlers. His earnest socialism, filtered through Hovenden's youthful ardour, gives the villa's talk of art and appetite a political counterpoint it never quite takes seriously.

## In the story

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/chapters/vi)

Argues for the importance of practical work like coal-mining over art; speaks with a deep, prophetical voice.

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

Accompanies Mrs. Aldwinkle upstairs; argues with her about tyrants and the past.

### [Part II: Fragments from the Autobiography of Francis Chelifer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/chapters/part-ii-fragments-from-the-autobiography-of-francis-chelifer)

An elderly poet and regular at Mrs. Chelifer's gatherings, representing the old guard of literary pretension.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/chapters/ii)

Expresses disapproval of the moral laxity in the house, worries about Hovenden's surroundings, and later passionately speaks about the working classes.

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

Shocked and appalled by Irene's remark, concerned for Hovenden's moral welfare.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/chapters/xiii)

Appears briefly, rushing down the corridor in his nightshirt with a pained expression, interrupting Calamy's departure.

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

Suffers anxiety in the back seat, his beard fluttering with agitation; reproaches Hovenden for speeding and later switches to Mrs. Aldwinkle's limousine.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/chapters/iii)

Denounces Rome's monuments as built by slave labor and argues against their justification.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/characters/mr_falx
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/those_barren_leaves_se/characters