# Herman Kreder — Three Lives character guide

> Herman Kreder in Three Lives by Gertrude Stein.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Herman, old Kreder

**First appearance:** 0007-the-gentle-lena

## Snapshot

A German tailor in Bridgepoint whose quiet courtship of Lena hardens into a controlling marriage that slowly smothers her gentle, patient nature.

## Who they are

Herman Kreder is a German tailor in Bridgepoint who marries Lena, the sweet, patient servant girl brought over from Germany. Where Lena is yielding and eager to please, Herman is stiff, anxious about appearances, and increasingly determined to govern every detail of their household. His need for control turns what might have been a tender match into a quiet, grinding struggle, and his treatment of Lena becomes the story's central study of how ordinary domestic power can wear a person down.

## Relationships

### [Lena Mainz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se/characters/lena_mainz)

_romantic_

Herman, a shy and conventional man, marries Lena in a dutiful but emotionally distant union arranged by their families.

### [Lena Mainz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se/characters/lena_mainz)

_romantic_

Herman, a shy and conventional man, marries Lena in a dutiful but emotionally distant union arranged by their families.

### [Lena Mainz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se/characters/lena_mainz)

_romantic_

Herman, a shy and conventional man, marries Lena in a dutiful but emotionally distant union arranged by their families.

## In the story

### [The Gentle Lena](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se/chapters/the-gentle-lena)

Reluctant husband of Lena, pressured by his parents into marriage; he becomes devoted to their children and lives contentedly alone after Lena's death.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se/characters/herman_kreder
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_lives_se/characters