# Uncle Podger — Three Men in a Boat character guide

> Uncle Podger in Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** my poor Uncle Podger, Podger

**First appearance:** 0004-iii

## Snapshot

J.'s legendary uncle, whose attempt to hang a picture becomes a household catastrophe involving six people and one lost coat.

## Who they are

Uncle Podger never appears on the river, but he haunts the book as the patron saint of well-meaning incompetence. His epic struggle to hang a picture — summoning the whole household, losing the mark, sitting on the hammer, blaming everyone but himself — is the novel's most quoted set piece. He matters because he distills the book's comic philosophy: that grand undertakings are best remembered for their chaos, and that the fussiest men are usually the least useful.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Goggles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters/mr_goggles)

_social_

Mr. Goggles is an acquaintance of Uncle Podger, involved in a comedic misunderstanding about a pair of goggles.

### [Tom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters/tom)

_social_

Tom and Uncle Podger are acquaintances, with Tom often being an exasperated witness to Podger's incompetence.

### [Tom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters/tom)

_social_

Tom and Uncle Podger are acquaintances, with Tom often being an exasperated witness to Podger's incompetence.

### [Mr. Goggles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters/mr_goggles)

_social_

Mr. Goggles is an acquaintance of Uncle Podger, involved in a comedic misunderstanding about a pair of goggles.

## In the story

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

Recounted as an example of someone who makes a simple task (hanging a picture) into a household commotion.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters/uncle_podger
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/three_men_in_a_boat_se/characters