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Travel Essays · Character

Mr. Commissary

A French official encountered during the canal journey.

minor

Also known as The Commissary, the Commissary, Poor bubuckled Commissary

First appearance: on the sambre canalised to quartes

Mr. Commissary's tie to The Arethusa is one of the pressures that moves Travel Essays—worth meeting in the text, not only on a cast list.

The sleepy, perspiring magistrate at Châtillon-sur-Loire who arrests the Arethusa and is bribed with a volume of Michelet to release him.
In the storyEpilogue to An Inland VoyageOpen this moment free

Mr. Commissary first appears in 0007 on the sambre canalised to quartes.

With The Arethusa (professional): Mr. Commissary interacts frequently with The Arethusa, likely in an official or administrative capacity. With The Cigarette (professional): Mr. Commissary and The Cigarette have a formal, possibly supervisory relationship.

See Mr. Commissary in Epilogue to An Inland VoyageBook page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

Character Web

20 connections

A slice of how Mr. Commissary sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

TAThe ArethusaTBTom BowlingTDThe DevonianALAlickTCThe CigaretteMCMr. Commissary

Relationship types

  • Professional
  • Other

Character groups

  • Canal Journey Characters
  • Historical and Nautical References
  • Extended Cast of Travels and History
  • Scottish and French Figures

+15 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

SetupEscalationAftermathClimax
  • Setup
  • Escalation
  • Breaking point
  • Aftermath
  • Closing

This passage marks the dramatic climax because it reverses the narrator’s initial expectation of confrontation…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Mr. Commissary in on the sambre canalised to quartes

In the story

Mr. Commissary appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Mr. Commissary unlock in the free preview.

See Mr. Commissary in on the sambre canalised to quartes
See Mr. Commissary in Epilogue to An Inland Voyage