# Charles Beaumont — What Is to Be Done? character guide

> Charles Beaumont in What Is to Be Done? by Nikolay Chernyshevsky.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Beaumont, Beaumont, Charlie, James Beaumont

**First appearance:** 0091-part-v-new-people-and-the-finale

## Snapshot

A reserved English agent with a Canadian accent and a French face, buying up a Russian stearine factory while carefully avoiding every dinner invitation.

## Who they are

Beaumont appears in the industrial world as the London firm's conscientious purchaser, inspecting books and enduring endless Russian negotiations with the patience of a man who has survived the siege of Troy. His refusal of hospitality, his clipped personal history of Canadian emigration and Crimean cotton plantations, and his uncanny familiarity with the people he meets all mark him as a man with something carefully withheld. To Polozov and the factory directors he is simply a foreign businessman; to the reader, his arrival signals that the novel's moral accounting is not finished.

## In the story

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/ix)

Agent for Hodgson, Lotter and Company; examines the factory thoroughly before advising purchase; reluctantly accepts dinner invitation.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/x)

Relates his family history and personal story, explaining his French-Canadian origins and return to Russia as a business agent.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xi)

Dines with Pólozof and his daughter; discusses American customs, abolitionism, and the need for practical activity; reveals knowledge of Mrs. Kirsánova's experiment.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xii)

Shows deep interest in Vera Pavlovna and the cooperative, but asks Katerina to keep his inquiries secret.

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

Frequents the Pólozofs' and is considered an excellent match by Pólozof; he carefully arranges the factory purchase to avoid misunderstandings.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xiv)

Visits Katerina Vasílyevna, initially met with suspicion but gradually builds rapport; his interest in the Kirsánofs wanes.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xv)

Shows interest in the Kirsánofs' happiness but seems incapable of falling in love, though Katerina believes he may love her.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xvi)

Explains his absence due to a minor arm injury and engages in polite conversation with Katerina.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xvii)

Accepts Katerina's unconventional behavior without protest, sometimes asking her to stay longer but never forcing the issue.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xviii)

Argues that girls lack the experience to choose husbands wisely, advocates for longer trials, and shows personal interest in the woman question.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xx)

Tells the story of his life after arriving in the United States, including naturalization and work with the Abolitionists.

### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxi)

Lives temporarily at the factory with his wife, later moves into adjoining flat.

### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxii)

Mentioned as being inveigled into a game and put into the corner, indicating his participation in the family circle.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxiii)

Exchanges glances with Viéra Pavlovna, reassures his wife, and participates in the evening's activities.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/characters/charles_beaumont
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/characters