# Hudge — What’s Wrong with the World character guide

> Hudge in What’s Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** himself

**First appearance:** 0001-what-s-wrong-with-the-world

## Snapshot

A lean vegetarian reformer with a gray beard and unnaturally easy smile, forever preaching that humanity shall soon sleep in one universal bedroom.

## Who they are

Hudge is the socialist planner who builds model dwellings and Garden Cities, convinced that man is happier in a hive than a house. He has degenerated into defending the very sheds and pipes he once meant only as desperate, calling the loss of privacy Brotherhood and the cold climb Effort. He matters because his feud with Gudge exposes how both reformer and landlord forget to ask what sort of house a man might actually want for himself.

## Relationships

### [Gudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/characters/gudge)

_rivalry_

Gudge and Hudge represent opposing political or philosophical factions, often clashing in their views.

### [Socialists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/characters/socialists)

_rivalry_

Hudge and the Socialists are in ideological conflict, representing opposing political views.

## In the story

### [What’s Wrong with the World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/what-s-wrong-with-the-world)

Represents one side of the false dichotomy in social reform, criticized for his narrow practicality.

### [Part I: The Homelessness of Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/part-i-the-homelessness-of-man)

Represents the hard, utilitarian reformer who dismisses tradition and domesticity.

### [VI: The Enemies of Property](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/vi-the-enemies-of-property)

Implied as one of the modern sophists who propound new ideals.

### [VIII: The Wildness of Domesticity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/viii-the-wildness-of-domesticity)

Implied as a representative of one side of the social debate, though not directly named in this chapter.

### [IX: History of Hudge and Gudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/ix-history-of-hudge-and-gudge)

Represents the bustling, utilitarian reformer who builds cheap tenements, later defending them as ideal.

### [Part IV: Education: Or the Mistake About the Child](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/part-iv-education-or-the-mistake-about-the-child)

Hudge is referenced as representing one side of the educational debate, likely advocating for utilitarian or scientific approaches.

### [XIII: The Outlawed Parent](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/xiii-the-outlawed-parent)

Implied as a representative of the philanthropic or educational establishment that imposes alien values on the poor.

### [Part V: The Home of Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/part-v-the-home-of-man)

Represents the modern utilitarian view that devalues domesticity.

### [III: The Dreadful Duty of Gudge](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/iii-the-dreadful-duty-of-gudge)

The energetic Progressive or Socialist who is vague about preserving the family and must accept natural family distinctions if he wants to keep it.

### [A Doubt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/iv-a-doubt)

Hudge is the idealist who provides lyric praises of anarchy and preaches teetotalism to workmen, playing into Gudge's hands.

### [Three Notes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/chapters/three-notes)

Referenced as a representative of a certain sociological viewpoint.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/characters/hudge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_s_wrong_with_the_world_se/characters