The Moon and Sixpence Character Analysis

Charles Strickland

Charles Strickland, the novel’s arguable protagonist, is a large, red-haired, rather conventional London stockbroker who abruptly abandons his wife Mrs. Strickland, son Robert Strickland, and daughter to become a painter in Paris. When… read analysis of Charles Strickland

The Narrator

The narrator—like author W. Somerset Maugham—attends medical school but becomes an author at a relatively young age and subsequently works as a novelist and playwright. He meets Charles Strickland in London through his wife Mrs.… read analysis of The Narrator

Dirk Stroeve

Dirk Stroeve is a small, fat Dutch painter with a round and comical face who wears a large pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Though Stroeve has exquisite taste in art and true appreciation for beauty, his… read analysis of Dirk Stroeve

Blanche Stroeve

Blanche Stroeve is a tall Englishwoman who, though not beautiful, has an attractive and statuesque figure. She once worked as a nurse. Later, while working as a governess for an aristocratic Italian family, she was… read analysis of Blanche Stroeve

Mrs. Strickland

Mrs. Strickland is the first wife of Charles Strickland and mother to his oldest son (Robert) and daughter. A literature enthusiast, Mrs. Strickland often throws luncheons for London-based writers, though she rarely invites… read analysis of Mrs. Strickland

Ata

Ata is a 17-year-old Tahitian girl. She is a distant relative of hotel-owner Tiaré Johnson. While Ata is working at Tiaré’s hotel, Tiaré notices that Ata has a crush on Charles Strickland, a… read analysis of Ata

Tiaré Johnson

Tiaré Johnson, the middle-aged daughter of a Tahitian woman and an English sailor, is a hotel owner in Papeete in Tahiti. She is very generous to hotel guests, often helping men who are unable to… read analysis of Tiaré Johnson

Robert Strickland

Robert Strickland is the son of Charles Strickland and his first wife, Mrs. Strickland. After his father abandons the family, his aunt Mrs. MacAndrew and uncle Colonel MacAndrew pay for his education. He attends… read analysis of Robert Strickland

Colonel MacAndrew

Husband to Mrs. MacAndrew and brother-in-law to Mrs. Strickland, Colonel MacAndrew is a middle-aged, blustering military man, tall and skinny with a “drooping mustache.” He and his wife care for Charles Strickland and Mrs… read analysis of Colonel MacAndrew

Mrs. MacAndrew

Sister to Mrs. Strickland and wife to Colonel MacAndrew, Mrs. MacAndrew judges Charles Strickland harshly for abandoning her sister Mrs. Strickland and his children to become a painter—yet she also suggests that Mrs. Strickland… read analysis of Mrs. MacAndrew

Minor Characters

Dr. Coutras

Dr. Coutras is an elderly, red-faced, very large French doctor living in Tahiti. He diagnosed Charles Strickland with leprosy and examined his corpse. He helps the narrator to reconstruct the story of Strickland’s illness, decline, and death.

Captain Nichols

A very thin “beach-comber” with bad teeth, Captain Nichols knew Charles Strickland when he was homeless in Marseilles. He helps the narrator reconstruct Strickland’s time in Marseilles and subsequent escape from France.

Captain René Brunot

Captain René Brunot is a French sea captain who knew Charles Strickland when he was living in Tahiti and helps the narrator reconstruct the narrative of Strickland’s final years there.

Tough Bill

Tough Bill is a mixed-race man who runs a boarding-house for sailors in Marseilles, France. After he and Charles Strickland get into a vicious bar fight, Strickland decides to leave France quickly in case Tough Bill decides to murder him.

The Moon and Sixpence Characters