The Fall Character Analysis

The Narrator

The narrator claims to be a former lawyer, well known in Paris, who took on pro bono defense cases and engaged in other charitable works—ultimately not out of genuine moral conviction but out of egotism… read analysis of The Narrator

The Listener

The listener, whom the reader learns about only through comments of the unreliable, sometimes deceitful narrator, is a middle-aged lawyer from Paris whom the narrator identifies as an “open-minded[]” and “cultured bourgeois.” While on… read analysis of The Listener

The Bartender

The bartender works at Mexico City, a bar in the red-light district of Amsterdam. As the bartender speaks only Dutch, the narrator—who seems to speak both Dutch and French—ends up ordering drinks for… read analysis of The Bartender

The Woman in Black

The woman in black is a figure that the narrator claims he encountered late one night on a bridge in Paris. Shortly after the narrator walks past her, he hears her attempt suicide by jumping… read analysis of The Woman in Black

Du Guesclin

Du Guesclin is a young French man who, though very religious, fights in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) against Spanish dictator Francisco Franco’s conservative-Catholic fascist Nationalists. He meets the narrator in a Nazi prison camp… read analysis of Du Guesclin

The Fall Characters

The Narrator

The Listener

The Bartender

The Woman in Black

Du Guesclin