The Man Who Was Thursday

Lucian Gregory is a self-proclaimed anarchist with dark-red hair and a fiery disposition. He is the narrative’s antagonist. In a religious context, Lucian means “illumination” and is similar to the name Lucifer, which means “morning star.” An anarchist, he is filled with hatred for all people and things and wants to destroy the world.

Gregory provides the means for Syme to infiltrate the anarchist movement. He shares insights with Syme and unwillingly protects Syme’s identity from the anarchists. He appears in Chapters 1-3 as a rebel, but in Chapter 15, he is the personification of a true anarchist, the destroyer, and the Antichrist.

Sunday is a paradox. He is the president of the Central Anarchist Council and the Scotland Yard chief who recruited the six detectives. He is larger than the average man with white hair, and he dominates every setting in which he appears. The detectives each have a different perception of him, based on their personal experiences. Several times he is described as too big to be seen all at once.

If Sunday is God, the paradox of being both good and evil is consistent with the common belief that the Christian God is both loving and vengeful. He loves humanity but allows terrible things to happen so each person can exercise his or her free will.

Sunday symbolizes the end of the detectives’ journey. In the last chapter, he comes to represent peace and rest, which are believed to be the reward awaiting the faithful after a life of difficulty. 

Monday, the Secretary of the anarchist organization, is the first member of the council Syme meets and is his escort to the meeting. He has a long, pale, and intellectual face, and is clean-shaven except for a small triangular dark beard. His face is disfigured with a twisted smile that makes him look sinister.

All the other members of the council have given names except the Secretary; he is referred to as Monday or the Secretary throughout the novel. He is the last member of the council revealed as a policeman (Chapter 13). At the end of the book, he represents the first day of the Creation, the separation of light from dark.

In disguise, Gogol has wild, bushy brown hair and a beard, and he feigns a heavy Polish accent. When he is unmasked, he has red hair and is clean shaven. He is the first character identified as a policeman, save for Syme. Gogol is ejected from the council and from Chapter 3 to Chapter 13 he is not part of the story. He is reunited with the others just before they confront Sunday. 

The Marquis de St. Eustache is a well-dressed, distinguished-looking man with a black, square-cut beard. Syme finds his presence suffocating. At the first council breakfast, the Marquis is assigned to work with Dr. Bull to assassinate the Czar and the French President. After his duel with Syme, he confesses he is Inspector Ratcliffe of Scotland Yard. When he removes his disguise, he is a blonde. He represents the third day of the Creation, when God made the earth and green things.

Professor de Worms is old and frail; his face is as gray as his beard. Syme describes him as in “[…] the last dissolution of senile decay” (36). In reality, he is a young actor and detective named Wilks. On a whim he began to imitate the real Professor de Worms and did it so well that he was able to use his disguise to gain entry into the anarchists’ council.

De Worms is Syme’s primary ally. He is pessimistic throughout the novel. Toward the end of the chase, he admits Sunday made him doubt his spirituality. He mourns his uncertainty. He represents the fifth day of the Creation, when God created the birds and fish.

Dr. Bull is a short man with a dark, square, clean-shaven face. His sinister demeanor centers on a pair of dark spectacles that hide his eyes entirely. He is the man Syme fears most when he meets the council. Syme describes him as “the most wicked of the wicked men” (36). Sunday puts Dr. Bull in charge of the assassination plot. He represents the sixth day of the Creation, when God formed animals.