Characters Discussed
Mr. Chipping
Mr. Chipping, referred to as Mr. Chips, a retired schoolmaster, white-haired, semi-bald, fairly active for his age. Unprofound, he prefers detective novels to the Greek and Latin works that he taught for so long. His mind is filled with memories of his dead wife, the many boys he taught at Brookfield, and the many experiences he had there. He is a legend at the school and is remembered with affection. He dies dreaming of the thousands of boys he had taught.
Mrs. Wickett
Mrs. Wickett, his landlady.
Wetherby
Wetherby, the head of Brookfield when Mr. Chips came there.
Colley
Colley, a Brookfield boy whom Mr. Chips disciplined on his first day at the school. Colley’s son and grandson later become pupils of Mr. Chips.
Katherine (Kathie) Bridges Chipping
Katherine (Kathie) Bridges Chipping, Mr. Chips’s young wife, whom he marries at forty-eight. She is very popular with the boys. She dies in childbirth along with her infant son.
Dr. Merivale
Dr. Merivale, Mr. Chips’s physician.
Collingwood
Collingwood, a Brookfield boy who becomes a major and is killed in the war.
Ralston
Ralston, a young headmaster at Brookfield whom Mr. Chips never likes.
Chatteris
Chatteris, Ralston’s successor as headmaster; he and Mr. Chips get on well.
Max Staefel
Max Staefel, a former German master at Brookfield, drafted while visiting in Germany and later killed on the Western Front.
Linford
Linford, a Brookfield boy, the last to say, “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” the night before the old man dies.