Burmese Days characters

Appears from the start

A wealthy Burmese magistrate in Kyauktada who has built his career through bribery, intimidation, and calculated favors. He sets out to ruin Dr Veraswami so that no local rival can benefit from the Europeans' plan to admit an Asian member to their club.

Appears from the start

U Po Kyin's wife, who understands that his public standing rests on corrupt dealings. She is troubled by the religious consequences of his behavior, though he assumes that future donations will balance his offenses.

Appears from the start

An Indian physician and civil surgeon in Kyauktada. Energetic, sociable, and intensely loyal to British rule, he values his friendship with Flory and hopes that European support will protect him from U Po Kyin's campaign.

Also known as Flory

First appears in chapter 2

An English timber merchant who has spent much of his adult life in Burma. A dark birthmark covers one side of his face. He recognizes the cruelty and dishonesty of colonial society but lacks the courage to separate himself from the European community that sustains him.

First appears in chapter 2

The senior British official in the district and secretary of the European Club. Formal, slow-spoken, and conscious of administrative duty, he must present the government's request that the club elect a non-European member.

First appears in chapter 2

An English timber manager and the most openly racist member of the European Club. Quick-tempered and contemptuous of local people, he treats any challenge to white exclusivity as a personal humiliation.

First appears in chapter 2

The district superintendent of police, a practical member of the European Club whose manner is less explosive than Ellis's but whose assumptions remain those of the colonial circle.

First appears in chapter 3

Flory's longtime Burmese servant, attentive to his employer's routines and failings. Their familiarity gives him a clearer view of Flory's private life than the Europeans at the club possess.

First appears in chapter 4

A young Burmese woman who has been Flory's mistress and receives money and gifts from him. She regards the relationship as a source of status and security, while he keeps it hidden from the European community.

First appears in chapter 6

A young Englishwoman who comes to Kyauktada to live with her aunt and uncle after her mother's death. With little money and no settled future, she is drawn toward the conventional security of the Anglo-Indian community.

First appears in chapter 6

Elizabeth's aunt, an anxious and socially ambitious member of Kyauktada's European circle. She hopes to secure a respectable marriage for Elizabeth while managing her husband's drinking and misconduct.

First appears in chapter 6

Elizabeth's uncle and the manager of a local timber firm. Habitually drunk and unreliable, he leaves his wife to preserve the household's appearance and to shield Elizabeth from his behavior.

First appears in chapter 16

A young military policeman temporarily posted to Kyauktada. Handsome, reserved, and devoted to horses and polo, he has the social assurance and conventional masculinity that the European community admires.