Hunger characters

Also known as Andreas Tangen

Appears from the start

An unnamed young writer trying to survive in Kristiania through occasional newspaper sales. He begins the story nearly penniless, hungry, and in danger of losing his room. Proud and intensely self-conscious, he alternates between lucid observation, grand plans, impulsive generosity, and distorted thinking as deprivation wears down his body and judgment. Andreas Tangen is one of the names he invents for himself.

Appears from the start

A young woman whom the narrator notices walking with an older companion. He follows and startles her, privately giving her the invented name Ylajali before he knows who she is. She becomes the focus of his romantic imagination and one of his few sustained connections with another person.

Appears from the start

An editor who considers the narrator's submissions and sometimes pays for work he can use. His office represents the narrator's best hope of turning his thoughts into food and lodging, though pride and unstable concentration complicate every visit.

Appears from the start

An acquaintance from whom the narrator hopes to borrow money. Hans Pauli is usually absent or unable to help when sought, making him less a dependable rescuer than a reminder of the ordinary social life from which the narrator is slipping.

First appears in chapter 4

The keeper of a lodging house where the narrator stays when his circumstances have sharply deteriorated. Focused on rent and the demands of her crowded household, she tolerates him only while she thinks payment may still be possible.

First appears in chapter 4

A shopkeeper whose assistant mistakenly gives the narrator too much change. The error offers immediate relief from hunger but also becomes a moral burden that the narrator cannot set aside.

First appears in chapter 4

The master of a ship preparing to leave Kristiania. He initially doubts that the weakened narrator is fit for work, but represents a final chance to exchange the city and failed writing life for physical labor elsewhere.