Hemme
SupportingAlso known as: Master Hemme
Master Hemme is an imposing university instructor with fair skin and a solid, commanding build who looks impressive in his dark master's robes as he strides onto the stage behind a large stone worktable. His sharp features and authoritative posture command instant silence from assembled students, though his face can flush to a fearsome red with a visibly pulsing vein at his temple when angry or drain to ashen white when struck by sudden pain. He moves with the dignity of his station but may occasionally favor his left leg slightly after suffering a sympathetic injury.
Master Hemme emerges in The Name of the Wind as a formidable and temperamental naming instructor at the University, commanding respect with his imposing presence but quick to anger, especially after clashing with the brash student Kvothe, whom he injures sympathetically during a naming mishap. In The Wise Man's Fear, Hemme solidifies his role as Kvothe's primary antagonist, glowering through admissions disputes and rising to Chancellor with smug authority, his escalating rivalry marked by public humiliations and unyielding grudges that define Kvothe's early academic struggles. Across the two books, Hemme evolves from a dignified yet volatile master to a triumphant bureaucratic foe, his personal vendetta against Kvothe fueling institutional conflicts.
Physical Description
Master Hemme is an imposing university instructor with fair skin and a solid, commanding build who looks impressive in his dark master's robes as he strides onto the stage behind a large stone worktable. His sharp features and authoritative posture command instant silence from assembled students, though his face can flush to a fearsome red with a visibly pulsing vein at his temple when angry or drain to ashen white when struck by sudden pain. He moves with the dignity of his station but may occasionally favor his left leg slightly after suffering a sympathetic injury. His broad, middle-aged frame carries a round face perpetually scowling like an angry moon, with gleaming eyes and lips curved in an unpleasant smile. Dressed in University master's or chancellor's robes, he glowers with stormy intensity, broad back turned in muttering rage.
Evolution
The Name of the Wind
Master Hemme is an imposing university instructor with fair skin and a solid, commanding build who looks impressive in his dark master's robes as he strides onto the stage behind a large stone worktable. His sharp features and authoritative posture command instant silence from assembled students, though his face can flush to a fearsome red with a visibly pulsing vein at his temple when angry or drain to ashen white when struck by sudden pain. He moves with the dignity of his station but may occasionally favor his left leg slightly after suffering a sympathetic injury.
- Strides commandingly onto the stage in dark master's robes, silencing students with his authoritative presence.
- Suffers a sympathetic injury to his left leg during a naming demonstration gone awry.
- Develops a deep grudge against Kvothe after the student publicly challenges and humiliates him.
- Flushes red with anger, vein pulsing at his temple, during confrontations with Kvothe.
The Wise Man's Fear
Master Hemme, the naming master with a round angry face, emerges as Kvothe's chief antagonist at the University, glowering during admissions and later presiding as the new Chancellor with smug triumph. His unpleasant smiles and scowl mark escalating conflicts, from tuition disputes to public humiliations. Hemme's temper and authority define Kvothe's early struggles, culminating in his chancellorship amid ongoing rivalry.
- Glowers during Kvothe's tuition disputes at admissions.
- Presides as the new Chancellor with smug triumph and unpleasant smiles.
- Escalates conflicts through public humiliations and scowling authority.
- Continues as Kvothe's chief antagonist, supporting Ambrose in their rivalry.
Relationships
Hemme's antagonism toward Kvothe begins as a student-master grudge in Book 1 after public humiliation and sympathetic injury, evolving in Book 2 into intensified institutional opposition as Chancellor, marked by tuition battles, admissions hostility, and unwavering support for Kvothe's enemy Ambrose.
Hemme supports Ambrose against Kvothe, bolstering their shared opposition in both books as part of his grudge-fueled favoritism.
Key Events
Book Appearances
The Name of the Wind
First appears Ch 7
The Wise Man's Fear
First appears Ch 7