The Master Doorkeeper guards the door to the School for wizards on the Isle of Roke. When Ged first meets the doormaster at the School on Roke, he doesn’t realize that the man is one of the nine wise, revered Masters of Roke. It is only later in Ged’s training, when it is time for him to leave the School, that he comes to understand the sage yet playful man’s true power. The Master Doorkeeper tests Ged as he departs the school by asking Ged to speak the doormaster’s true name—Ged eventually realizes that the only way to learn it is to ask. The Master Doorkeeper willingly gives Ged his own name—a sign of trust, care, and deep respect in the world of Earthsea.
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The Doormaster / The Master Doorkeeper Character Timeline in A Wizard of Earthsea
The timeline below shows where the character The Doormaster / The Master Doorkeeper appears in A Wizard of Earthsea. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...the Warder of the School. An old man opens the door, introduces himself as the doormaster, and invites Ged to enter the School if he can. Ged steps forward—but though he...
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...yet the power that holds the doorway is stronger than the charm. Ged asks the doormaster for help. The doormaster tells Ged to say his own true name aloud. Though in...
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...an illusion: the door is actually ivory, made from the tooth of a dragon. The doormaster welcomes Ged and leads him through the corridors to an open courtyard. Ged relishes being...
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Chapter 4
...end of spring, Ged returns to the Great House. At the door, he finds the doormaster he met many years ago when he arrived. He realizes that this man is the...
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Ged sits down and thinks for a while about how to do what the Master Doorkeeper has demanded. He falls asleep, unable to think of an answer. At last, Ged returns...
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