An overly nice old man in Lakeside who acts as the unofficial town leader. Hinzelmann’s affable exterior hides a Germanic kobold (cursed spirit) who is forced to sacrifice one child each year to protect Lakeside, ensure Lakeside’s prosperity, and keep himself alive. Hinzelmann begs Shadow to kill him after Shadow uncovers Hinzelmann’s plot, depicting the dark side of sacrifice and the toll it takes on everyone when the cost of the sacrifice is not worth the promised reward.
Richie Hinzelmann Quotes in American Gods
The American Gods quotes below are all either spoken by Richie Hinzelmann or refer to Richie Hinzelmann. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the William Morrow edition of American Gods published in 2013.
Chapter 11
Quotes
"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town." …
"So what I'm saying is that Lakeside's lucky. We've got a little of everything here—farm, light industry, tourism, crafts. Good schools."
Shadow looked at her in puzzlement. There was something empty at the bottom of all her words. It was as if he were listening to a salesman, a good salesman, who believed in his product, but still wanted to make sure you went home with all the brushes or the full set of encyclopedias.
Related Characters:
Shadow Moon (Baldur), Richie Hinzelmann
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire American Gods LitChart as a printable PDF.
Richie Hinzelmann Character Timeline in American Gods
The timeline below shows where the character Richie Hinzelmann appears in American Gods. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 9
...gets in the old man’s vintage Wendt Phoenix. The old man introduces himself as Richie Hinzelmann, and Shadow responds that he is Mike Ainsel. Hinzelmann gives Shadow a short tour of...
(full context)
Chapter 10
...that afternoon, Shadow is unpleasantly surprised by a knock on his door, but it’s just Hinzelmann. Hinzelmann has brought some things for Shadow, explaining that Shadow can pay him back by...
(full context)
Hinzelmann cracks jokes about how this cold is nothing compared to how cold it used to...
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Chapter 11
...Lakeside, Shadow spends his days trying to stay warm and out of trouble. He visits Hinzelmann, looking at his collection of fishing lures and listening to Hinzelmann’s tall tales about the...
(full context)
Hinzelmann, Shadow, and a man named Brogan are assigned to search County road W for any...
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Interlude 2
...Sam says that she is coming to visit. They end the phone call laughing about Hinzelmann’s tall tales.
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Chapter 13
...Lakeside Council minutes he bought at the library sale. He finds out that a Mr. Hinzelmann was responsible for building the lake that gave Lakeside its name, and he marks the...
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...to the local bar. He brings along the Lakeside minutes, on the off chance that Hinzelmann will be there.
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Chapter 20
Shadow wakes in pain, finding himself in a small bathroom hot with steam. Hinzelmann tenderly helps Shadow ease into a bathtub of hot water, though the sudden change in...
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Shadow’s head clears after the shock of the cold water and he wonders how Hinzelmann, a small old man, could pull his own large frame out of the water or...
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Shadow realizes that Hinzelmann controls who comes into and out of Lakeside, angrily asking Hinzelmann if he brought Sam...
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Hinzelmann tells Shadow that he is an Old God who was turned into a “kobold” in...
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Chad Mulligan suddenly comes into the room, his gun pointed at the floor, soothingly telling Hinzelmann that he came over to tell him that the klunker went through the ice. Hinzelmann...
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Chad woodenly shifts Hinzelmann’s body so that his head is in the fire in the fireplace. Shadow assures Chad...
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...Eagle Point and broke his heart, while Shadow tells him that the whole thing was Hinzelmann’s fault anyway. Shadow asks Chad what he will do now, and Chad explains that his...
(full context)