Dr. Bull (nicknamed “Saturday”) is one of the seven members of the Central Anarchist Committee. Like the rest, he turns out to be an undercover detective. Compared to the other men on the Council, he is young, sharp, and energetic—but he also rarely speaks. Notably, Bull’s dark glasses make his true expression impossible to see and his true feelings impossible to guess. This makes him seem like the “wickedest of all” the Councilmen when Gabriel Syme first meets him. After the group’s initial meeting, Sunday tasks Bull with planning the assassination of the Russian Czar and French President. Syme and the Professor visit the small garret where he lives to try and stop him. During their visit, Syme asks Bull to take off his glasses. Bull’s eyes are small and shine brightly, like an innocent boy’s, which makes Syme realize that Bull is actually a benevolent detective, not an evil anarchist. For the rest of the novel, Dr. Bull turns out to be the most optimistic and trusting detective in the group. In the book’s closing scene, his outfit depicts God creating animals and humans on the sixth day of Biblical creation.
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Dr. Bull/Saturday Character Timeline in The Man Who Was Thursday
The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Bull/Saturday appears in The Man Who Was Thursday. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5: The Feast of Fear
...is a senile old man who seems to be decaying from his very corruption. And Saturday, a confident, stocky young doctor named Bull, wears opaque black glasses that make his true...
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Chapter 7: The Unaccountable Conduct of Professor de Worms
...about the conspiracy. Sunday declares that he has to go lead a charity meeting, but Saturday will finish putting together the group's assassination plans, and they will reconvene in a week...
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Chapter 8: The Professor Explains
...they have to stop the bombing in Paris—and that to do so, they must find Dr. Bull , who is planning it. Fortunately, the Professor knows where he is, and he will...
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Chapter 9: The Man in Spectacles
...to learn Wilks’s secret sign language, which they can use to communicate when they visit Dr. Bull tomorrow. Wilks explains the basics of the language, but Syme enjoys the challenge so much...
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...this.” They eat a quick breakfast on the street, then hustle across the river to Dr. Bull ’s building. They climb the endless steps up to Dr. Bull’s tiny garret, where they...
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The Professor very slowly tells Dr. Bull that he has important news about their plans in Paris—but it’s a long story. Compared...
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...tells him not to say anything, then starts ignoring him. Syme speaks anyway: he asks Dr. Bull to take his glasses off. The Professor stares at Syme in shock, and without a...
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Syme, the Professor, and Dr. Bull descend to the street. They point out that, between them and Gogol, most of the...
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The men reach the rail station, where Dr. Bull arranges their tickets. In a short time, they’re on a boat to France. Dr. Bull...
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Chapter 10: The Duel
Syme, Dr. Bull , and the Professor sit and share a bottle of wine at the café in...
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Syme walks back to his table, where he tells the Professor and Dr. Bull that they have to insist on scheduling the duel for the next morning, after the...
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...proposes that the duel should end after the first major injury. But, as Syme’s representative, Dr. Bull insists that the duel must continue until one of the men disables the other. The...
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...asks Syme to just pull his nose, like he originally wanted, and end the duel. Dr. Bull and Ducroix agree that this is improper, but for some incomprehensible reason, Syme does it....
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The Marquis insists that he must make his train, but Dr. Bull and Syme declare that he won’t be taking it. The Professor announces that the Marquis...
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...isolated in a remote meadow, so Sunday and Monday can easily get rid of them. Dr. Bull and Syme look at the crowd through a pair of binoculars—they notice that a few...
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Chapter 11: The Criminals Chase the Police
...is really who they appear to be at all. After all, Syme’s enemies (the Professor, Dr. Bull , and the Marquis) have all turned out to be his friends. And they could...
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Chapter 12: The Earth in Anarchy
...honest rich man in town, who is Colonel Ducroix’s friend and owns a car. But Dr. Bull objects that the anarchists might catch them if they stop. Then, the men hear the...
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...his ceiling as a personal favor). On their way towards the police station, Ratcliffe and Dr. Bull disagree about which side the town would support in a fight.
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...has blocked the road ahead. The men stop the car to reevaluate their plans, until Dr. Bull realizes that Dr. Renard himself is leading the crowd. Dr. Bull runs over to thank...
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Syme wants to ram the car into the crowd, Dr. Bull wants to wait, and the Professor wants to go back. But the rest of the...
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...pulls out a blue card and explains that he’s a detective working for Scotland Yard. Dr. Bull explains that he and his companions are detectives, too.
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Chapter 13: The Pursuit of the President
...After a pleasant journey, they spend the night near Leicester Square. On his evening walk, Dr. Bull runs into Gogol. The group explains that they’re all police spies, and they have a...
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...around and throws a wad of paper at Syme. It’s two nonsense letters, one for Dr. Bull and one for Syme.
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Soon, Dr. Bull realizes that they’re at the zoo. A zookeeper passes by and asks if they’ve found...
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Chapter 14: The Six Philosophers
...beautiful sunset, the men debate whether the President really was the man who hired them. Dr. Bull admits that he hopes the President gets down from the balloon safely, because he admires...
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...the forest. Gogol announces that the President is dead, but the Secretary, the Professor, and Dr. Bull disagree. Syme leads them toward the balloon. A large, old man with a scepter approaches...
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Chapter 15: The Accuser
...and trees to lampposts and ships. They find a set of seven chairs, where Gogol, Dr. Bull , and the Professor are already waiting for them. Gogol’s silver dress represents the separation...
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...of terror and a source of peace. The other detectives express the same doubt (besides Dr. Bull , who is happy and falls asleep). Sunday stays silent for a long time, then...
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...approaches the group: Lucian Gregory. Gabriel Syme gasps and calls Gregory “the real anarchist.” Half-awake, Dr. Bull mumbles that Satan has come. Gregory declares that he wants to destroy the whole world...
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