describe the appearance of the wise hermit
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What is a character sketch of the hermit from "The Three Questions"?
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MADELEINE WELLS eNotes educator | CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
In the story, the hermit is an impoverished outcast who lives a simple life. We are told he is "frail and weak" and is barely able to turn the soil with his spade. The hermit is a very wise man, however, and we discover why as the story progresses.
As a matter of practice, the hermit is an individual who concerns himself with the present. He initially ignores the king when the monarch approaches and asks him three questions. For his part, the king interprets the hermit's silence as disinterest, so he offers to do the hermit's work for him. The hermit, however, is not so much disinterested as he is concerned about the task at hand.
When a wounded man comes their way, the hermit turns the king's attention to the stranger. Since the stranger is in a bad state (due to this stomach wound), the hermit and king tend to the man's wounds. The hermit does not encroach on the king's interactions with the stranger; he gives the king room to come to some sort of understanding with