Mr. Barry Character Analysis in Black Beauty

Mr. Barry purchases Black Beauty on the advice of a friend, who rode and drove Black Beauty several times when Black Beauty was being used as a job-horse. Mr. Barry’s doctor has suggested he ride a horse for exercise. He doesn’t know much about horses, but he’s kind and does the best he can. But although Mr. Barry purchases the best food he can, he’s unable to hire honest grooms: Filcher steals Black Beauty’s food, while Alfred lazily refuses to clean Black Beauty’s stall and insists it’s dangerous to clean a horse’s stall. Fed up after discovering Black Beauty’s nasty fungal hoof infection caused by the dirty stall, Mr. Barry sells Black Beauty at a horse fair.

Mr. Barry Character Timeline in Black Beauty

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Barry appears in Black Beauty. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Horse Care, Abuse, and Neglect Theme Icon

...and proud. Eventually, this gentleman convinces Black Beauty’s master to sell him to a friend, Mr. Barry . (full context)

Class, Transportation, and Victorian England Theme Icon

Mr. Barry is a businessman in Bath, whose doctor wants him to ride horses for exercise. He... (full context)

...in the morning, and he takes oats with him. A week after the visit to Mr. Barry ’s friend, the police enter the stable with the boy and ask to see where... (full context)

...is a man named Alfred Smirk. He’s civil and kind to Black Beauty—at least when Mr. Barry is watching. Though he’s never outright cruel, he never properly grooms Black Beauty, cleans his... (full context)

...Alfred would only clean his stall out. The vapors irritate Black Beauty’s eyes, and even Mr. Barry comments on it once. Alfred insists that it’s dangerous to fully clean a horse’s stall,... (full context)

Standing on wet straw makes Black Beauty’s feet painful. Mr. Barry observes that Black Beauty has started stumbling, and Alfred says he’s noticed the same when... (full context)

Finally, Black Beauty’s feet are so tender that he trips twice while carrying Mr. Barry . Mr. Barry stops at a farrier to see what’s wrong. The farrier instantly diagnoses... (full context)