Simon von Ferris Character Analysis in Immortality by Dana Schwartz

Overview

Simon von Ferris enters Immortality as a young Swedish physician serving King George III, but he quickly becomes far more than a court doctor. Introduced in Chapter 12 at the Kew infirmary, Simon embodies a rare combination in Hazel Sinnett's world: he is a skilled medical peer who treats her with professional respect rather than condescension. With his honey-brown eyes, blond hair, and formal Swedish bearing, Simon represents a bridge between Hazel's present reality and a possible future built on partnership, mutual respect, and shared intellectual ambition. His arc moves from professional rival to trusted colleague, to romantic suitor, ultimately departing for Sweden in a gesture that underscores his dedication to both duty and Hazel's happiness.

This analysis examines Simon's journey through the novel, his motivations, relationships, and thematic significance, drawing on key moments from the text to illuminate his role as one of the story's most complex supporting characters.

For a broader understanding of the novel's central conflicts, see the Immortality overview page.

Plot Role in Immortality

Simon functions as a professional mirror and emotional catalyst for Hazel. Where Jack represents her past and a passionate but uncertain future, Simon represents stability, recognition, and a conventional path that nevertheless honors her ambitions. He serves as the narrative device that helps Hazel articulate her own desires by offering a viable alternative to the life she ultimately chooses.

His practical contributions to the plot are substantial: he helps Hazel diagnose the arsenic poisoning of King George in Chapter 24, purchases a female corpse from the Royal College of Surgeons to facilitate Princess Charlotte's escape in Chapter 27, and later invents a false disease to protect Hazel's reputation after Charlotte's faked death in Chapter 28. Each of these actions carries personal and professional risk, demonstrating Simon's loyalty and ethical code.

Simon's presence also highlights the novel's exploration of gender and medical authority, as he is one of the few male physicians who accepts Hazel as a peer without requiring her to disguise herself or downplay her abilities.

Motivations and Personality Traits Shown Through Actions

Simon's actions consistently reveal a man driven by duty, intellectual curiosity, and a quiet but persistent romanticism. He works through the night on the King's worsening condition, as seen in Chapter 18 when Hazel finds him asleep at his desk surrounded by notebooks on poisons and antidotes. His dedication borders on obsession, yet he remains gentle and composed even when exhausted.

His observation of Hazel's new dress at the ball in Chapter 14 demonstrates his scientific attention to detail, but also his emotional perceptiveness. He notices the way she stands differently, the creases in the fabric, and declares with mock seriousness that the only way to confirm the dress is new is to see it dancing. This blend of clinical precision and romantic gesture defines his character.

Simon also reveals a capacity for graciousness under personal duress. When he arrives at Hazel's apartments in Chapter 22 with daffodils, he sees Jack's coat hanging by the door and immediately retreats with dignity. He does not confront Hazel or demand explanations; he simply acknowledges the situation and leaves, using the King's declining health as his excuse. This restraint, born from both professional discipline and emotional maturity, sets him apart from more impulsive characters.

His proposal in Chapter 27 is the fullest expression of his character. He offers marriage not as a plea born of desperation, but as a reasoned proposition built on mutual respect, companionship, and shared professional goals. He envisions a practice together, children, a life of intellectual partnership. The proposal is both practical and deeply romantic in its own structured way.

Chronological Arc

Simon's arc follows a clear trajectory from professional distance to emotional intimacy to graceful departure.

Introduction (Chapters 12–13): Simon first appears at the Kew infirmary, initially accusing Hazel of theft before acknowledging her skill. Their early encounters are marked by competitive banter that reveals underlying respect.

Growing Rapport (Chapters 14–16): At the Regent's ball, they dance and discuss Princess Charlotte's puzzling symptoms. Simon offers the diagnostic principle taught by his Uppsala instructor—think of common ailments before rare ones. Their professional collaboration deepens.

Moment of Vulnerability (Chapter 18): Hazel finds Simon asleep at his desk. He admits he was dreaming of her, and they share a passionate kiss. This scene establishes romantic tension while also grounding it in shared professional spaces and mutual intellectual engagement.

Complication (Chapters 22–24): Jack's return disrupts any forward momentum between Simon and Hazel. Simon arrives with daffodils, sees Jack's coat, and retreats. Nevertheless, their professional partnership continues as they work together to identify and remove the arsenic-laced wallpaper poisoning the King.

Proposal and Departure (Chapters 27–28): Simon helps Hazel obtain a body for Charlotte's escape. During the carriage ride, he proposes marriage. Hazel declines, citing her love for Jack. Simon accepts this with characteristic composure, invents a false disease to protect her reputation, and departs for Sweden.

Relationships

With Hazel Sinnett

Simon's relationship with Hazel evolves through several stages: initial suspicion, collegial respect, romantic tension, and ultimately, genuine friendship. He treats her as an intellectual equal at a time when most male physicians dismiss or exoticize her. His proposal is noteworthy because he explicitly envisions a marriage that would support her surgical career rather than replace it. When she declines, he does not withdraw his help or become resentful. Instead, he protects her reputation through his invention of a false disease and leaves her to pursue her own path.

The love and sacrifice theme in the novel finds expression in Simon's willingness to let Hazel go for her own happiness, even as he must have hoped she would choose differently.

With King George III

Simon serves as the King's attending physician with evident dedication. He works late into the night studying toxicology when the King's symptoms worsen, sleeping at his desk among scattered notebooks. His care is both clinical and compassionate, as seen when he calmly leads the delusional King away from the infirmary in Chapter 12.

With Jack Currer

Simon and Jack never share direct conversation, but their competition for Hazel's affection is established through key scenes. When Simon sees Jack's coat in Hazel's entryway, he immediately understands the situation and withdraws. His proposal in Chapter 27 comes only after he states plainly, "You are in love with the Scottish sailor," demonstrating that he acts with full awareness of where he stands rather than from delusion.

Key Decisions and Consequences

The kiss at dawn (Chapter 18) : This moment establishes romantic possibility between Simon and Hazel but also intensifies Hazel's guilt over Jack. Simon's decision to confess his dreams initiates a romantic subplot that ultimately helps Hazel clarify her own feelings.

Helping with the arsenic (Chapter 24) : Simon and Hazel work together to remove the green wallpaper poisoning King George. This professional collaboration saves the King's life and strengthens their bond, but it also places them both in a politically sensitive position.

Proposing marriage (Chapter 27) : Simon's proposal forces Hazel to confront the choice between a stable, conventional life with a supportive partner and the uncertain, passionate path with Jack. Hazel's refusal clarifies the novel's stance on love and sacrifice. For Simon, the rejection leads to his departure from the story, but also to one final act of generosity—inventing a false disease to protect her reputation.

Departing for Sweden (Chapter 28) : Simon leaves London, releasing Hazel from any obligation or expectation. His departure allows her to fully commit to her path with Jack and removes a potential obstacle from the narrative.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Simon embodies the tension between different forms of love and commitment that the novel explores through the love and sacrifice theme. His vision of marriage—built on partnership, children, and shared work—represents a mortal, finite happiness that contrasts with the infinite but emotionally frozen existence offered by the Tincture.

He also connects to the theme of identity and disguise in an inverted way. Unlike Hazel, who must constantly navigate false identities (as a male medical student, as a royal physician, as Princess Charlotte's doctor), Simon is exactly who he appears to be. His straightforwardness and honesty serve as a foil to the secrets and deceptions that surround the court and the Companions to the Death.

His departure reinforces the novel's meditation on immortality and mortality. Simon chooses a mortal life—returning to Sweden, presumably to continue his medical practice, to age, to eventually die. In doing so, he models an acceptance of finitude that the immortal characters cannot achieve.

The social injustice and class theme touches Simon tangentially; as a foreign court physician, he occupies a liminal social position. He has access to power but is not of the aristocracy. This may explain his willingness to help Hazel in ways that court physicians with more at stake might avoid.

Finally, Simon's invented false disease to protect Hazel's reputation connects to the ending of the novel, where Hazel herself creates a fictional diagnosis (Alpine blood disorder) to protect the secrets of the immortals.

Questions and Answers

What is Simon von Ferris's role at the start of the novel?

He serves as the attending physician to King George III at the Kew infirmary. He is a young Swedish doctor who has been treating the King's worsening mental and physical symptoms, working through many nights in an attempt to find a cure. He first encounters Hazel when she arrives at the infirmary to collect surgical tools.

How does Simon help expose the arsenic poisoning of King George?

In Chapter 24, Hazel realizes that the damp walls in the King's room are releasing arsenic from the green wallpaper. Simon works with her to remove the wallpaper, effectively saving the King's life. His earlier research into poisons and antidotes, which Hazel discovers when she finds him asleep at his desk, demonstrates that he had suspected a toxic cause even before she made the connection.

What are the key differences between Simon's proposal and a conventional period marriage proposal?

Simon proposes not as a declaration of passionate love but as a rational offer of partnership. He explicitly states that a marriage can be built on mutual respect, shared decision-making, conversation, and companionship. Crucially, he tells Hazel he wants her to remain a surgeon and envisions them practicing medicine together. This contrasts sharply with the era's typical expectation that marriage would end a woman's independent career.

How does Simon respond when he realizes Hazel loves someone else?

He responds with characteristic grace and dignity. When he sees Jack's coat in her entryway in Chapter 22, he makes his excuses and leaves without confrontation. Later, in the carriage in Chapter 27, he states "You are in love with the Scottish sailor" as a simple observation rather than an accusation, and proposes anyway—not out of hope of winning her, but because he believes in their potential partnership. When she refuses, he accepts her decision and continues to help her.

What happens to Simon at the end of the novel?

After helping Hazel obtain the body for Princess Charlotte's fake death, he invents a false disease diagnosis to protect Hazel from blame or prosecution once the body is discovered. He then departs for Sweden, leaving London and the intrigues of the British court behind. The epilogue does not follow him further, but his final acts demonstrate that he remained loyal and generous to Hazel despite her rejection of his proposal.

For more discussion of these character dynamics and others, see the questions and answers page.