The Golden Goblet

Gebu is thickly built, strong, and indomitable like the stone he works cuts. His legs are “massive columns,” and his face is “a crag, with a granite-hard jaw” (33). One of Gebu’s eyes has an ominous twitch. Gebu is the novel’s antagonist, a dangerous, powerful adversary for Ranofer. As Ranofer’s half-brother, Gebu took him in when Thutra died but not out of love for him. Gebu looks on his young half-brother as a tool to use, either in his illegal schemes or at his stonecutting shop.

Gebu is cruel and vicious. He starves Ranofer, withholding food from the growing boy. He is quick to anger and frequently beats Ranofer bloody. When not beating him, Gebu mocks and insults him pitilessly. Gebu controls Ranofer’s life, even taking the few coppers Ranofer earns each day. Gebu makes Ranofer dependent on him and his whims. Ranofer despises and fears Gebu but feels helpless to escape him.

Gebu is fond of wine, barley beer, and nice things that cost money, which he makes by designing tunnels into treasure-rich tombs and robbing them. Gebu’s treatment of Ranofer and his sacrilegious crime of tomb robbing clearly show that he has no morals.

Heqet is 12 or 13 years old, near the same age as Ranofer but bigger. He has a “homely, good-natured face” (66) with a snub nose. Heqet’s father is the Overseer of Storehouses, a job requiring trust, honesty, and integrity, and he taught these values to his oldest child. Heqet is excited to apprentice with Rekh, but he knows nothing about working with gold, and Ranofer’s goldsmithing knowledge impresses him. Heqet is the first to befriend Ranofer. Heqet is kind, tactful, and intelligent. He quickly notices when Ranofer is upset and either defuses situations with his terrible jokes or shrewdly changes the subject.

Above all, Heqet is a good friend. Heqet draws Ranofer out of his isolation and treats him like an equal. He is excited to help Ranofer expose Gebu and enjoys his spying assignment—perhaps too much. Ranofer worries about telling Heqet about the golden goblet because he is so excitable. Heqet reveals the depth of his care and concern for Ranofer when he and the Ancient sacrifice their festival day to search for their friend.

The cheerful, one-eyed old man becomes one of Ranofer’s best friends. The Ancient earns a living cutting papyrus and hauling the stalks to the sailmakers with his little donkey, Lotus. The Ancient is stooped and has leathery skin and “hair like coarse linen thread” (30). Ranofer assumes, because of the Ancient’s great age, that he is very wise, and in fact, the Ancient shrewdly figures out where Ranofer has gone on festival day. The Ancient also has skill in making a healing salve. While the Ancient’s self-sufficient, humble lifestyle inspires Ranofer, the Ancient wishes he had had the opportunity to learn a trade and advises him to learn everything he can.

The Ancient has a “cackling laugh” (118) and a lively, teasing sense of humor. After dissuading Ranofer from viewing the execution of some tomb robbers, the Ancient always greets him and Heqet by asking, “Seen any hangings lately?” (148) The Ancient proves to be a good friend, following Ranofer into the Valley of the Tombs despite his age, infirmity, and unease because he knows that he and Heqet are the only people who care enough to help him.

An “honest and kindly artisan” (16), Rekh is Ranofer’s master at the gold shop. He is an ordinary-looking man but limps due to a maimed foot. Rekh is gentle and compassionate. Instead of being angry when Ranofer is late after visiting Thutra’s tomb, Rekh praises him for his piety. Ranofer knows that Rekh is neither an exceptional artist like Thutra nor a great goldsmith like Zau, but he is a solid craftsman. Rekh recognizes Ranofer’s innate talent and allows him to work with gold, even though he is not an apprentice.

Ranofer feels complex emotions toward Rekh. He painfully remembers his father treating him in the same kind manner as Rekh does and wishes he could respond more openly to Rekh’s kind overtures. Ranofer is also consumed by guilt at the thought that he was helping steal from such a good-hearted person like Rekh and furious at Gebu and Ibni for their thefts. Finally, he is overjoyed, proud, and grateful when Rekh allows him to make golden leaves and praises his work.

Zau is the most famous and skilled goldsmith in Thebes. He was friends with Ranofer’s father, Thutra, for 20 years, and he even favorably recalls some of young Ranofer’s early goldwork. Ranofer’s greatest desire is to be Zau’s pupil. He believes that the stern older man with the “broad, strong-boned face” (126) will solve his problems when Ranofer pours out his heart to him. Zau does offer Ranofer the opportunity to be his pupil. When Ranofer cannot accept his offer, Zau counsels him to change his life and then return to be his student: advice that Ranofer takes to heart.

The four-foot-tall dwarf with the high voice is a “favorite pet” (233) of Queen Tiy. His name, ironically, means “Tall and Beautiful.” Qa-nefer is clever and conceited. He enjoys displaying his huge silver earrings and jeweled rings, and he takes pleasure in exercising his authority over taller people like the soldier who restrains Ranofer. Qa-nefer takes a risk in believing Ranofer's story about the tomb robbers, but it pays off for both Ranofer and him. Gebu is caught, Ranofer gets his heart’s desire, and Qa-nefer is rewarded with a huge new pair of gold earrings.

Queen Tiy is Pharoah’s wife and the Queen of Egypt. She holds titles of “Her Sublime Majesty,” the “Daughter of the Sun,” and “The Divine Consort.” Part of Ranofer’s dream of becoming a goldsmith is to someday make adornments as fine as Zau’s for Queen Tiy to wear. The Queen is small and thin but wields great power. She wears the uraeus, the golden cobra of Egypt, signifying her royalty and divine authority. Queen Tiy has a husky, boyish-sounding voice, and her manner is intense as she questions Ranofer. When his story proves true and her parents’ tomb is restored, Queen Tiy’s demeanor softens, and she appears “radiant.” She is moved by Ranofer’s modest reward request and vows that his first crafted necklace will be hers alone.