Stuart is the second son of Frederick and Eleanor and the protagonist of the story. He has mouselike features and qualities, in addition to being the size of a mouse, but he is also very humanlike, walking upright, talking, and otherwise behaving like a person. The author has said that Stuart came to him in a dream, fully developed in appearance and personality. He describes Stuart to an editor friend as “the only fictional figure ever to honor and disturb [his] sleep” (“The Simply Elegant Letters of E. B. White“). The story is not meant to be a metaphor or an allegory; White was simply charmed to imagine what adventures his little dream visitor might have. He would be just the kind of person to travel by bus across the city to participate in a boat race. Stuart is also a dreamer and an idealist, as illustrated by his adoration of his friend Margalo, a bird he later leaves home to find.

A question that comes up over and over in the story is whether Stuart is a boy or a mouse. In his letter to Harriet, Stuart describes himself as looking like a mouse— implying that he is a man—but when his parents are considering what kind of stories are appropriate for Stuart, they seem to think of him as a mouse and try to avoid references that might upset him, like the

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