Han Fastolfe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr. Han Fastolfe is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Robot series. A Spacer scientist from the planet Aurora, he specializes in creating robots which mimic the outward appearance of human beings—androids, although Asimov calls them "humaniform robots". His most significant creations are R. Daneel Olivaw and R. Giskard Reventlov, who are both fully characterized personalities, and R. Jander Panell, who only appears as an inert body, having been "murdered" off-stage, before the novel The Robots of Dawn begins. Fastolfe is Elijah Baley's chief Spacer ally; together, he and Baley are key figures in the human race's expansion into the Galaxy.
Fastolfe's name most likely comes from Shakespeare's play 1 Henry VI, where a Fastolfe is a soldier in the English army. Many modern critics hold this play in low esteem, some believing that only a fifth of it is truly Shakespeare's work. The soldier's name, however, is highly significant, as it was likely the inspiration for Sir John Falstaff's moniker. Asimov, author of a two-volume Guide to Shakespeare, certainly knew of this earlier Fastolfe, and of the theory connecting his name to Falstaff, one of Shakespeare's most renowned characters.
Like Falstaff, Dr. Fastolfe appears in three works, while being mentioned in a fourth. He plays an active role in three novels: The Caves of Steel, The Robots of Dawn, and Robots and Empire. Characters in The Naked Sun speak of him, but he does not personally appear.
