Viktor is a smooth-talking wanderer and con man with whom Goldmund travels for a short while. Viktor teaches the younger man such tricks of the trade as how to beguile people with stories and charm to get food and lodging from them. He spouts a bit of Latin and tells amusing stories, but he also is a thief, and one night when he thinks Goldmund is asleep, he tries to rob him. When Goldmund awakens, Viktor tries to strangle him to death, and Goldmund's only recourse is to stab Viktor with a pen knife, killing him. Viktor represents the dangers of a life of vagrancy, and the violence that sometimes lies in wait behind a false smile.
