Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Clerk

 Clerk
type
 FeatureClass
 Clerk
label
 Clerk
 Clerk
page
 Clerk
 Clerk
comment
 Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })An old-fashioned clerical worker, especially in the fields of bookkeeping and correspondence.
Prior to the invention of office machines, all number crunching, preparation of documents and correspondence and copying of previously made documents had to be done by hand. Thus a business enterprise of any size had to have a number of workers specifically to create and deal with all the paperwork. They had a number of names and titles, but the one we're using here is "clerk." The term originally comes from the Catholic Church's clergy (singular: cleric), the major source and employer of literate people in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Note that in British English, it is pronounced "clark."
The clerk is often a supporting character in fiction, making the business run smoothly while the owner or manager has more interesting adventures. If a clerk is the main character, the theme of the story will often be the tedium of the job and the wacky characters they are forced to work with. Beginning in the latter half of the 19th Century, women start being hired as lower-level clerks.
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Often is used as a Meek Townsman when one is needed in The Western. The modern equivalent is the White Collar Worker. For store clerks, see Shopkeeper.
Not to be confused with the Kevin Smith movie, Clerks.
 Clerk
fetched
 2020-10-05T13:25:24Z
 Clerk
parsed
 2020-10-05T13:25:24Z
 Clerk
processingComment
 Dropped link to RagsToRiches: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Clerk
isPartOf
 DBTropes
 Clerk / int_468bebb0
type
 Clerk
 Clerk / int_468bebb0
comment
 Discworld:
Lord Vetinari employs a number of clerks, including Lupine Wonse (from Guards! Guards!, who plotted to remove Vetinari from power), Rufus Drumknott (the mild-mannered supporting character version of this trope), and the mysterious Dark Clerks who are very clearly the Gaslamp Fantasy equivalent of The Men in Black.
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })
 Clerk / int_468bebb0
featureApplicability
 1.0
 Clerk / int_468bebb0
featureConfidence
 1.0
 Discworld
hasFeature
 Clerk / int_468bebb0
 Clerk / int_4e5b6428
type
 Clerk
 Clerk / int_4e5b6428
comment
 One of the main characters in Making Money is Malvolio Bent, the super-uptight chief clerk of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork who chafes under the reckless showmanship of protagonist Moist von Lipwig (and the fact that despite his fanatic attachment to the gold standard, he's well-aware the vaults are empty).
 Clerk / int_4e5b6428
featureApplicability
 1.0
 Clerk / int_4e5b6428
featureConfidence
 1.0
 Making Money
hasFeature
 Clerk / int_4e5b6428
 Clerk / int_aeb84363
type
 Clerk
 Clerk / int_aeb84363
comment
 Bob Crachit of A Christmas Carol.
 Clerk / int_aeb84363
featureApplicability
 1.0
 Clerk / int_aeb84363
featureConfidence
 1.0
 A Christmas Carol
hasFeature
 Clerk / int_aeb84363
 Clerk / int_fe5f7909
type
 Clerk
 Clerk / int_fe5f7909
comment
 Lord Vetinari employs a number of clerks, including Lupine Wonse (from Guards! Guards!, who plotted to remove Vetinari from power), Rufus Drumknott (the mild-mannered supporting character version of this trope), and the mysterious Dark Clerks who are very clearly the Gaslamp Fantasy equivalent of The Men in Black.
 Clerk / int_fe5f7909
featureApplicability
 1.0
 Clerk / int_fe5f7909
featureConfidence
 1.0
 Guards! Guards!
hasFeature
 Clerk / int_fe5f7909

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Dracula / int_c2de4d90
type
 Clerk
 SKJAM
seeAlso
 Clerk
 AJCO (Roleplay) / int_c2de4d90
type
 Clerk
 Fate/Gamers Only (Webcomic) / int_c2de4d90
type
 Clerk