Die Figur in diesem Roman ist interessant.

to be

Breakdown of Die Figur in diesem Roman ist interessant.

• in: in
• interessant: interesting
• der Roman: the novel

Questions & Answers about Die Figur in diesem Roman ist interessant.

What does Figur mean here? Does it mean a physical figure or a character?

In this sentence, Figur means character in a story, not a physical body shape.

German Figur can mean:

1. A fictional person in a book, film, play, etc. – a character
   
   • Die Figur in diesem Roman = the character in this novel
2. A physical figure or body shape – figure
   
   • Sie hat eine schöne Figur. = She has a nice figure.

Which meaning is correct depends on context. Because Roman means novel, Figur here clearly refers to a literary character.

Why is the article die used with Figur? How do I know Figur is feminine?

Figur is grammatically feminine in German, so it takes the article die in the nominative singular: die Figur.

Unfortunately, grammatical gender is mostly something you have to memorize with each noun. There are some patterns, but they are not perfect. For Figur:

• Dictionary entries normally show the gender: die Figur.
• When you learn a new noun, always learn it together with its article and plural:
  
  • die Figur, die Figuren.

So the subject here is die Figur, and that is why the sentence starts with Die Figur ….