# Mela Dryfoos — A Hazard of New Fortunes character guide

> Mela Dryfoos in A Hazard of New Fortunes by William Dean Howells.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miss Mela Dryfoos, Miss Mela, Mela, Mely, Miss Mela—Pamela

**First appearance:** 0001-a-hazard-of-new-fortunes

## Snapshot

Good-natured, hoarse-laughing Mela Dryfoos takes the family's new riches as a natural fact and everyone's notice as her due.

## Who they are

Where her sister bristles, Mela fawns: delighted by Margaret Vance's politeness, eager to pry Beaton for gossip, she assumes the world will come to her because her father's money says so. She has none of Christine's vigilance and all of her confidence, treating social exclusion as a mistake soon to be repaired. Her unguarded appetite for admiration makes the Dryfooses' entry into New York society both comic and precarious.

## In the story

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-first-xi)

Implied as one of the daughters who pressured Dryfoos to sell the farm and move to New York for social advancement.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-second-viii)

Chatters freely about local customs and theatre, showing a lack of social refinement that embarrasses her sister.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-second-ix)

Enjoys Fulkerson's teasing and feels she has figured brilliantly in society.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-third-iii)

Giggles and watches Christine's bliss with unselfish pleasure, plays piano chords, and answers her father's questions about the banjo.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-third-vii)

Engages in conversation with Margaret, laughs coarsely, and shows childlike joy at the invitation.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-third-viii)

Good-natured and simple, she is less conscious of social slights but eagerly embraces the attention, seeing it as natural and deserved.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-third-ix)

Enjoys the party and talks freely with March, displaying her lack of social refinement and her candid nature.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-fifth-vi)

Tends to her mother with patience; helps get her to bed.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-fifth-viii)

Mela is subdued and caring toward her parents, showing a childish interest in her mourning but behaving with more restraint than before.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-fifth-xii)

Helps arrange the funeral flowers and welcomes guests; criticizes Christine's lovesickness for Beaton and tries to cheer her father.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-fifth-xvii)

Present during Beaton's visit; she explains Christine's outburst afterward.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/characters/mela_dryfoos
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/characters