# Mrs. Leighton — A Hazard of New Fortunes character guide

> Mrs. Leighton in A Hazard of New Fortunes by William Dean Howells.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mrs. ¬ÝLeighton

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

## Snapshot

A practical widow who keeps a boardinghouse and her dignity, watching her daughter Alma parry a painter's attentions with a mother's worried, unsentimental love.

## Who they are

She runs the household where the Woodburns and the Marches cross paths, and she measures every new lodger by whether they will do her daughters good. She is no sentimentalist, but she feels for Beaton even as she sees Alma freeze him out, and she cannot quite approve of her daughter's tactics. Her steady, slightly anxious presence anchors the novel's domestic comedy and gives the social climbing around her a moral baseline.

## In the story

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

Mrs. Leighton worries about Mr. Beaton's absence and discusses the family's move to New York and their financial risks.

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

Anxiously shows the rooms to the Woodburns and worries about their ability to pay.

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

Receives Beaton with a welcome marked by resentment for his delayed visit.

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

Observes the interaction between Beaton and Alma with bewilderment; later expresses concern that Beaton may not return.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/chapters/part-second-x)

Feels hurt on Alma's behalf when Beaton leaves for a reception, and listens to Colonel Woodburn's arguments.

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

Defends Beaton and expresses lingering resentment toward the Marches for not renting her rooms.

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

Rents out her St. Barnaby house for summer; hosts evenings with the group.

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

Mrs. Leighton expresses conventional worries about Alma's future marriage prospects, reflecting the societal pressure on women to marry. She is skeptical that Alma's rejection of Beaton is truly final.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_hazard_of_new_fortunes_se/characters/mrs_leighton
- 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