A Man Could Stand Up— · Character

Edith Ethel Duchemin

A wealthy widow turned Lady Macmaster, she moves through the novel's drawing rooms as a collector of reputations, including the ruin of Tietjens'.

supporting

Also known as Edith Ethel, Ethel

First appearance: a man could stand up

As a supporting figure in A Man Could Stand Up—, Edith Ethel Duchemin is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Edith Ethel, now Lady Macmaster, telephones Valentine and suggests bringing her together with Tietjens, likely to save her husband from a debt.

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Edith Ethel has married her way into a title and now traffics in the social verdicts that decide who is respectable and who is finished. She is the source of the rumor that Tietjens and Valentine have had a years-long liaison, a story that follows him from drawing room to trench. She matters because she shows how the war's home front wages its own campaigns, and how a well-placed sentence can do what shells cannot.

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Character Web

12 connections

A slice of how Edith Ethel Duchemin sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Friendship
Social
Other

Character groups

Social and Military Elite
Minor and Peripheral Figures
Protagonist

+7 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak where Valentine W…

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Relationships

Valentine Wannop
friendship · ambivalent
Edith Ethel Duchemin is a close friend and intellectual confidante to Valentine, though… How this plays out →
Lady Macmaster
friendship · ambivalent
Miss Wanostrocht
social · ambivalent
Miss Wanostrocht
social · ambivalent
Valentine Wannop
friendship · ambivalent
Edith Ethel Duchemin is a close friend and intellectual confidante to Valentine, though… How this plays out →
Valentine Wannop
friendship · ambivalent
Edith Ethel Duchemin is a close friend and intellectual confidante to Valentine, though… How this plays out →

Valentine Wannop
Edith Ethel Duchemin is a close friend and intellectual confidante to Valentine, though their relationship is tinged with social competition.
Lady Macmaster
Edith Ethel Duchemin and Lady Macmaster are friends and fellow literary hostesses, though their relationship involves social rivalry.
Miss Wanostrocht
Edith Ethel Duchemin and Miss Wanostrocht are social acquaintances, connected through educational and literary circles.
Miss Wanostrocht
Edith Ethel Duchemin and Miss Wanostrocht are social acquaintances, connected through educational and literary circles.
Valentine Wannop
Edith Ethel Duchemin is a close friend and intellectual confidante to Valentine, though their relationship is tinged with social competition.
Valentine Wannop
Edith Ethel Duchemin is a close friend and intellectual confidante to Valentine, though their relationship is tinged with social competition.

Relationship notes

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In the story

Edith Ethel Duchemin appears across 3 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter II
Edith Ethel, now Lady Macmaster, telephones Valentine and suggests bringing her together with Tietjens, likely to save her husband from a debt.
III
Referred to as Lady Macmaster; accused of spreading derogatory information about Valentine to Miss Wanostrocht.
I
Mentioned in Valentine's thoughts; she had a high-minded liaison with Macmaster and accused Valentine of having a child by Tietjens.

Chapter companion notes

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See Edith Ethel Duchemin in Chapter II