# Miss Wanostrocht — A Man Could Stand Up— character guide

> Miss Wanostrocht in A Man Could Stand Up— by Ford Madox Ford.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0001-a-man-could-stand-up

## Snapshot

The headmistress who employs Valentine Wannop, a woman of cautious principle caught between loyalty to a teacher she values and the scandal Lady Macmaster has carried into her school.

## Who they are

Miss Wanostrocht runs the girls' school where Valentine teaches physical instruction, and she sits at the center of the small storm of gossip that follows Valentine's name. She once sat at the feet of Valentine's father and holds Valentine in real esteem, yet she is also the person who relayed Lady Macmaster's talk of a long liaison and of Valentine intending to live with Tietjens 'maritally.' Her hesitation and her hooked, old-fashioned hands make her a barometer of respectable opinion — the pressure Valentine must decide whether to defy.

## Relationships

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_professional_

Miss Wanostrocht is Valentine's employer and headmistress, maintaining a formal but somewhat strained professional relationship.

### [Edith Ethel Duchemin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/edith_ethel_duchemin)

_social_

Edith Ethel Duchemin and Miss Wanostrocht are social acquaintances, connected through educational and literary circles.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_social_

Miss Wanostrocht and Sylvia are social acquaintances, interacting with polite formality in shared social settings.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_professional_

Miss Wanostrocht is Valentine's employer and headmistress, maintaining a formal but somewhat strained professional relationship.

### [Valentine Wannop](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/valentine_wannop)

_professional_

Miss Wanostrocht is Valentine's employer and headmistress, maintaining a formal but somewhat strained professional relationship.

### [Sylvia Tietjens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/sylvia_tietjens)

_social_

Miss Wanostrocht and Sylvia are social acquaintances, interacting with polite formality in shared social settings.

### [Edith Ethel Duchemin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/edith_ethel_duchemin)

_social_

Edith Ethel Duchemin and Miss Wanostrocht are social acquaintances, connected through educational and literary circles.

## In the story

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

Head of the school, delegates the task of keeping order to Valentine and sends her to answer the telephone.

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

Headmistress who has spoken with Edith Ethel about Valentine; warns Valentine about Tietjens; questions Valentine's pacifism.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters/miss_wanostrocht
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_man_could_stand_up_se/characters