# Clara — A Tangled Tale character guide

> Clara in A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** poor Clara

**First appearance:** 0004-knot-i-excelsior

## Snapshot

A guileless young visitor to London whose impulsive warmth and cheerful confusion turn every gallery, garden, and arithmetic puzzle into an adventure of the heart.

## Who they are

Clara arrives in London expecting a town where everyone knows everyone, and her innocent misreadings of strangers' pity make her both comic and touching. When her aunt's riddling arithmetic traps her alongside Hugh and the others, she meets each impossible problem with the same impetuous spirit she brings to everything. Her blend of eagerness and exasperation gives the story its human pulse, reminding readers that behind every knot lies a person tangled in it.

## In the story

### [To My Pupil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/to-my-pupil)

Addressed as 'Beloved pupil' who has tamed arithmetic operations.

### [A Tangled Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/a-tangled-tale)

Participates in mathematical puzzles and quizzes with Mad Mathesis.

### [Knot III: Mad Mathesis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/knot-iii-mad-mathesis)

Clara is Mad Mathesis's niece, a high school student on vacation, who cautiously questions her aunt's nickname and participates in train-meeting matches.

### [Knot V: Oughts and Crosses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/knot-v-oughts-and-crosses)

Participates in the marking match with her aunt, struggles with the conditions, and encounters two old ladies.

### [Knot VII: Petty Cash](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/knot-vii-petty-cash)

Forgets the cost of her luncheon and pleads with her aunt to write it down before she forgets.

### [Knot X: Chelsea Buns](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/knot-x-chelsea-buns)

Accompanies her aunt, shows empathy for the veterans, and dreads the arithmetic problems.

### [Answers to Knot III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/answers-to-knot-iii)

Mentioned as a point of confusion: some solvers incorrectly assumed Clara travelled in the easterly train, though the data does not settle this.

### [Answers to Knot VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/chapters/answers-to-knot-vii)

Referenced in the context of her luncheon cost problem.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/characters/clara
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_tangled_tale_se/characters