# Helen Davies — Diverging Roads character guide > Helen Davies in Diverging Roads by Rose Wilder Lane. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Helen, Kennedy, Helen Kennedy, Helen Davies Kennedy, Mr. Helen Davies **First appearance:** 0001-diverging-roads ## Snapshot A farm girl turned land-saleswoman who fights her way through a man's trade, hoarding rose-embroidered linens as talismans of the home she cannot yet have. ## Who they are Helen Davies is a woman making her way in the hard, male world of real-estate canvassing, where every sale brings her nearer to freedom and every evening walk past lamplit houses deepens her loneliness. She is bitter and wistful by turns, embroidering a rose lunch cloth as the nucleus of a future contentment she cannot quite reach. Her fierce independence and her hunger for tenderness pull against each other, and that tension drives the novel's central question: what does a woman owe her ambition, and what does she owe her heart? ## Relationships ### [Mrs. Brown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/mrs_brown) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Mrs. Brown are close companions, likely sharing confidences and daily interactions. ### [Louise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/louise) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Louise are close friends, possibly confidantes, given their high interaction count. ### [Paul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/paul) _social_ Helen Davies and Paul are acquaintances or friends, interacting regularly but without deep romantic or familial ties. ### [Momma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/momma) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Momma are friends or relatives, with a warm and supportive relationship. ### [Mr. Kennedy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/mr_kennedy) _social_ Helen Davies and Mr. Kennedy are acquaintances, likely through social or community circles. ### [Mason](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/mason) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Mason are friends or companions, with a steady but not intense bond. ### [Paul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/paul) _social_ Helen Davies and Paul are acquaintances or friends, interacting regularly but without deep romantic or familial ties. ### [Louise](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/louise) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Louise are close friends, possibly confidantes, given their high interaction count. ### [Momma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/momma) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Momma are friends or relatives, with a warm and supportive relationship. ### [Mason](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/mason) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Mason are friends or companions, with a steady but not intense bond. ### [Mrs. Brown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/mrs_brown) _friendship_ Helen Davies and Mrs. Brown are close companions, likely sharing confidences and daily interactions. ### [Mr. Kennedy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/mr_kennedy) _social_ Helen Davies and Mr. Kennedy are acquaintances, likely through social or community circles. ## In the story ### [Diverging Roads](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/diverging-roads) Struggles with the choice between love and career, ultimately deciding to move to San Francisco. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/i) Feeling trapped in Masonville, she longs for change and opportunity. She is self-conscious about her appearance but thrilled by Paul's attention. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/ii) Feels invincible and energized by spring, despite the frost; decides to take action and goes to town hoping to see Paul. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/iii) Helen leaves home for telegraphy school, rents a room, and feels a mix of excitement and loneliness. She also has an emotional farewell with Paul. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/iv) Nearing the end of her three months at telegraph school, she is desperate and nearly out of money, clinging to Paul's picture for emotional support. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/v) Works hard at the telegraph office, studies to become an operator, borrows money for new clothes, and eagerly awaits Paul's visit. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/vi) Returns late from a trip with Paul, faces Mrs. Campbell's accusations, and resolves to leave the boarding house despite having no money. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/vii) Endures a traumatic confrontation with Mr. Roberts, experiences emotional breakdown and hardening, asserts her dignity, and accepts a job offer in San Francisco. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/viii) Helen makes her first friend in the city, moves in with Louise and momma, and lands a job at the Merchants' Exchange to gain freedom for a normal life. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/ix) Works at the Merchants' Exchange, feeling restless and trapped; receives a letter from Paul; goes out with Gilbert Kennedy despite her doubts. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/x) Feels estranged from Paul, struggles with her job and a missent message, then impulsively accepts Bert's proposal. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xi) Now Helen Kennedy, she feels trapped in her marriage, struggling to fit into a life where she must be beautiful and docile while hiding her own needs. She is anxious about money and her husband's business dealings, and finds solace in daydreams of a simple home. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xii) Shows unwavering loyalty and love for Bert, sending him money and traveling to Coalinga despite her own poverty. She tries to maintain optimism and order in the chaotic environment. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xiii) Wakes in despair after Bert's abandonment, resolves to sell farmland to save him, successfully secures a deposit from Mr. MacAdams. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xiv) Drives to get MacAdams, sells him land in Ripley, negotiates with Clark & Hayward, and feels numb and suicidal after learning Bert's debts. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xv) Exhausted and emotionally numb, Helen works as a land saleswoman in Coalinga, struggling with her husband Bert's abandonment and the harsh conditions. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xvi) Returns to Coalinga after meeting Paul, makes a sale, fights to keep her territory, and feels bitter and lonely. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xvii) Reunites emotionally with Paul, promises to seek freedom from Bert, but feels the old love is dead; later struggles with exhaustion and disillusionment in her real estate work, finding comfort in her home and independence. ### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xviii) Decides to quit the real estate business, feeling profound weariness and a need to relax her self-control. She finds joy in domestic tasks and thinks of Paul. Later, she resists Bert's attempts at reconciliation and insists on a divorce, though she breaks down afterward. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xix) Helen is preparing for her divorce, has quit her job, and is spending a happy but tense day with Paul. She reveals that Bert has returned. ### [A New Beginning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xx) Struggles with financial loss after returning money from a land sale, then discovers her talent for writing and receives validation from Mr. Hayden. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xxi) Struggles with her love for Paul and her need for independence; enjoys her new life and friendships in San Francisco; works hard on her writing career. ### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xxii) Struggles with guilt over forgetting Paul, calls him to arrange a visit, and declines an opportunity to go to the Orient. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xxiii) Struggles with Paul's expectations and her own sense of self, realizing she cannot be the woman he wants. ### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/chapters/xxiv) Leaves San Francisco by steamer, writes farewell letter to Paul, feels peace about her departure. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters/helen_davies - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/diverging_roads_se/characters