# Matey Pearson — Dodsworth character guide

> Matey Pearson in Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Matey, good old Matey, Pearson

**First appearance:** 0002-i

## Snapshot

Tub Pearson's plump, unpretentious wife, whose famous atrocious jewelry and horror of dirty trains make her a comic counterweight to Fran's European ambitions.

## Who they are

Matey arrives in Paris as half of the Pearson pair, the solid Zenith couple whose first trip abroad Sam Dodsworth secretly orchestrates to surprise them at the Gare du Nord. She is fat, uninteresting by Fran's reckoning, and utterly without pretense — a woman whose chief travel anxieties are luggage, language, and being dragooned into acting as an unpaid guide. Her cheerful ordinariness throws Fran's restless self-invention into relief, and her presence keeps Sam tethered to the plain American life he understands.

## Relationships

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Tub Pearson's wife, a warm and down-to-earth friend who remains loyal to Sam and his family.

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Tub Pearson's wife, a warm and down-to-earth friend who remains loyal to Sam and his family.

### [Sam Dodsworth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/sam_dodsworth)

_friendship_

Tub Pearson's wife, a warm and down-to-earth friend who remains loyal to Sam and his family.

## In the story

### [Chapter XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xv)

Mentioned as someone Fran hopes will come to Europe.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xix)

Tub's wife, to whom Sam finds himself turning more often during dinners.

### [Chapter XXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxvi)

Candidly discusses Sam's marriage with Fran, criticizes Fran's treatment of Sam, and expresses concern for Sam's happiness.

### [XXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxvii)

Accompanies Tub and Sam in Paris; her pious admonitions influence Sam's thoughts.

### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/chapters/xxviii)

Mentioned in Sam's thoughts as someone he confessed to during his trip.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters/matey_pearson
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dodsworth_se/characters