# Mary Wortle — Dr. Wortle’s School character guide > Mary Wortle in Dr. Wortle’s School by Anthony Trollope. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Mary, Miss Mary, Poor Mary **First appearance:** 0000-part-i-i-dr-wortle ## Snapshot The headmaster's lovely, level-headed daughter, secretly loved by a young lord, who must weigh her own heart against the dazzling expectations her mother has built around her. ## Who they are Mary has been loved by Lord Carstairs, a pupil at her father's school, but no engagement has been sanctioned and no letters pass between them — only one brief, breathless meeting on the terrace. She loves him plainly and without coyness, yet she is too sensible to trade on rank or wealth, and she bears her mother's ceaseless fretting with quiet patience. Her future is the novel's romantic thread, and her steadiness under social pressure quietly rebukes the snobbery around her. ## Relationships ### [Lord Carstairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/lord_carstairs) _romantic_ Lord Carstairs is a suitor to Mary Wortle, and their relationship is one of mutual affection and courtship. ### [Dr. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/dr_wortle) _family_ Dr. Wortle is a caring and protective father to his daughter Mary, who is his pride and joy. ### [Mrs. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/mrs_wortle) _family_ Mary Wortle and her mother have a close, affectionate mother-daughter relationship. ### [Lord Carstairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/lord_carstairs) _romantic_ Lord Carstairs is a suitor to Mary Wortle, and their relationship is one of mutual affection and courtship. ### [Dr. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/dr_wortle) _family_ Dr. Wortle is a caring and protective father to his daughter Mary, who is his pride and joy. ### [Mrs. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/mrs_wortle) _family_ Mary Wortle and her mother have a close, affectionate mother-daughter relationship. ### [Dr. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/dr_wortle) _family_ Dr. Wortle is a caring and protective father to his daughter Mary, who is his pride and joy. ### [Lord Carstairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/lord_carstairs) _romantic_ Lord Carstairs is a suitor to Mary Wortle, and their relationship is one of mutual affection and courtship. ### [Mrs. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/mrs_wortle) _family_ Mary Wortle and her mother have a close, affectionate mother-daughter relationship. ## In the story ### [I: Dr. Wortle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-i-i-dr-wortle) The Wortles' daughter, nearly eighteen, known for her beauty and her ability to influence her father. ### [Lord Carstairs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-ii-vi-lord-carstairs) Mentioned as the Doctor's daughter, who is considered by her mother to be far from a child, though the Doctor sees her as a mere child. ### [Mr. Peacocke Goes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-iv-x-mr-peacocke-goes) Walks home from church with Lord Carstairs, unaware of her mother's anxieties about their relationship. ### [IV: “It Is Impossible”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-v-iv-it-is-impossible) Receives a declaration of love from Lord Carstairs and responds that it is impossible, maintaining her composure and sense of duty. ### [Lord Bracy's Letter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-v-vii-lord-bracy-s-letter) Is told by her father about Lord Bracy's letter and Carstairs' proposal; reads the letter and grapples with her feelings, having previously thought the match impossible. ### [X: The Doctor’s Answer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-v-x-the-doctor-s-answer) Anxious about the decision regarding Lord Carstairs' proposal, she consults her mother and father, ultimately leaving the decision to her father. ### [Mr. Peacocke's Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-v-xi-mr-peacocke-s-return) Acknowledges her love for Lord Carstairs and the uncertainty of the engagement, while her mother worries about the social implications. ### [XII: Mary's Success](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/chapters/part-v-xii-mary-s-success) Overjoyed and anxious at Carstairs' arrival, she meets him in the woods and is described as the happiest young lady in the diocese. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters/mary_wortle - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/dr_wortle_s_school_se/characters