# Anson Pentland — Early Autumn character guide > Anson Pentland in Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Anson, young Mrs. Pentland, Mrs. Anson Pentland, III Anson Pentland **First appearance:** 0002-i ## Snapshot Olivia's husband, a Pentland heir who plays at business in Boston while his father keeps the family fortune carefully out of his reach. ## Who they are Anson Pentland goes up to Boston each morning with passionate regularity to occupy an office where he arranges other people's lives—club committees, Watch and Ward correspondence, genealogies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony—and earns less in a year than a month's rent. Nearly fifty, he still receives his income as a monthly allowance from a father who distrusts him, and he has no patience for the poverty he has never touched. His fussy, self-important rectitude makes him the perfect foil for Olivia's hunger and the old man's vigor. ## Relationships ### [Olivia Pentland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/olivia_pentland) _family_ Husband and wife in a strained marriage, with Anson's traditionalism clashing with Olivia's quiet strength. ### [Sabine Callendar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/sabine_callendar) _romantic_ A secret, passionate affair that threatens the stability of the Pentland family. ### [Aunt Cassie Struthers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/aunt_cassie_struthers) _family_ Nephew and aunt, with Anson often dismissive of Cassie's opinions and meddling. ### [Sybil Pentland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/sybil_pentland) _family_ Father and daughter, with Anson's distant, authoritarian parenting causing Sybil to feel neglected. ### [Olivia Pentland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/olivia_pentland) _family_ Husband and wife in a strained marriage, with Anson's traditionalism clashing with Olivia's quiet strength. ### [Sabine Callendar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/sabine_callendar) _romantic_ A secret, passionate affair that threatens the stability of the Pentland family. ### [Aunt Cassie Struthers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/aunt_cassie_struthers) _family_ Nephew and aunt, with Anson often dismissive of Cassie's opinions and meddling. ### [Olivia Pentland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/olivia_pentland) _family_ Husband and wife in a strained marriage, with Anson's traditionalism clashing with Olivia's quiet strength. ### [Sybil Pentland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/sybil_pentland) _family_ Father and daughter, with Anson's distant, authoritarian parenting causing Sybil to feel neglected. ### [Sabine Callendar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/sabine_callendar) _romantic_ A secret, passionate affair that threatens the stability of the Pentland family. ### [Sybil Pentland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/sybil_pentland) _family_ Father and daughter, with Anson's distant, authoritarian parenting causing Sybil to feel neglected. ## In the story ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/i) Olivia's husband, representing the rigid, traditional authority of the Pentland family. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/ii) Found in the drawing-room late at night, compiling the family history; confronts Olivia about Sybil and O'Hara, revealing deep-seated bitterness and prejudice. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/i) Anson is referenced as Olivia's husband and as one of those opposed to Sabine's friendship with O'Hara. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/ii) Olivia's husband, seen in retrospect as an anemic, proper man who married her out of family pressure rather than love. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/iii) Anson is absent from lunch, having gone to Boston; his ineffectual nature and lack of income are contrasted with his father's vigor. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/i) Obsessively works on his genealogical book, tagging plants and researching Savina Pentland's lineage. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/ii) Ashamed of his outburst at the ball, avoids mentioning O'Hara, and is harassed by Aunt Cassie to take a stand in the family; feels trapped by family obligations. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/iii) Never lonely because he is deeply embedded in tradition and indistinguishable from his friends. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/vi) Resists the heat through duty, works on the Pentland Family history, is told by Olivia about her riding, and stands helplessly during Jack's death. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/i) Remains silent and withdrawn, wandering aimlessly and being scolded by Aunt Cassie. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/iii) Anson is similarly criticized for her rigid mindset, sharing Aunt Cassie's limited view that their world is the pinnacle of achievement. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/viii) Anson is mentioned as Olivia's husband, representing the oppressive traditions she resents. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/iii) Anson likes the change with reservations, preferring plain early American furniture, and is portrayed as a bore who guards his dignity zealously, resenting O'Hara, Sabine, and Jean de Cyon. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/ix) Anson confronts Olivia about Sybil's riding with Michael O'Hara, highlighting the family's concern over propriety. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/v) Refuses Olivia's request for divorce, clinging to family honor and tradition, and shows vulnerability when his pride is threatened. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/chapters/i) Appears composed at breakfast after a struggle the previous night. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters/anson_pentland - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/early_autumn_se/characters