# Hettie Dowler — Elmer Gantry character guide

> Hettie Dowler in Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Dowler

**First appearance:** 0014-chapter-iii

## Who they are

A gossipy and malicious woman who spreads rumors about Elmer.

## Relationships

### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/elmer_gantry)

_romantic_

Hettie is a former prostitute whom Elmer briefly takes up with, leading to a blackmail scandal.

### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/elmer_gantry)

_romantic_

Hettie is a former prostitute whom Elmer briefly takes up with, leading to a blackmail scandal.

### [Elmer Gantry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/elmer_gantry)

_romantic_

Hettie is a former prostitute whom Elmer briefly takes up with, leading to a blackmail scandal.

## In the story

### [Chapter XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-xxxi)

A young woman who impresses Elmer at church and is hired as his secretary, beginning a close relationship.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii)

A young woman of about twenty-five, a Methodist and former secretary, who approaches Elmer after the service and is hired on the spot.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iv)

Elmer's secretary and mistress; she is efficient, affectionate, and shrewd, handling influential church members and contributing sermon ideas, though her lunch with Styles provokes Elmer's jealousy.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/vii)

Hettie composes the letters for Elmer and is kissed by him while typing.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/viii)

Elmer's secretary; he calls her secretly after his mother's confrontation.

### [Chapter XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-xxxii)

Hettie reveals she and her husband Oscar have been conspiring to blackmail Elmer, admitting she was initially targeting William Dollinger Styles.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/i)

Hettie calls Elmer, claiming loneliness and inviting him to her place.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/ii)

Reveals her complicity with Oscar in the blackmail plot against Elmer.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii)

Referenced as the woman with whom Elmer had an affair, leading to his current crisis.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned as the target of a five-hundred-dollar sweetener.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/vi)

Woman whose affections Elmer is accused of alienating from her husband.

### [Chapter XXXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/chapter-xxxiii)

Blackmails Elmer with her husband; forced to sign a confession recanting charges after her criminal past is exposed.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/i)

Referenced as the wife of Oscar Dowler, with whom Dr. Gantry is accused of taking criminal advantage.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iii)

Blackmailer; forced to sign a confession exonerating Elmer after her criminal past is exposed.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/chapters/iv)

Her confession is published, clearing Elmer and framing the scandal as a bribery plot.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters/hettie_dowler
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/elmer_gantry_se/characters