# Mrs. Humdrum — Erewhon Revisited character guide > Mrs. Humdrum in Erewhon Revisited by Samuel Butler. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Old Mrs. Humdrum, XX Mrs. Humdrum **First appearance:** 0020-xviii-yram-invites-dr-downie-and-mrs-humdrum-to-luncheon-a-passage-at-arms-between-her-and-hanky-is-amicably-arranged ## Snapshot Elderly Erewhonian matriarch whose granddaughter is pledged to George, she moves through Sunch'ston's councils and drawing rooms with the quiet authority of a woman who has already survived one scandal of love-marriage in the family. ## Who they are Mrs. Humdrum belongs to the respectable stratum of Sunch'ston society that Yram can summon to dinner without embarrassment, yet her second daughter married for love and bore too many children to bring money with her. That dowryless granddaughter is nonetheless the girl George has loved since childhood, so Mrs. Humdrum's respectability and her family's improvidence sit awkwardly together. She matters because the coming marriage knots George, Yram, and the Higgs fortune into one household, making her a quiet hinge on which the plot's domestic arrangements turn. ## Relationships ### [My Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/my_father) _social_ Mrs. Humdrum is a local acquaintance who provides lodging and gossip to my father. ### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/the_narrator) _social_ Mrs. Humdrum is a chatty local who interacts with the narrator as a guest and source of news. ### [My Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/my_father) _social_ Mrs. Humdrum is a local acquaintance who provides lodging and gossip to my father. ### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/the_narrator) _social_ Mrs. Humdrum is a chatty local who interacts with the narrator as a guest and source of news. ### [My Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/my_father) _social_ Mrs. Humdrum is a local acquaintance who provides lodging and gossip to my father. ### [The Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/the_narrator) _social_ Mrs. Humdrum is a chatty local who interacts with the narrator as a guest and source of news. ## In the story ### [VIII: Yram, Now Mayoress, Gives a Dinner-Party, in the Course of Which She Is Disquieted by What She Learns from Professor Hanky: She Sends for Her Son George and Questions Him](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/viii-yram-now-mayoress-gives-a-dinner-party-in-the-course-of-which-she-is-disquieted-by-what-she-learns-from-professor-hanky-she-sends-for-her-son-george-and-questions-him) Attends the dinner, known as Ydgrun, and is described as the ideal of a stately dowager. ### [Interview Between Yram and Her Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/ix-interview-between-yram-and-her-son) Mentioned in Yram's story about the miracle of the Mayor's light-haired son. ### [Yram Invites Dr. Downie and Mrs. Humdrum to Luncheon—A Passage at Arms Between Her and Hanky Is Amicably Arranged](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xviii-yram-invites-dr-downie-and-mrs-humdrum-to-luncheon-a-passage-at-arms-between-her-and-hanky-is-amicably-arranged) Recognizes Higgs from his time in prison and is invited to lunch by Yram. ### [A Council Is Held at the Mayor’s, in the Course of Which George Turns the Tables on the Professors](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xix-a-council-is-held-at-the-mayor-s-in-the-course-of-which-george-turns-the-tables-on-the-professors) Mrs. Humdrum is present at the council and is chosen by Yram to negotiate on the side of the Mayor's party. ### [Mrs. Humdrum and Dr. Downie Propose a Compromise, Which, After an Amendment by George, Is Carried Nem. Con.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xx-mrs-humdrum-and-dr-downie-propose-a-compromise-which-after-an-amendment-by-george-is-carried-nem-con) Proposes the initial compromise to avoid scandal and rehabilitate truth. ### [Yram, on Getting Rid of Her Guests, Goes to the Prison to See My Father](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxi-yram-on-getting-rid-of-her-guests-goes-to-the-prison-to-see-my-father) Mentioned as Yram's confidante and grandmother of George's love interest. ### [My Father Is Escorted to the Mayor’s House, and Is Introduced to a Future Daughter-in-Law](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxiii-my-father-is-escorted-to-the-mayor-s-house-and-is-introduced-to-a-future-daughter-in-law) Her granddaughter is introduced to my father as a future daughter-in-law. ### [After Dinner, Dr. Downie and the Professors Would Be Glad to Know What Is to Be Done About Sunchildism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxiv-after-dinner-dr-downie-and-the-professors-would-be-glad-to-know-what-is-to-be-done-about-sunchildism) Attends the dinner; Higgs speaks with her about her granddaughter and George. ### [George Escorts My Father to the Statues; The Two Then Part](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxv-george-escorts-my-father-to-the-statues-the-two-then-part) My father drinks to her and especially to her granddaughter. ### [XXVI: My Father Reaches Home, and Dies Not Long Afterwards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxvi-my-father-reaches-home-and-dies-not-long-afterwards) Her granddaughter is mentioned as a possible recipient of a present. ### [I Meet My Brother George at the Statues, on the Top of the Pass Into Erewhon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/chapters/xxvii-i-meet-my-brother-george-at-the-statues-on-the-top-of-the-pass-into-erewhon) The narrator brings a brooch for Mrs. Humdrum's granddaughter but forgets a gift for Mrs. Humdrum herself. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters/mrs_humdrum - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/erewhon_revisited_se/characters